Harrington Rod and lower back pain

Hi @lilrav, it sounds like you are in a really tough place right now and feel there no doctor is supporting you to find answers and relief to your pain. Members like @nlback22 @jenniferhunter @lilypaws @wisco50 know this feeling and can share their stories.

Lilrav, do you see a physical therapist?

No.

Sorry you are experiencing so much pain. I am not the person to advise, but please continue your pursuit for the right medical professional. There has to be help for you.
Keep the faith. You have gotten this far....You are strong.💞🙏

@nlback22 Before you make your decisions about Medicare and Medigap insurance, it's worth checking with each Mayo campus to see what insurance they accept because it is different at each one. A lot of the "Medicare Advantage" plans that replace traditional Medicare have networks of local doctors that they will cover, and they may not cover out of state care.

A friend of mine just ran into this with an "advantage" plan and had spine surgery planned at Mayo, but it was canceled because insurance would not cover Mayo even though the Mayo billing department tried to work it out with the insurance, and the wording of the insurance plan implied that out of state care should be covered.

My PT told me the traditional real Medicare along with a "Medigap" supplement plan would have nationwide acceptance, and that is what I chose. I called the Mayo billing department and asked them, and they told me what was accepted there. The insurance you chose now will determine where you can be seen for spine care which is very expensive, so it is best to choose one where Mayo is in network if that is where you want to go. You can have out of network surgery, but there would likely be a lot more expense assigned to you.

Mayo Rochester is the original Mayo Clinic and largest campus and has more specialists, and this is where they are teaching the 7 year neurosurgery program, so you are right. There are a lot of experienced spine deformity care specialists there, and it is a high volume medical center.

@lilrav I am a spine surgery patient too, and for some, this is a difficult surgery. You start to wonder if the pain will get better, and it does. I think you are getting through the most difficult part now. Improvement comes in baby steps, and the surgery at the lower end of the spine is a more difficult recovery. I have been helping another patient who had spine surgery right after yours, and 5 days after the procedure , she started feeling pain and weakness in her arm. We were both very worried, but now she is getting better and every day she has less pain. I know this is hard, but you have to believe that you can do this and get through it. It might seem as if time is standing still right now, but your body is healing and that can't be rushed. It takes a lot of patience.

With my spine problem, I had some unusual symptoms, and a lot of surgeons didn't understand the problem, and then wouldn't help me. I was getting worse and symptoms were changing with pain, burning and weakness. I spent 2 years trying to get help and saw 5 surgeons and all of them passed on me. That is discouraging and I felt no doctor was listening. During that time, my dad was also dying of end stage heart disease. He had given up, and was so weak , he could not move himself around in bed. I was in a lot of pain with a compressed spinal cord in my neck and was there taking care of him at home, and using a lift to transfer him to a wheelchair and so on. This was the hardest 2 years of my life, but I did have some more time with my dad because I wasn't having surgery.

It was right after my dad passed, that I did get the call to come to Mayo. Still, going through cervical spine surgery is a long recovery, but it was worth it and my life is better now than it was before the surgery. There is always a compromise that is made when you have surgery, but life is about adapting to change and doing the best you can. Be kind to yourself. Listen to music you love and relax. Try not to stress about things and just unplug from the world as best you can.

When is your appointment with the new doctor?

Hi Jennifer, Good overview on insurance. I use to sell it so I am familiar with the details, but great info. for those whom are not. I think that I most likely be visiting Mayo Rochester. Again, thank you for your input.
Happy Holidays!

I have a appointment Jan 25 .I did get a call back yesterday.The nurse put me on gabapentin.Whats your opinion on this?

@lilrav I'm glad you have an upcoming appointment. I was prescribed gabapentin too, but I didn't want to take it. What it does is deaden the nerve pain. I had asked my neurologist about it, and she said it was effective, but took time to achieve that after so many doses. I'm not a medical professional, so I can't offered advice. This was prescribed to me when a doctor was pushing me more toward rehab therapy when I really needed spine surgery. Sometimes, this could be used as a failed therapy to justify surgery to the insurance company since they also look for ways to see what could solve a problem instead of the expensive surgery that they don't want to pay for. I didn't need gabapentin because I was managing the pain OK, and my physical therapist was also doing some things to block pain signals with a Dolphin neuro stimulator used on the nerve roots in my neck.

I hope you will you share your experience after your appointment.

Be careful on gabapentin, depending on your dose. I would take it at night right before bed, that helped with the dizzying symptoms. During one of my hospital stays after spine surgery they had me on such a high dose that every time I tried to get up to move for PT or OT, I would get dizzy, nauseous and threw up. So I quit taking it altogether. Good luck and make sure you let your doctor know if you have any issues while you are taking it.

Keep in touch if you use any of my advice I am not a Dr but just giving you my useful thing that I have found helpful
Ps: I have also found a trip to a salt tank takes all frustrations stress and a lot of inflammation they are Great!!!