I hate doctors

So, I went to the neurosurgeon yesterday morning, hoping for something that would at least reduce the constant pain, if not totally alleviate it. Before I even got to see the doctor, we had a lovely insurance saga in the waiting room. Apparently, the receptionist at my regular doctor was confused about my insurance, which had changed. They didn’t have a copy of my new card, but the new information was written in my file. Unfortunately, no one had transferred that to the computer. When he scheduled the appointment, he asked if they took my old insurance, which they did. They do not, however, take my new insurance. So, my options were to skip the appointment and wait who knows how long for an appointment with someone else, pay upfront and file the out-of-network claim myself, or pay from my FSA. I paid with my FSA. I was not going to wait another two weeks to see someone.

After that fun, the doctor told me, based on my films, he didn’t know why I was in pain. But then he said a guy was in earlier yesterday with a ruptured disc that covered the entire vertebrae on his film, and he was just mildly annoyed. Obviously, pictures only tell them where the problem is, but not how bad. He then told me that my two choices were to wait it out or surgery. He said that the average healing time is three months, but that those numbers really aren’t any good, as the time ranges from two weeks to a year, depending on the person. He then said that, with surgery, he’d recommend I stay out of work for three to four weeks, but that people frequently go back within one to two - they just takes longer to heal – and that he tries to be out of the patient’s life within two to three months. Hmmm...let’s think...potentially a year of waiting, or three months...

I asked about other options, and he informed me that things like physical therapy, steroids, anti-inflammatories, and going to the chiropractor don’t actually speed the healing process, they just delude the patient into thinking they’re doing something useful. I say, delude me. Especially if it’ll make it stop hurting. He wrote a prescription for a pain killer that he said might not make me so drowsy I can’t be at the office – but it also might not really get rid of the pain. Gee, that’s useful. Doc also said I could go back to doing my regular activities, but to be careful, because overdoing it could hurt my back worse. But not doing anything could also hurt my back. And I shouldn’t walk the dogs, because if they pull and jerk me, that could hurt my back. And I should make sure I’m facing forward when I sneeze, because sneezing while twisted could hurt my back. But I’m allowed to go be active. And then he told me that when I reach the point that I’m really frustrated with how this is affecting my life (um, now?), to give him a call and he’d schedule my surgery.

He’s the first doctor I’ve ever been to that’s been that quick to offer surgery. Usually, they suggest a lot of other things, first. And you know, I’m not exactly eager to have another operation. I’d willingly wait this out, if it just didn’t hurt so freaking much. And so constantly. I am pain-free approximately 10 minutes a day – just when I first wake up, before I get up and start moving around. Once I start moving and putting weight on my leg, it flares back up. Its ridiculous.

My regular doctor agrees that the “two options only” idea is a bit insane. So I’m waiting for a call back from a different neurosurgeon, who will hopefully have a few other ideas. And, if nothing else, I am fully willing to be deluded into thinking I’m doing something useful.