Feeling Great!

Wow, this new medicine my new Primary Care Physician put me on is working great. I am in the least amount of pain I have been in since May, 2009. My head is a little foggy at times, but I can't believe how much less pain I am in. I am only wishing I would have changed physicians long before now. I am still waiting for precertification on insurance and am still deciding about having surgery this year versus early next year. I may not have a choice by the time insurance approves me :) Our insurance rates are going up a lot next year, so it may be better just to have surgery this year if he can fit me in and if I can get pre-certified in time.

New PCP, New Hope

I went to a new Primary Care Physician today and laid everything out for him. I explained my situation and told him that I need him to be supportive of me and the decision I made for my future regarding surgery. I explained what my last PCP did, or didn't do and he said that he will help me manage my pain until surgery and that there will be a day that surgery is done and I won't even look back, will only be looking forward to the future. I hope he is right. I am in better spirits, I am going to try to change my meds around a little. I am going off the Lyrica, because I have already gained 10-15lbs in 2 months and I going on Topamax and a steriod medicine and also a Vicodin/Tylenol mix. I will start those tomorrow. I feel hope with this doctor and think he will be by my side in all this.

PCP & Pain Mgmt. & meds.

Well, I am waiting for pre-certification with my insurance company for surgery . I have time, even though I am in pain, I cannot have surgery this year due to Chris not having any vacation days left. I am trying for the beginning of Jan. I am on Vicodin and Lyrica and I have to call every 10 days to ask for a refill of my Vicodin. My PCP has decided to cut me off, he says that he doesn't do long term pain management. So, as of right now I have 3 days left of my pain meds. I have a call into my neurosurgeons office to see if they wrote my PCP a letter explaining that I need this medicine until my surgery date. If not, I am changing PCP's. My PCP doesn't even believe these cysts cause pain. He also is not happy that I went to my own neuro. instead of the orginal one he sent me to. I have prayed and I know that what I am doing/where I am going for this surgery is the right thing to do.

Dr. Fiegenbaum called!

I finally talked to Dr. Fiegenbaum. He said that surgery is needed. The cyst is so big it is filling the entire spinal cord and compressing my nerves and eroding the tailbone (eggshell thin). He said since it is filling the whole spinal cord canal, there is nowhere for the nerves to go, except to be pinched. He said he didn't see anything else causing all my pain. My lumbar area looks fine. He said that open back surgery is needed to decompress the nerves, he will expose the tailbone area and remove the back of the tailbone to expose the cyst and decompress the cyst and suture it off so cerebral spinal fluid can't return (into the cyst) and then wrap the cyst. He will put in an absorbable plate that will replace my tailbone that he removed and scar tissue will grow over it and be absorbed in about 2 years.

He also said he will release my tethered spinal cord, which is under tension. The surgery will be about 3 hours long and I will spend about 3 days in the hospital and stay another 5 -7 days or so. I should return to light duty in 3-4 weeks. He said there is a 5-10% risk of problems, and no guarantees. I told him I would like to go forward with surgery. Now, to get surgery scheduled.

Who is this Murphy, and why did he have this law?

So yesterday was my daughter, Taylor's, 7th birthday. Normally, I am at home all day, every day, unless it is grocery shopping day (a couple times a month). I decided to go have lunch with Taylor since it was her birthday. Wouldn't ya know, Dr. Fiegenbaum called right after I left the house. I called him back about 45 min. later and I left a message that I returned his call. Here it is Friday and still no call. I called him again, and the office staff told me that he wasn't in today. I will have to wait until Monday to call him back. This is the phone call to go over my 2nd MRI with him. Hopefully on Monday I will learn if surgery is an option for me, or what can be done for me.