Update on my surgery- An unpatient patient

[Guest guest]

Gang

I had a laminectomy in the L5 R1 area of my lower back on Aug 12 to

treat pain I have down my left leg. The day after surgery I felt more

pain. Since them I had been getting worse and have been bed ridden

for the past 4 weeks since my pain would be unbearable if I stand for

more than 10 minutes

The reason I am updating you guys is to make you aware that even well

informed patients like me can fall prey to bad doctors.

After making a strong statement with the surgeon about my pain for

three weeks and the need for another MRI, he agreed and called me to

tell me that I had another disk problem after surgery and that he

wanted to operate on me again. Somehow my intuition told me that he

was wrong since I had not walked much at all after it was done. He

would not even send me to a pain management doctor since he said I

" needed to be patient. "

I called, with the help of my primary care physician, 6 other

neurosurgeons to get a second opinion. None would take me since their

policy is not to see patients that have had surgeries with other

doctors withing the past 6 months. Finally, my doctor was able to get

me to see one.

I got there today and they scared the hell out of me when they said

that they also did not see patients who have been recently operated by

other doctors. I basically broke down and begged them. They finally

agreed and Dr , with 40 years of experience, showed up and

brighten my life.

The new doctor saw my MRI results in front of me and was shocked to

see a large area of infection pushing on my nerve. I am now to be

admitted the hospital to try to get the mass out, run cultures and get

IV treatment. He was surprised that my infection had not spread to

other areas of my spine and CNS.

We can never let our guards down. If your intuition is telling you

something, listen to it even if people may think you are over-

reacting.

I am hopeful that once this is treated and extracted my pain will

improve. The new doc said I may need another surgery if it does not.

Always get a second opinion for operations or anything that is not

just standard medical care.

I am thinking about suing for negligence when I get better. This

really scares me. I wonder what would have happened if I had followed

doctor's orders to be " more patient " .

I am glad that I have a laptop that I can use while laying down. I

would go crazy if I did not have anything to do!

I may be in the hospital for a few days and will keep you updated.

[Guest guest]

"The new doctor saw my MRI results in front of me and was shocked to see a large area of infection pushing on my nerve. I am now to be admitted the hospital to try to get the mass out, run cultures and get IV treatment. He was surprised that my infection had not spread to other areas of my spine and CNS."Wow. Glad you stuck to your guns. Hope all works out for the best, and you are well, soon.You had the second MRI interpreted as another disc, and a third as infection? Something is strange....JB