Guest guest Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Ladies, Thank you to all for your suggestions and well wishes. I thought I read somewhere on this site that raising arms overhead would be prohibited - my doctor never said it. In fact, he said he wasn't even sure if I would need to wear a brace. I am having one procedure, anterior fusion L4-S1 and posterior L2-S2. I agree with Peggy about my hair needing more work and daily shampooing when it is short, so I think I may hold off on the haircut. Besides the drastic change may be another adjustment that I don't need right now. If it becomes too much of a hassle when I get home, my hairdresser said she would come to my house and cut it if I need. Countdown is beginning and right now I'm still in " negotiations " with my insurance to approve this as an " in network " benefit. The way it works is they ask all participating orthopaedic and neurosurgeons in the network if they will do the procedure, except when they ask the doctor's office, they only give the CPT code which is a spinal fusion without the details. So far two neurosurgeons and two orthopaedists said they would do it. I happen to work in a hospital where one of the neurosurgeons works and I spoke with him to tell him the details and he quickly wrote a letter to the insurance company stating that he would not do the procedure. Also, he never spoke with them originally - they speak to the office staff. I also sent them an article which was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, " Prevention and Management of Iatrogenic Flatback Deformity " , by Drs. Potter, Lenke and Kuklo. The utilization review nurse call me yesterday and said that the medical director read the article and the letter from the neurosurgeon, but they want me to have a consult with one of the other docs to make sure that he cannot do the procedure. I will abide and most likely have the same result as the first neurosurgeon. All of this is a major pain and only adds to my current stress levels, but if I just get this done and it is approved as " in network " , it will save me a lot of out-of-pocket money. Anyway, I'm venting and rambling, so I will close and thank you all once again. I will keep you posted on what happens and I think Edie will be visiting me in the hospital and will update you on that. Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Hiya Donna, I was never prohibited from lifting my arms above my head, although it wasn't the easiest thing to do the first few weeks. Now I do it all the time without thinking about it. As far as your hair goes, mine was a little shorter than shoulder length when I went in. I showered pretty much the day after I got home (day 6 after surgery), so I only had 5 days of grease to deal with. However, you will lose a fair amount of hair due to anaesthesia and not washing it frequently...(not clumps, just strands) so if that thought freaks you out, then cut your hair before you go in. It only bothered me for about 2 months after, and I never had bald patches or anything so drastic! If you think the change will be too much for you, then just leave your hair as is. It is not an undealable situation. And of course I will come see you in the hospital as planned! You are going in on Jan 28th, I believe?....I am certainly looking forward to meeting you, even under the circumstances! And I'll post your status to the folks here (I'm getting pretty good at that!) Hugs and thinking of you as time draws near--Keep laughter in your llfe right now, ya hear? You'll get through this in flying colors. Edie > > Ladies, > Thank you to all for your suggestions and well wishes. I thought I > read somewhere on this site that raising arms overhead would be > prohibited - my doctor never said it. In fact, he said he wasn't > even sure if I would need to wear a brace. I am having one > procedure, anterior fusion L4-S1 and posterior L2-S2. I agree with > Peggy about my hair needing more work and daily shampooing when it is > short, so I think I may hold off on the haircut. Besides the drastic > change may be another adjustment that I don't need right now. If it > becomes too much of a hassle when I get home, my hairdresser said she > would come to my house and cut it if I need. > > Countdown is beginning and right now I'm still in " negotiations " with > my insurance to approve this as an " in network " benefit. The way it > works is they ask all participating orthopaedic and neurosurgeons in > the network if they will do the procedure, except when they ask the > doctor's office, they only give the CPT code which is a spinal fusion > without the details. So far two neurosurgeons and two orthopaedists > said they would do it. I happen to work in a hospital where one of > the neurosurgeons works and I spoke with him to tell him the details > and he quickly wrote a letter to the insurance company stating that > he would not do the procedure. Also, he never spoke with them > originally - they speak to the office staff. I also sent them an > article which was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint > Surgery, " Prevention and Management of Iatrogenic Flatback > Deformity " , by Drs. Potter, Lenke and Kuklo. The utilization review > nurse call me yesterday and said that the medical director read the > article and the letter from the neurosurgeon, but they want me to > have a consult with one of the other docs to make sure that he cannot > do the procedure. I will abide and most likely have the same result > as the first neurosurgeon. All of this is a major pain and only adds > to my current stress levels, but if I just get this done and it is > approved as " in network " , it will save me a lot of out-of-pocket > money. > > Anyway, I'm venting and rambling, so I will close and thank you all > once again. I will keep you posted on what happens and I think Edie > will be visiting me in the hospital and will update you on that. > > Donna > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Wow, Donna, this must be so stressful. Imagine how hard it must be for someone who doesn't know their way around doctors and the medical system. I knew I was very lucky Dr. Rand and NEBH were in-network for me, but I appreciate it even more now. Especially since my husband's company was sold and a change of insurance was forced on us immediately before my surgery! I must say the insurance issues were handled wonderfully by Dr. Rand's staff. Sharon [ ] Thanks for all! Ladies,Thank you to all for your suggestions and well wishes. I thought I read somewhere on this site that raising arms overhead would be prohibited - my doctor never said it. In fact, he said he wasn't even sure if I would need to wear a brace. I am having one procedure, anterior fusion L4-S1 and posterior L2-S2. I agree with Peggy about my hair needing more work and daily shampooing when it is short, so I think I may hold off on the haircut. Besides the drastic change may be another adjustment that I don't need right now. If it becomes too much of a hassle when I get home, my hairdresser said she would come to my house and cut it if I need.Countdown is beginning and right now I'm still in "negotiations" with my insurance to approve this as an "in network" benefit. The way it works is they ask all participating orthopaedic and neurosurgeons in the network if they will do the procedure, except when they ask the doctor's office, they only give the CPT code which is a spinal fusion without the details. So far two neurosurgeons and two orthopaedists said they would do it. I happen to work in a hospital where one of the neurosurgeons works and I spoke with him to tell him the details and he quickly wrote a letter to the insurance company stating that he would not do the procedure. Also, he never spoke with them originally - they speak to the office staff. I also sent them an article which was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, "Prevention and Management of Iatrogenic Flatback Deformity", by Drs. Potter, Lenke and Kuklo. The utilization review nurse call me yesterday and said that the medical director read the article and the letter from the neurosurgeon, but they want me to have a consult with one of the other docs to make sure that he cannot do the procedure. I will abide and most likely have the same result as the first neurosurgeon. All of this is a major pain and only adds to my current stress levels, but if I just get this done and it is approved as "in network", it will save me a lot of out-of-pocket money. Anyway, I'm venting and rambling, so I will close and thank you all once again. I will keep you posted on what happens and I think Edie will be visiting me in the hospital and will update you on that.Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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