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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / March 2005Mag's Back and RFTC
Finally, I breached the dragon's gate at the Pain Management Dr's office and had my 2nd RFTC treatment of the lumbar spine done. I was about to pull out my hair because I went through the same thing I did last Thanksgiving when I had the procedure done to burn the nerves in the left side of my back, this being...dealing with the office staff. My PCP completed my referral for the procedure on 2-18-05 and after repeatedly not hearing back from the pain mgmt clinic, I called again on Monday. They AGAIN told me that they didn't DO HMO patients. (Of course after AGAIN not bothering to call me to advise me either way) Evidently, if a patient who has an HMO is referred to them, the office staff chunks it in the corner and doesn't even bother to call them back or proceed on it. I informed them that the Dr DOES do this procedure and in fact did the first one several months ago since I am a kidney patient and can't take anti-inflammatories and have no disc left between L4/L5 and that they were to GO ASK HER! I even talked to the "supervisor" who was probably just another flunkie. After not hearing back from them by the evening of the following day, I called them back and was very insistent. She finally put me on hold, went to ask the dr, and came back and said, "Would 12:10 tomorrow be a good time for you?" I said, "ABSOLUTELY". So, yesterday (Wednesday) I went to their surgical center in Houston and had the right side done. It was quite a bit more uncomfortable this time, because she burned quite a few more nerves in the area, including directly below and above the bad area. Hopefully, after the soreness wears off in a day or two, I'll be back to my normal activities and no longer dining on Vicodins every 4 hours. :-) I hope you are all having a great week. Prayers and thoughts continue for my ASA family. Mag > Finally, I breached the dragon's gate at the Pain Management Dr's > office and had my 2nd RFTC treatment of the lumbar spine done. I was [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > Prayers and thoughts continue for my ASA family. > Mag Mag, I will say a prayer for you tonight. If I could ask God for just one gift and then receive it, I'd ask to be used for healing as the apostles were used. I know from experience that the Hell of physical suffering often has no bottom to it. Just when you thinks that the pain can't possibly get any worse, it does. I pray, not because I'm so great, but because God is. Jan2 Hi Mag, I'm sorry to hear about the office staff. Their behavior is inexcusable! I'm glad that you finally got your procedure done, and I will keep you in my prayers and hope that your soreness will wear off. Gentle Hugs, Carole :) > Finally, I breached the dragon's gate at the Pain Management Dr's > office and had my 2nd RFTC treatment of the lumbar spine done. I was [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > Prayers and thoughts continue for my ASA family. > Mag > Finally, I breached the dragon's gate at the Pain Management Dr's > office and had my 2nd RFTC treatment of the lumbar spine done. I was > about to pull out my hair because I went through the same thing I did > last Thanksgiving when I had the procedure done to burn the nerves in > the left side of my back, this being...dealing with the office staff. Mag! You are my hero! Way to deal with them uppity office staff. :) Can you imagine what it would be like if all Dr's had dragons like that?! At the very least they should know what procedures their own Dr does. Jeez, you've been there before, that makes you a patient of their's - they could have looked in your file! Skip > So, yesterday (Wednesday) I went to their surgical center in Houston > and had the right side done. It was quite a bit more uncomfortable [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Prayers and thoughts continue for my ASA family. > Mag Hi Mag,,,, I have an idea what your pain is like from a brush with it myself years ago. I am going to be honest with you in that just the thought of having that done gives me the chills. I hope and pray that it does what you want it to for you and your problem. I applaud your dealing with the doctors office. Who knows the reason for this but it may be that lawyers have kicked the doctors a.s and they are trying to control what they deal with. I also wish to say that is may be time to make choices in your activities like bike riding and climbing mountains, mud wrestling,, ect. :-) IF you can cut back on Vicodins,,, that is good thing. Harv {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Mag }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Not sure what the RFTC stands for, but praying that the procedure gets you the results you hope for!!! Feel better soon! Donna G the only way to deal with dragons is to become one yourself - temporarily. Durn shame they behave in such a way as to force you into it. Talk about wanting to flog them with a wet noodle! May the procedure bring you much relief!  SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Way to go, Mag! Curse those dragons. I also hate dealing with doctors' offices, but I need to be more persistent the next time I have a problem. You're my hero!! I hope the procedure works and you are pain free. Take care. Bonnie > uncomfortable this time, because she burned quite a few more > nerves in the area, including directly below and above the bad *to everyone who responded* Thanks everyone for the kind words and prayers. Wednesday evening was pretty uncomfortable *cough-understatement* :-) but after expecting Thursday to be at least as bad, like the last time I had this done, I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out much less painful than last time. I'm really looking forward to getting back to a normal routine, but I promise...just because I'll be feeling better, I won't put off the back surgery again and again like I have been. I'm definitely getting it fixed soon, before the procedure wears off. Thanks for all the support, everyone. I know you all deal with pain every day of your lives and this is minor in comparison to what some of you deal with. Donna G. the RFTC is *quote* RADIOFREQUENCY THERMOCOAGULATION (RFTC) is an advanced invasive technique requiring special equipment to destroy nerves (neurolysis) for long-term pain relief. It is used in very selective cases when routine nerve blocks help relieve pain, but for too short a time. It is a higher risk procedure than routine nerve blocks (because it destroys nerve tissue), but can be very effective when other procedures have failed to give long-term relief. *end quote* Oh, and Harv, I think it would be harder to give up the motorcycle than anything else I've ever done. Now, the mud-wrestling...well...that does seem to get into the creases......... <jk> Mag > Oh, and Harv, I think it would be harder to give up the motorcycle > than anything else I've ever done. Now, the > mud-wrestling...well...that does seem to get into the creases......... > <jk> > Mag LOLOL, You know Mag,,,, you know that your back will not survive a wreck on a motorcycle and you know better than I do that it is not how you drive but how other people drive that causes wrecks for riders. They just do not see a motorcycle. The very best you could hope for is a wheelchair for the rest of your life. Oooh, you know all this. I felt the same way when I almost bought an ultra-light plane a few years back. Its those quick stops that get ya. Harv |
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