Any Dr.'s in the house

[DTLB58]

Update:
I seen the surgeon this morning and after about a hour consultation, looking at the MRI, reading the report, conducting some physical tests and talking it over he recommended surgery.

He thought after 6 years and all the other things I have tried it was fair at this point to consider it. He just gave his opinion and totally left it up to me. So I scheduled it for 2 weeks from today.

One of the other things I have to take into consideration with this, is that the company dr. told me if I try and return to work without surgery they are placing permanent restrictions on me. Only 8 hour work days and no repititive bending,lifting or twisting. If I have the surgery and it is succesful they would let me return without those restrictions. That is important because with the restrictions, it will one limit my ability to make more money and two, retrict me to move throughout the factory to other jobs if I so desire. The union also warned me with permanent restrictions the company could just tell me they don't have a job for me any longer.

Thanks for all the replies and info, it was much appreciated.


Had an MRI done on my back on Tuesday. See a surgeon Tomorrow.

I got the report from the MRI back today so I can take it to my appointment.

Here's where I was looking for some insight. My main problem is at the L4-L5.

The report reads: "Posterior left paramedian disc herniation and the herniated disc volume is decreased significantly from the previous exam. Specifically, the small extruded fragment has resolved. The remaining protruding disc flattens the ventral margin of the thecal sac and closely approximates the origins of the right and left L5 nerve root sleeves.

Is the decreasing volume good or bad? And that the extruded fragment resolved good or bad?

Me and my wife are reading it two different ways.

Just a little anxious, have been sitting around the house for 2 weeks now cause the comapny dr. won't let me go back to work until I see the surgeon.

[DTLB58]

Originally Posted by Uncle_Ted

Question re: the surgeon ...is s/he an ortho or a neuro? My colleagues who have done work comp and med mal cases recommend the latter over the former.

(Kind of a perverse irony that med mal lawyers can often tell you who the best doctors are in your area)

The one that I will be seeing tomorrow is an ortho mainly because their are no neuro's in my city that my insurance will pay for. I have made the 2 hour round trip twice to see a neuro. The first time he said you don't need surgery, the second time he said your getting closer. This time the dr. that has been giving me all these injections said just go to this one in our city and see what he says, kind of a second opinion type thing.

[Floridafan]

I fix them all day long non-surgically. Check out my website and if you want me to help find someone in your area let me know.

www.spinaldecompression.us

[manchambo]

I just found out I've got a herniated L4-L5 disc with an annular (sp?) tear. Weird thing is that I don't have that much back pain, but do have constant, fairly bad pain in the groin, right behind the nutsack Dr. thinks that might be caused by the disc irritating some nerves.

The human body is a beautiful, terrible, mysterious thing.

[DTLB58]

Originally Posted by manchambo

I just found out I've got a herniated L4-L5 disc with an annular (sp?) tear. Weird thing is that I don't have that much back pain, but do have constant, fairly bad pain in the groin, right behind the nutsack Dr. thinks that might be caused by the disc irritating some nerves.

The human body is a beautiful, terrible, mysterious thing.

I have had pain in my groin with this almost the entire time since I originally injured it in 2002. About half the dr.'s I have seen tell me it has nothing to do with my back the other half say yes it has everything to do with my back. One dr. even laughed at me in front of a female intern. I never went back to him.

[catfish307]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

I have had pain in my groin with this almost the entire time since I originally injured it in 2002. About half the dr.'s I have seen tell me it has nothing to do with my back the other half say yes it has everything to do with my back. One dr. even laughed at me in front of a female intern. I never went back to him.

You should have kicked him in the nuts and asked him who's laughing now?

[chasedude]

Originally Posted by catfish307

You should have kicked him in the nuts and asked him who's laughing now?

[manchambo]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

I have had pain in my groin with this almost the entire time since I originally injured it in 2002. About half the dr.'s I have seen tell me it has nothing to do with my back the other half say yes it has everything to do with my back. One dr. even laughed at me in front of a female intern. I never went back to him.

My doctor seems not to be convinced that it's the back. That doesn't make much sense to me. I've got a problem that could obviously affect all kinds of nerves running down there.

[Skip Towne]

Have you had this condition before? Well, you've got it again.

[acesn8s]

Have you tried physical therapy?

I have a similar problem. I had PT for about 2 months, lost a little weight and took naproxen and really benefitted from it. The Dr I went to told me that without a doubt he wanted to do surgery because that is where he made his money. I was happy to tell him that the PT worked and no longer needed his services.

[Halfcan]

Hey best of luck, I hope it works out for ya.

[The Franchise]

There is a findthedr but he's just going to tell you that Jake Long is the next coming of Jesus Christ....and that Trevor Laws is WAYYYY better than Sedrick Ellis.

[DTLB58]

Originally Posted by acesn8s

Have you tried physical therapy?

I have a similar problem. I had PT for about 2 months, lost a little weight and took naproxen and really benefitted from it. The Dr I went to told me that without a doubt he wanted to do surgery because that is where he made his money. I was happy to tell him that the PT worked and no longer needed his services.

Not in the past 3 weeks since this has flared up again. But I have in the past, pretty much everything anyone has ever suggested works to make me feel better and get me going again. But then I do something or it just starts in again at a later date, usually about 6 months apart and then here I am laid up and off work again. I would really like a permanent fix. Maybe I am asking for too much? idk, just really frustrating after 6 years.

[Floridafan]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

Not in the past 3 weeks since this has flared up again. But I have in the past, pretty much everything anyone has ever suggested works to make me feel better and get me going again. But then I do something or it just starts in again at a later date, usually about 6 months apart and then here I am laid up and off work again. I would really like a permanent fix. Maybe I am asking for too much? idk, just really frustrating after 6 years.

Do you want to get it fixed or do you just like bitching about it?

[DTLB58]

Originally Posted by Floridafan

Do you want to get it fixed or do you just like bitching about it?

Well, Right now I am doing what my company dr. instructed me to do.

The dr. that gave me the steroid injection reffered me to the surgeon, that put me back to see the company dr. He has issues with how many injections I have had over the years. So he told me to stay off work,rest and let's wait and see what the surgeon says.

No dr. suggested or gave me an order for PT which I have to have to get insurance to cover it.

Like I stated before, notihng I have ever done (inluding PT) has FIXED it, just got me going again to return to work and then it goes out again. That's why I'm at the point of considering surgery to see if that will be a fix?

[DenverChief]

JUST FYI DTLB58

Leslie Fishbein dies
By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 03/19/2008 07:06:31 PM MDT

Denver businesswoman Leslie Fishbein , known for her wit, energy and business acumen, died today at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Hospital.

Fishbein was taken to the hospital on March 4 after suffering a severe reaction to an injection for chronic back pain.

The Fishbein family released a statement through the hospital:

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved wife, daughter and sister, Leslie Fishbein, this Wednesday March 19 at 12 p.m.
"Leslie was a vibrant and loving member of our community as well as our family. Her passing is a profound loss for all of us.

"We ask once again that we be allowed to grieve our loss privately," the family said.

Services for Fishbein will be at 3 p.m Friday at Temple Emanuel, 51 Grape St., said Rabbi Steven Foster. The temple is at the intersection of East 1st Avenue and Grape Street.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said that Fishbein's death had taken one of the city's shining lights.

"Leslie Fishbein has been a surrogate sister to me for many years," said Hickenlooper. "While she will deservedly be remembered as a vital force in Denver's business and philanthropic communities, her vibrancy, warmth and humor are what her friends and family will miss most.

"Those of us who knew and loved her were better for it, and the City of Denver was a brighter place with Leslie in it," he said.

Joan Mazak, the president of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Colorado, said Fishbein, who chaired the foundation's gala in 2007, was a joy to work with.
"She is an absolute delight. She was energetic, easy to work with, bubbly and perky," said Mazak. "I think when Leslie committed to something, she really committed to it.

"She worked very hard for us," said Mazak, who said Fishbein vowed she'd raise money for the Make-A-Wish children and did exactly that.
"She was really a different type of person. She was going to follow it through," said Mazak.

Fishbein was well-known in the community and appeared frequently in television ads for her company, Kacey Fine Furniture. She was admitted to Presbyterian/St. Luke's Hospital for emergency treatment on March 4. She had been given an injection for chronic back pain and suffered a serious reaction, her friends said. She was later placed on life-support, which was removed March 7.

Fishbein exercised regularly and had been an avid horseback rider until she injured her back in a fall in September 2002. It was that injury which caused her chronic pain and for which she was seeking treatment Tuesday. After the injury, she gave up horses and took up golf with the same fervor.

Charles Goldstein, Fishbein's cousin, said that Fishbein will be remembered for her upbeat personality and zest for life.

"She always had a smile on her face. She was always laughing and having a good time," said Goldstein. "She never sat still and barely slept she had such a thirst for life and people."

He said that as they grew up together, if he ever had a down day and needed to talk, "she'd drop everything" and help him.
Hickenlooper said Fishbein and her father, Jack Barton, were his "unofficial mentors" when as a struggling young businessman he opened the Wynkoop Brewing Co. in downtown Denver more than 20 years ago.

The Wynkoop Brewing Co. went into the building that had been the main warehouse for Kacey Fine Furniture. Jack Barton was his first landlord, said Hickenlooper.

"Jack would come in and point out where we were slipping and falling down and so would Leslie," said the mayor. "Jack had three daughters and Leslie stepped in and took over his business. She was a natural businesswoman - savvy with numbers and a remarkable capacity for marketing and people."

"She had a very, very incisive wit," the mayor added. "She was very colorful, telling stories and anecdotes."

The mayor said he had "been kind of adopted into the (Barton) family" and Leslie was like a sister to him.

U.S. Senator Ken Salazar said that because of Fishbein's death, Colorado lost both a "generous citizen" and a "business pioneer."

"Leslie's work and vibrant personality will have a long-lasting impact on our community," said Salazar. "My thought and prayers are with Leslie's family and friends in this difficult time."
F
ishbein was born and raised in southeast Denver, graduating from George Washington High School and the University of Colorado, where she was admitted into the Phi Beta Kappa honors society.

In an interview with Blacktie-Colorado, she said her personal heroes were her father, mother and husband.

Asked what her greatest strengths are, she replied: "I am extremely energetic and I can lift more furniture pound for pound in high heels than most people can imagine!"

She said her most treasured possession was "my husband and my family."
She married Sam Fishbein 31 years ago. They have no children.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_8627092?source=rss