Briarrose update

[Susie*Bee]

Thanks for posting, Shell! I was about to PM you, as I was feeling concerned. It sounds like all is going well now-- so glad he changed you back to the percocet. (And I KNOW you are too!)

Don't worry too much about the shoulder discrepancy right now, but do work at it a little when you feel up to it. It takes awhile for all those muscles to re-learn where they should be aligned, as they've had years of doing their thing based on your former curve. My physical therapist had me look in the mirror and try to get the "feel" for what was correct. At first it felt like I was over-correcting, even when I wasn't. That's why the mirror is good-- it tells no lies. After awhile it started feeling right. Keep in mind that I didn't even start with that therapist until I was about 6 months post-op. I'm sure it would have helped to notice that sooner, but it didn't happen-- and no one pointed out that I was a little off. (It wasn't much, just a little...)

Your new measurement is terrific! You must feel so great about it all-- and all the progress you've made in such a short time. Keep up the hard work! Hugs, Susie

[ca-native]

My shoulders are still uneven but I'm going to try to work on that in a month or so. I had that side shift to the right before which is now gone, but now I'm kind of shifted to the left. I hope this goes away.

Shell

Hi Shell,

My daughter's shoulder did exactly the same thing after surgery - pre-op her right shoulder was higher then post-op the left shoulder went higher. She is now three months post-op and the left shoulder is now more even with the right shoulder - the doctor said it could take up to nine months for the shoulders to even out as the back muscles adjust to the spine's new position.

I had to smile a little when I read your sentence about the shoulder. I contacted Pam (txmarinemom) in a panic right after my daughter's surgery about the same thing and she reassured me that it was ok - and as usual, she was right!

Best wishes during your recovery,

[titaniumed]

Hi Shell

Everybody has covered just about everything. You need to stop falling down. You dont want any surprises at the Drs office here in the future.

If you are taking opiates, watch your bowell movements. You should go every day. If you miss a day, on day 2 it becomes a bigger problem. I had morphine constipation and had to drop a bomb (x-lax). believe me, that was excruciating! Eat cereals with grains, and fruits to keep things going. Refrigerated canned pears works good also, and soothes the throat.

You will need protein, get some roast beef for sandwiches and some whey protein powder(vanilla)to help build your muscles. Protein smoothies you can wing, 2 scoops of protein powder, 1/2 cup low fat milk, 1 banana,20 blueberries,10 strawberries,10 rasberries,15 almonds,1 yougurt, 1/2 apple, blend for 3 minutes,tastes real good and is real good for you. Lotsa sugars.

Buy your berries frozen, its easier.

Your body is working overtime right now. It needs energy and sleep and a lot of it!

Get some good vitamins also. Keep a daily diary of what you do and what you take and bowell and sleep times.

Good luck
Ed

[Peachy]

Hi Shell,

I'm so glad your recovery is moving along so much better now! I've been away for a while, but now have been catching up on your progress. Hope everything just goes great for you from now on!

Ed,

Thanks for posting your recipe for Protein Smoothies. Sounds yummy! I copied the recipe to keep in my kitchen so it'll be handy after my surgery later this year.

Peachy

[Suzy]

Shell,
I have to tell you this patience IS one of the toughest parts of this recovery. I am SO not the lay around the house type. I was so impatient and wanted to do so much I drove myself crazy. I also wanted to start P.T. sooner then My DR. wanted me to. I had to force myself to take it easy. Sound like any one you know?? HMMM, Shell? The days will pass soon enough and you will be able to grocery shop, clean, cook and do laundry again, wondering while you are at it "what was the big hurry to get back to this?" LOL. Stay off the floor, it might need to be mopped! All my best.


Ed,
WHAT the heck do you mix all that in? Cement mixer? That is a HUGE recipe! LOL! I do protein shakes all the time and couldn't possibly fit all that in my blender..... It does sound good though.

[titaniumed]

My blender noise is probably about 100 db. A jet engine at the airport is about 100 decibels of sound. When company is over and I fire it up, ALL comunication stops! I get a kick out of it.

When I throw a large frozen strawberry in, I might as well have tossed stones in there!

You might pick up a unit like this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsTCUUkKsr4

Ed

[ladare]

Ed,

That youtube click is hysterical...thanks for the laugh!

[briarrose]

It's good to know that being semi-crooked after surgery is normal. Thanks for the reassurance everyone.

I'm feeling better for the most part, but I feel like I'm recovering more slowly than I should be. I am making progress, it's just not very noticeable at this point.

Now I'm having insurance company problems which has got me so worked up. We thought everything was covered 100% but now it looks like we're going to owe well over $10,000 which we can not afford at all. I don't know what to do. I need to get my head and thoughts together so I can work on fighting this. For some reason, the surgical monitoring isn't covered ($5000) and my brace isn't either ($850) even though I have a letter saying it was pre-approved. I have a letter stating the surgery was pre-approved as well so I don't get why we have to pay. I'm also gathering that the hospital I was at was out of network even though I researched it beforehand and it was in-network then. I'm so frustrated and overwhelmed. Does anyone know where I should start with all of this?

Thanks,

Shell

[Singer]

Shell, be sure to question all of your bills with polite but persistent phone calls before you pay anything. In my case, the hospital mistakenly billed me for several procedures without submitting the bill to insurance first, because there wasn't always the greatest communication between departments. If the bill comes from your insurance company and still seems high, you can appeal it. I spent a lot of time on the phone in the months following surgery.

Also, about recovery -- it takes most adults AT LEAST 3 months to start feeling human again. People who bounce back into life more quickly than that are the exception, not the rule. You should be doing a lot of laying around and taking short walks at this point and that's it.

[Susie*Bee]

Sorry about the insurance problems. Shell. Singer, is right-- you will have to be polite but persistent in finding out what's going on... and don't hesitate to be aggressive -- you have a letter proving that your brace had been approved. Now is not the time to play the nice guy and back down-- which you well realize, because of the amount of money at stake, in both situations. A few months after my surgery we got billed from the hospital for the full amount of my 10 day stay-- something like $180,000.00-- an amount we could NEVER have come up with. Believe me when I say my heart dropped down into my stomach (well, sort of) and the world seemed to stop for a few seconds... Our insurance said we had NOT been pre-certified, the hospital had said the surgery was canceled, etc., etc., but we had all the paperwork to show we did and it hadn't (obviously!) been canceled. So all was well eventually. So take a deep breath and prepare yourself for an unexpected challenge.

Chris also said it well about giving yourself time to recover. I know you are young, but it still will take awhile. PM people like vndy, nzgirl, rosie1108, etc., who had surgeries back in December. They'll tell you it took them awhile too. If you push yourself too hard, you probably won't progress any quicker (and could possibly make it worse?) than if you take it at the pace your body is indicating it needs. Listen to your body rather than your mind. I know it's hard, when you want to be doing more things... Hugs, Susie

[Suzy]

Hi Shell,

I think you could push the surgical monitoring being covered if the insurance company knows the surgeon ordered it. Mine didn't even know what the monitoring was for untill I contacted them and told them it was mandatory for this type of surgery. It wasn't a luxury item! I hate to tell you this but I spent months getting my stuff covered. You will have a new career doing this. I JUST received notice of payment to the DR. who did my disco gram in Jan 2006! Can you believe that? As for your progress being not very noticeable you might try jotting down the things you are able to do every couple of days. As you look back you will see the progress you have made. It is really tough to remember the small accomplishments but they do all add up.


Ed, That cracked me up! So will I see one of those at your house when I come over for a margarita?

[briarrose]

Thanks Chris, Susie, and Suzy! I guess most people have insurance issues after surgery. It seems like insurance companies try to get away with whatever they can. I'm really worried about the out-of-network thing. The website lists the hospital as a provider so I assumed it was in-network. My surgeon was in-network and he only does surgery at one hospital, so shouldn't that be in-network too? If the hospital is out-network, I'm pretty much done for. I need to stop worrying and just fight the fight starting Monday. I have all of my info/papers in order and I'm prepared to call Monday morning. This doesn't sound like it's going to be easy, but if it means saving thousands of dollars, it'll be worth the fight.

Thanks again for your encouragement. It's nice to know others have gone through similar situations.

Shell

[briarrose]

I just figured out the insurance problem. The hospital I went to was in-network. Everything I had done at the hospital (MRI, x-rays, CAT scan, etc.) are all listed as different places (for example- Radiology of the Mainline) that is not in-network. Do you think this can be easily remedied since everything was done at the hospital? I received a copy of the bill from the hospital ($280,000!) and my insurance company rejected it asking for an itemized bill which then showed all of the different names. Would calling the hospital and asking them to resubmit everything using the hospitals name instead of the other names solve the problem? I have a little bit more hope now.

Shell

[debbei]

Shell,

If your hospital is in-network, I think you have a good argument for having those services covered as in-network. It's not like you could ask while you were laying there on a catscan table--oh excuse me, Mr. Radiologist, do you take my insurance? This stuff is ridiculous. I had some similar problems when my hubby had surgery about 5 years ago, and the charges ended up being covered after all.

Good luck, and let us know what happens. Like someone else said, do not, NOT ever just pay these bills. You have to argue your point with these insurance companies & providers.

[titaniumed]

There is always the insurance commisioner. There is one for every state.
Look them up online.