September 9th surgery

[mabeckoff]

That's great Melissa! I hope your successes keep coming.

Thanks I am off to PT this morning. 8am what a way to start the day. However, I did sleep fairly well last night which makes 2 in a row, I do have an appt with the new fibro Dr , but not until May7th. I spoke to Dr Bederman about getting me in any earlier but he said that they are very busy as one of the doctors in the
department recently left. So I will have to wait

Take care and thanks for the good wishes.They mean so much to me

[mabeckoff]

Hello, I spoke to my PT and he has adjusted the schedule so I will have the TENS in the beginning and the massage at the end.Thanks for the suggestion. My new fibro doctor's office called and I now have an appt in March.

[loves to skate]

Melissa,
It sounds like things are looking up for you. I think of you often and say a little prayer.
Sally

[mabeckoff]

Melissa,
It sounds like things are looking up for you. I think of you often and say a little prayer.
Sally

Thanks Sally. I do feel like things are looking better for me. I just wish that I could get my right shoulder fixed but I do not have the surgeon's appt until Feb 16. I , also, need my fibro to get under control but that is not happening any time soon

[JenniferG]

Hi Melissa, I've been away a few days and am so glad to come back and read you sounding happier and more positive. The PT changes sound excellent and roll on March!

[mabeckoff]

well, I am having trouble with my right side, mostly my hand. So Dr Bederman wants them to work on neck, back, legs and give the shoulder/hand a break. I no
longer can hold my cane in my right hand . I wonder if my rotator cuff is getting worse?

[JenniferG]

I hope this is just a minor setback, though another setback must seem huge to you given how many you've had. Dr. B. is probably right, it just needs a little break. Sometimes the physio makes things worse for a while before they begin improving. Plus it could be upsetting your fibro.

[mabeckoff]

I hope this is just a minor setback, though another setback must seem huge to you given how many you've had. Dr. B. is probably right, it just needs a little break. Sometimes the physio makes things worse for a while before they begin improving. Plus it could be upsetting your fibro.

Thanks Jennifer . I do feel sometimes that I go forward and then backwards

[mabeckoff]

PT - how to use my days

I have called BCBS and found out that I have 50 days of out patient coming to me. I have used about 6-8 already. I am going 3X a week. It is looking like I will be having my right shoulder surgery as I have more pain there and loss of being able to do things with my right hand. Should I go 2X a week to conserve my days?
Suggestions are welcome
Thanks

[rohrer01]

Melissa,

I would talk to your PT about it. If they are doing things with you that you can not do on your own, then you may have to keep going. But if they are giving you stretches or exercises that you are able to do at home, then you could easily cut down the number of PT visits. RC surgery does require a bit of PT. I've had a couple of friends that have had that surgery. You might consider talking to your doctors about it as well. Because of the nature of the situation, BCBS might extend the number of PT visits you can get IF it is medically necessary. I had a doctor once during one of my pregnancies that wanted home monitoring for preterm labor. This was not covered by my insurance. I was also not gaining weight and he wanted me to drink Ensure every day for weight gain. This was also not covered. So the doctor himself called the insurance company and told them that if they didn't cover those things that he would hospitalize me for the duration of my pregnancy. My insurance did a very quick about-face! So, if your doctor threatens them with hospitalization for the necessary treatments, they may extend your PT visits to more than 50. I hope my little story helps!

Rohrer01

[mabeckoff]

Melissa,

I would talk to your PT about it. If they are doing things with you that you can not do on your own, then you may have to keep going. But if they are giving you stretches or exercises that you are able to do at home, then you could easily cut down the number of PT visits. RC surgery does require a bit of PT. I've had a couple of friends that have had that surgery. You might consider talking to your doctors about it as well. Because of the nature of the situation, BCBS might extend the number of PT visits you can get IF it is medically necessary. I had a doctor once during one of my pregnancies that wanted home monitoring for preterm labor. This was not covered by my insurance. I was also not gaining weight and he wanted me to drink Ensure every day for weight gain. This was also not covered. So the doctor himself called the insurance company and told them that if they didn't cover those things that he would hospitalize me for the duration of my pregnancy. My insurance did a very quick about-face! So, if your doctor threatens them with hospitalization for the necessary treatments, they may extend your PT visits to more than 50. I hope my little story helps!

Rohrer01

Good idea. The BCBS Rep suggested that I go to in house rehab after surgery so as not to use up my outpatient days. On Feb 16, when I have my appt, I will
talk to the doctor. He is not Dr Bederman . I have been told that he is the exact opposite of Dr Bederman which does not make me happy so I will have to see
if I will have the surgery with him or use someone else. Tomorrow I will also talk to the PT after this number of days situation and see what they suggest

[mabeckoff]

Good idea. The BCBS Rep suggested that I go to in house rehab after surgery so as not to use up my outpatient days. On Feb 16, when I have my appt, I will
talk to the doctor. He is not Dr Bederman . I have been told that he is the exact opposite of Dr Bederman which does not make me happy so I will have to see
if I will have the surgery with him or use someone else. Tomorrow I will also talk to the PT after this number of days situation and see what they suggest

Well, I talked to my PT and he agreed that we should go down to 2X now in order to save my days for my shoulder surgery.

[JenniferG]

Sounds reasonable. How are you feeling overall, Melissa?

[rohrer01]

Let us know how your appt goes with the shoulder ortho. Maybe he won't be as bad as they say.

[titaniumed]

Hi Melissa

I think I went every 2 days for a week, then every 3 days, then once a week for my arm. It was 5 months total. You can do the arm exercises at home in between sessions. Walking the wall is one of them where you use your fingertips and walk and stretch up a wall and lift your arm.

The PT sessions with the hot and cold packs felt good. Don’t get too used to it, you will want to go everyday.

After about 4-6 weeks, they will probably put you on the arm bike. That’s the one exercise that really helped out my upper back. If a patient elects not to do PT for scoli surgery, they would never know about this. It will toughen up your paraspinal’s in your thoracic area.

Do not judge this doctor, you have never met him. Besides, I never saw my arm surgeon after my decision to have the arm done. There was no reason to. These arm surgeons do 5 arm surgeries per day, they just line them up and bang them out. After what you have been through, this will be a piece of cake.

Ed