RE: what happened.
Cindylou and DShobbies,
Supposedly, it was my decision to have an ADR or a fusion (AlIF) at L5/S1, but my surgeon called me Sunday and told me he could not do an ADR.
Apparently, the surgery can be much more complicated than i realized with the scar tissue and if I had major complications, other doctors might have to be called in, etc...
The lovely people at you know who decided that i couldn't have an ADR, approved the ALIF reluctantly and told my doctor they would cover nothing related to the surgery if ADR was done. So that was an issue.
I had the hospital bill kind of taken care of and still my doctor was not comfortable doing the ADR.
So my choice came down to ALIF or nothing at all.
I could not undergo a surgery that is not the best surgery, according to my research and my doctor's opinion. Even if ADR and ALIF are comparable at L5/S1, there is still the issue of my SI Joints and the possibility of nonfusion and future surgeries. How could I do something that I may regret later on?
I am really upset, an understatement actually, but I was really caught between what I knew without a doubt was the optimum surgery (even though I could have problems from an ADR surgery, too) and a surgery i did not want if at all possible.
My husband talked to my surgeon Monday morning and the surgery was canceled.
I cannot stop crying. I feel better than i go down again. For whatever reason, my pain levels are way high. I am having trouble sleeping and I feel lousy.
I may lose weight, which is an upside, because my appetite for food is nil. I pray that something will break through, but it may take more than a year to even get approval.
The situation seems hopeless as I cannot work, go to school, drive, plan for the future, etc...
My back for whatever reason has decided it is in constant pain mode. Even laying down doesn't help. I probably will have to go up on pain meds, which i will discuss with the pain doc when i see him in two weeks. Maybe at that time, the back will have calmed down.
When/if I get approval, my doctor will do the ADR surgery.
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