As someone in pain, kudos for going to school with the pain. I just finished a long, long 5 years of mechanical engineering school after I was injured at work. Kind of wish I would have went the RN way though, recently became very interested that there are several spine clinics that use NP ( nurse practioner) to help diagnose, treat, etc. spine patients. That would be right up my alley. It is a growing trend NP certified in orthopedics and from there deal with the spine. If I could do something like that I would at least feel I could use my exp. with spine for some good, instead of feel helpless.
As an avid athlete my younger years I to have had many injuries. But none relentless as spine pain and I have never seen doctors seem more helpless. I want doctors who are aggressive ( not necc. with surgury) with diagnosis. The try this wait, is neccessary ,but we have to suffer in the meantime. As I have said in the past, when I had thyroid cancer and went to MD anderson I saw a real hospital ran. It was like the movies, I was so confident in them. It was nothing for them to request a second opinion of their own findings and there was no interoffice problems doing it. My records were online so that any doctor, anywhere could access the tests and diagnosis. I often talked to my doctor over the phone also, had personal number!! It was a well oiled machine, my friend. And all I had was thyroid cancer, I just sat there and laughed about the fuss they were making about it, because it was crap compared to years in spine pain. ( no disrespect to the other cancers, they are much worse and its a different ball game).
I have never been to a back place like TBI( texas back institute), but if they are that way with the spine count me in.
Good luck with school.
PS. Strongly considering going to get RN degree myself, but I need to get to work. When they told me I would never make it doing pre-med, due to my past grades from when I was young, I should have thought about nurse practioner, but didn't.
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