Hi,
Last year I was hurt at work, I had to have my
L4 - L5- S1 fused and bone marrow replacing damaged bone, So I am stuck with Rods and screws in my back, I was so eager to return to work so after 3 months of rehab, I ask for more. So I started Work hardening program, Do the same stuff I do at work, ( alot of lifting ) After 3 weeks of that, I begged my therapist to stop, The pain was to much, The therapist acted like I wasnt in enough pain, They kept it going,I was getting so depressed day after day of pain, I called my surgeon and ask him for help, All he said is there isnt anything more he could do for me, So i went to see a Pain Dr. I told him I wanted to take the FCE ( funtional capacity exam ) so I can stop the pain, He just looked at all my records and said just keep up the work hardening for 3 weeks, Then take the FCE. I about blew up. Well I kept on going because I didnt want my work to think I didnt want to return, One day they had me lift 45 lbs 100 times in my 8 hour day, I got home that night and my back looked like some one hit it with a softball, Black and blue and red and swelled bad.I could hardly walk, I called my therapist, Told me to come in right away, They seen my back and stopped work hardening and told me they would do a FCE in 4 days, I went in for my Exam I felt great, Because I was on the couch relaxing for 4 days, They had me do all kinds of stuff, They had me lift 60 lbs
Yes 60lbs. My body just shut down, I was shaking breathing hard and dizzy. They told me to lie down and breath, I dont know what that was from, But My back started to hurt bad, I told them My back was hurting, They said its not that bad,,I was mad, Anyway, They stated I could lift 60 lbs and can return to work medium duty, Work hasnt called me back yet and Im scared if they do I wont be able to do anything, The pain clinic Dr said the same thing to me, He told me to look for other employment, Seems no one care's about my problem, Somthing is wrong, I have to sit down after 2 hours cause My back hurts,,I live in State College anyone know of any good Dr's around here that could help me ? Please respond,
Thank you very much :)

Hello Shawley

I had L4-L5 L5-S1 fused rods screws bone dowles the works, and with my capicites report my Dr said no more then 10 lbs and only occasionaly, I know i can't compare my situation to yours completly but I havent been back to any work for 9 years.

I think if i was you id get another opinion just to keep everyone honest i did that with all my Dr's

Hope this helped

hey shawly, who is your treating physician? i wonder if you could go to him and let him know that you have exacerbated the area. if you are given a hard time i would try and find a w/c atty. you know sometimes those docs are just trying to get you back to work even before you a ready. also you can if you are not happy with your treating physician now you can change it. you will have to fill out a w/c form Change Treating Physician. your adjustor may be able to help you get this. you should be taken off work if you are not ready to go back. all these things you have been through show that.
i went i think 8wks of work hardening/conditioning. oh how i remember that. its like you just want to get it over with. 6hrs a day :eek: it took me forever to finally end all the w/c stuff and get an impairment rating. i ended up going back to my job (at a chiropractor, crazy huh?) and was told that i might want to get another job. i was so furious especially after 6yrs. anyway after all said and done i worked for 2 more years at another docs office and went ahead and quiet due to the pain i was experiencing everyday. now i have applied for ss and just waiting on that.
by the way i live in austn, just thought i would mention that cause i saw that you live in college station.
well good luck, let me know if you have anymore questions and i will do my best to answer.

robin :D

Girl75

Thanks, I have been off work since Dec,2003 I live in PA. Near Penn State. The problem I am having now is, No spine Doctor's will see me because I had surgery, I actually had an appointment,The nurse called me to ask me questions about the Billing,,ect..ect.. Once I mentioned I had surgery, She said I am so sorry, There isnt anything we can do for you, This isnt the only doctor saying this, Now I am seeing a chiropractor,for my hip pain, I need relief some how, Work hardening really is hard, I never want to go through that again, My job duties are heavy lifting,Bending, twisting ect..
Im still a young pup, But this pain is dragging me down, My hair turned pepper in 2 years, I blame it on the pain, Im only in my 30's . Thanks for listening :)

morning shawly, i was just curious if your chiropractor took w/c. that was a majority of our pts when i worked at one. is there anything he can do for you?
can you change him to be your treating physician? the chiro i worked for was really knowledgable on all the w/c rules and the ins and outs of it all. its all a big mess and he would try and make sure that the pts got what they needed, even if he wasn't going to get paid for it all. to him their health is what mattered.
who is your treating physician meaning who is the first doc you saw and filed w/c with?
there just has to be away or do you think its all to late?
robin :D

HI,
I had microdisktomy in 2002, and have had nothing but problems since. I have nerve damage and drop foot. As a result of the drop foot my ankle gave out in dec. of 2003 and busted my ankle on both sides and dislocated my shoulder. I have plates and pins in ankle and wear a brace on my leg. I have an appt. with w/c I.M.E this thursday, I had one already and it said I cannot lift more than 8 lbs. and could not work a 3 hour day. Well I am sure the w/c drs. will have a different story when they get done. I know the fears you have, I also have them. For some reason w/c drs. think we can do things that we should not be doing. I cannot even vaccum my area rug without my back killing me. They want to do a spinal cord implant, but I will not allow it as when my ankle was operated on, I developed a blood clot in my lung. I am so afraid of any surgery, for fear I will have another blood clot. I have had therepy and shots in my back since the surgery. but nothing helps. I wish you all the luck and will write back after my IMe.
good luck
cookie

morning shawly, i was just curious if your chiropractor took w/c. that was a majority of our pts when i worked at one. is there anything he can do for you?
can you change him to be your treating physician? the chiro i worked for was really knowledgable on all the w/c rules and the ins and outs of it all. its all a big mess and he would try and make sure that the pts got what they needed, even if he wasn't going to get paid for it all. to him their health is what mattered.
who is your treating physician meaning who is the first doc you saw and filed w/c with?
there just has to be away or do you think its all to late?
robin :DGood morning Girl75, Yes my chiro took my comp, The guy used to be my employer's chiro. He told me some good horror stories about my company, He doesnt work for them anymore. I like the Dr. and he said he will talk to the ortho-spine specialist Friday, My surgeon that did my operation tells me there isnt anything he can do for me, I hope this Dr. will see me, By the way, The chiro is my wife's relative. 2nd cousin..Its funny huh ? Im crossing my fingers he gets me in, I need some pain Meds. Mostly at night my pain is at its worse. The Chiro said he might be able to give my hip and leg some relief. But he wont touch where my surgery was, The first Doctor I saw when I was injured was a goof. He wanted me to start therapy before my MRI. After he saw MRI, He told me to find a surgeon. So I never saw him again. Thanks for replies

HI,
I went for my I.M.E today, was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The other evaluation I had a couple of months ago was much into lifting and pulling, this one was the dr. was more interested in my leg with the drop foot. He did test with needle like roller to see if I could feel the pinching, but of course I did not. He also said I would have a very hard time getting to and from work due to the brace on my leg. I really dont know what he said to my caseworker, but she will fax me the report when she gets it. He was very nice for being a w/c dr. I brought reports from my other test from my emg and mri reports, so I have to wait and see what they come up with. I am glad it is over, i was kind of nervous, but the ride to his office was long so by the time we got there, I was pretty sore in some really back and hip pain. He also was measuring my legs and arms, with are both different sizes, due to the brace on my leg, it is much smaller and weaker. So like I said I am glad it is over. Now we wait and see what happens.
Hope everyone has a nice night.
cookie

:eek: :eek: Dear Shawley, What are you doing to yourself? This is absolutely ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!! Go to a Neuro Surgeon and take all your records from the other stupid doctor and bring w/you all your MRI'S and therapy records and ANY and ALL records you can find. Take it to the new NEURO!!!!! Then
let him see what they are doing to you and then next get on the phone and call a lawyer and tell him your story, one that will take your case Pro-bono
or 1 who will take it with no chg to you unless you win. If all this is true no lawyer would turn you down. Call the Medical Board and turn that *** in and the BBB and there are other places too that they will tell you about. You have a great case and don't waste any time doing this. I have been thru all this for 15 years... you can read my bio and replys. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!!
The old surgeon and all the other's that treated you have to give you copies.
GET IT ON GIRL!!!!! DON'T WASTE ANY MORE TIME AND YOU NEED SOME PAIN MEDS. BE STRONG YOU CAN DO IT. CHECK OUT THE YELLOW PAGES
AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL THEM EVERYTHING ...JUST GET A GOOD ONE.

I'M BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY GIRL...THIS MAKES ME SICK..THEY HAVE LAWS ABOUT THESE THINGS SO GET IT ON :bouncing:

DEB!!! :wave: :wave: :wave:

:eek: :eek: Dear Shawley, What are you doing to yourself? This is absolutely ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!! Go to a Neuro Surgeon and take all your records from the other stupid doctor and bring w/you all your MRI'S and therapy records and ANY and ALL records you can find. Take it to the new NEURO!!!!! Then
let him see what they are doing to you and then next get on the phone and call a lawyer and tell him your story, one that will take your case Pro-bono
or 1 who will take it with no chg to you unless you win. If all this is true no lawyer would turn you down. Call the Medical Board and turn that *** in and the BBB and there are other places too that they will tell you about. You have a great case and don't waste any time doing this. I have been thru all this for 15 years... you can read my bio and replys. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!!
The old surgeon and all the other's that treated you have to give you copies.
GET IT ON GIRL!!!!! DON'T WASTE ANY MORE TIME AND YOU NEED SOME PAIN MEDS. BE STRONG YOU CAN DO IT. CHECK OUT THE YELLOW PAGES
AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL THEM EVERYTHING ...JUST GET A GOOD ONE.

I'M BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY GIRL...THIS MAKES ME SICK..THEY HAVE LAWS ABOUT THESE THINGS SO GET IT ON :bouncing:

DEB!!! :wave: :wave: :wave:Hi Deb, I do have a lawyer, My lawyer set me up with a Neuro and they called and was asking me questions and I told them I had surgery last year, And they said sorry we cant do anything for you, That wasnt the only Dr. office who said that either, I might be gettin closer to a orthopedic spine specialist visit, I'm praying anyway, Oh yeah, Im male by the way, :rolleyes: But thats ok, Im glad you responded :) Where are your threads ? I would like to read them. Thanks