I have my first appointment with a spine specialist on Tuesday the 24th. My doctor and PT have suggested I see him due to increase in tingling in my left thigh and three of my toes with therapy. Although my back pain is not so severe, the tingle increases daily. I have 3 herniated disks at L5.

Ok here is the deal, you guys were so great with the information on my MRI and what I should be asking. Do you have any tips on what to be looking for and asking when I see him? I have been told that this doctor is one of the best but he is in and out of the room fast so you have to have your questions ready. Thanks for any info you can share. :angel:

Glad you are seeing a spine specialist, but I hope to goodness they aren't in and out of the room that fast. Hope you are taking any and all films whether regular x-rays, MRI, CT, etc and copies of the reports. This will help you not have to repeat tests and gives the new doc full information. If you PT has written anything for your current doc, get the PT to provide you a copy so you can take that as well.

If surgery has already been recommended, then yes, you will want to ask questions about the specific surgery, whether BMP will be used, will it be placed in cages, whether they will want you to wear a brace (many do, many do not), what other hardware will be used, will the hardware need to come out later, if so, at what point, is removing the hardware outpatient surgery, will you need to be off anti-inflammatories (if you take arthritis meds you will need to be off while the BMP fuses - if not, it won't fuse), how long before surgery you need to stop taking which meds you are currently taking, will you need things like a walker or potty chair and if so will the hospital order that through you insurance, how long you would be in the hospital, how long is the typical recovery from that surgery, following surgery, what is their practice concerning pain medications - ie do they stop patients from medicating at 6 or 8 weeks out or is medication available until they no longer need it for the pain, and will they continue treating throughout the recovery or do they sent you off to be managed by a PM doc.

There are probably others, but most of these should be answered during a comprehensive visit as the doc talks. They should ask you to get in a gown or paper shorts so they can see how you walk with the pain, to see what type of gait you have, to see how you stand - if one sided, etc., checking the alignment of the hips. They'll ask you to get on the table and should check your reflexes, then check strength in the legs and feet, much as the PT probably did on your first visit. They should have you get on your back and then stomach as they have you raise your legs to see how well you do with that, and on your stomach so they can check the alignment of the vertebrae.

Many of the specialist I saw when I was searching for mine didn't spend a significant amount of time because one, they failed to do a comprehensive exam themselves. Two, several didn't even glance at the films, and did only a cursory review of the reports before spouting their diagnosis and it was evident that even though they would address my questions, some were not real happy to have a patient who wanted to know! That's okay, because if that was their routine, they were so impressed with themselves, it failed to give me confidence that their reputation was built on actual successes, but on them touting their own horn. I will have to say though that of all those I went to, the neurosurgeon spine specialists were the worse about not looking at the films and that frightened me.

When I found my miracle doc in Nashville that has kept me walking and going strong, he was an orthosurgeon spine specialist. I was in the exam room over two hours and he was there almost the entire time. Got the comprehensive exam and evaluation. His assistant took notes as he looked at every film I'd brought, and he articulated what he was seeing on each film (I'd read the reports but didn't quite grasp all of it) and would point it out to me and explain what it was doing to me.

I had lots of questions, especially after becoming paralyzed under the previous doc, but he answered so many that when I looked at my list, the most significant, especially after he said he needed to redo the test that had paralyzed me, was concerning paralyzation, and if he agreed that fusion was needed, then what was I facing.

He answered me, but regarding the fusion, he said let's wait until the test was redone and we talked again next week. By that time I had several more specific questions, but again he addressed most as he went over the test results and discussed the pending fusion. He drew me a rough sketch of what he would do, and was blunt about how I would likely hate him a few weeks after I woke from the surgery because the hips would hurt worse than the back. He was graphic in saying how miserable I would be and didn't make it pretty at all, but said that once I began healing I'd be happy It was all done.

Although he is always busy, I've never had to feel like he was rushing out of the room. I usually do have to wait past my appointment time, as by answering patients questions he is rarely on the nose for timely appointments, but I'd rather have his caring and thoroughness than a doc who makes me feel like I'm not important enough for the time I am paying them for.

Best wishes that you will be seeing one as wonderful as I was blessed to find. If you don't feel he is the best for you and that there won't be a good line of communications, then keep looking. You will know when you have found the right one.

I have my first appointment with a spine specialist on Tuesday the 24th. My doctor and PT have suggested I see him due to increase in tingling in my left thigh and three of my toes with therapy. Although my back pain is not so severe, the tingle increases daily. I have 3 herniated disks at L5.

Ok here is the deal, you guys were so great with the information on my MRI and what I should be asking. Do you have any tips on what to be looking for and asking when I see him? I have been told that this doctor is one of the best but he is in and out of the room fast so you have to have your questions ready. Thanks for any info you can share. :angel:

:confused:
Three herniated discs at L5? There is only one disc per level.

I would want a doctor who takes the time to sit and talk it out. They are charging you for a full visit, right? Then you get a full visit. They come in levels. The lowest paid level is 15 minutes. I would at least want that. But, if you want longer, tell them when you book it and ask for more time. If you have a co-pay, it is the same whether you have a high level visit or a low level visit.

They have a habit of booking two or three people for the same time slot. I would be really specific that you want your full time and not feel rushed. Because, you are paying him, he is, at that moment, essentially, your employee.

Pain is nothing to mess around with. If your body continues to send out messages to your brain that you are in pain, which means that you have inflammation in your body, that upsets the heart. You need heart to live. So, it is better to take more time with your doctor and talk out everything and figure out how to stop the pain/inflammation, then to go in with a set number of questions and worry about taking his time and him getting in and out quickly.

:)

:wave: I would have my list of questions and sit between the doctor and the door, so that he would have to take the time to answer them or have to crawl over me to get out, ;) Valley