Hello to you all tonite and Quietcook I hope you see this memo. I went to the second opinion today. As I sat there and talked to him for no more than 2 minutes he asked me questions and then preceeded to ask my why I had a second mri in the year 2000 after my first surgery> I was like well I guess my doctor wanted to make sure everything was fine. He went on to say that I should try pain management, physical therapy, etc and he didnt agree on the surgery. He said I had arthritic changes I was like yeah but the pain is unbearable I have tried all measures, and he didnt even look at my discogram reports or any of the films the recent ones. He brand in a spinal model and put it in my hand and then picked it up and walked out of the room> He said ask your doctor what the odds are of you having this fusion. I was like astonished when he tried to lift my leg up and I couldnt even lift it up.

You know how you get a bad vibe in the office with a doctor well I was getting it with him. And when I mentioned the other doctors name boy he got red in the face. I have had all my pre op stuff done and ready to go for Monday morning and my last appt with my surgeon on this Friday. Oh and by the way when I was paying my check the girl at the counter said between you me and the wall we get alot of (My doctor' ortho surgeon) patients in here. I was like no way I never heard anyone say they had a bad surgery by him. I did extensive work up and he has nothing against his medical practices. I said dont they talk to one another and she said oh no. The only thing I got out of today was I lost 30.00 copay and it seemed like this doctor was upset because he wasnt going to be doing the surgery and it definetly felt like he did not like my doctor, and then the girl thougth I was a new patient, when I told her no this was a second opinion only. The girl at the desk told me to try and get in with another second opinion neuro, I dont think so and I dont have the time. I am going with my ortho spine specialiest and I will ask him about this arthritis (he did tell me I had that too) but this pain is not going anywhere with drugs or physical therapy and I know that and I feel that my body cant take too much more of the pain. This second opinion doctor dosent think a fusion is going to help this pain of mine. Well only time will tell, and my faith with my doctor.

Any advice from you all and have you ever had a second opinion and had this happen to you? Please let me know and thank you...sorry it is so long.

:rolleyes:

Msmona,
I'm sorry that your second opinion was such a disappointment. I did take my daughter for a second opinion, but we had a much nicer experience than you did. My daughter's surgeons's office actually helped us get an earlier appt than we had. He supported my decision to get another opinion and told us to go with the dr we felt best with as long as we took care of her.

We were very lucky that both doctors agreed surgery was needed. They both had different ideas how they would do it, but would accomplish the same goal. We actually stayed with our original dr. We liked him and he was closer to us, but brought one final treatment idea back to him which we tried before surgery. We have also been very lucky that our dr spends as much time as we need with us.

Best wishes to you on Monday. cas

I am so sorry this happened to you. I may have missed the answer to this question, but why did you see a 2nd opinion if you arlready decided on surgery? Were you thinking of not having it if the 2nd Dr. did not think you needed it? I sure hope it all goes well for you and the surgery. I had a 2nd opinion by a Dr. just as bad. He says he still doesn't know why my Spine specialist did the origional fusion. He said w/ my Fibro. and other auto-immune disorders, I am not a canidate. He also said the films did not show any definate spondy. which would be the only reason he would consider surgery. He saw me for about 5 mins. and then asked me to walk across the room (5-8 steps) and said I could walk fine. End of conversation!

I am happy that you trust your spine Dr. That is the most important thing at this point. Good luck and keep us posted.

Lorie :angel:

msmona,

Sorry you had such a disappointing second opinion visit. Yes, some of my second opinion visits were terribly disheartening, when I had such varying opinions on my arm that was crushed. Thankfully, my second opinions on the back have not created such a disparity of opinion.

It is good that you have confidence in your first doctor and that he is a spine specialist. A second opinion can bring other options, but since this second doc does more than spine and spent so little time with you, I agree that I would not put a lot of creditability toward his opinion. Any doctor who does not review the materials you bring and also do a thorough exam to see exactly what your condition in, is not one you would want working on your back. Look at it positively that you know that this is one doctor you would not recommend as being thorough or of being attentive to his patients and one you would recommend to other as a good one to avoid!

If you were confident in your doctor before, then you are likely even more confident in him today. Now, even though no one looks forward to surgery, you are more sure of your decision, you see that the level of care your doctor is giving meets your needs a lot better than the neursurgeon, and you are better prepared for next Monday. Go through the pretesting and prepartion with a positive outlook that you are in good hands, look forward to feeling better very soon and talk to yourself about being so much better and ready for the spring weather, not so far away.

Know that you will be in our prayers, and that we look forward to hearing from you as soon as you can let us know how you are progressing. Best wishes!!!!

Thank you all my dear friends. Foster the reason I had wanted a second opinion was to make sure in my heart and mind this was the right thing to do. And on top of it all it did come late due to the office not getting my file together in time, so it kind of ran into all my preop appts. I had asked my doctor who suggested the fusion what could they do besides surgery he said nothing and then I asked him what would happen if I did not have surgery and he looked me in the eye and said you will get worse. Well I wonder what the worse really meant, and I believe something like end up not walking at all. I will have to have him explain that. He said it was bad in my back and didnt know how I was managing, he did not want me to go through pain management or PT again. He told me to just rest until the surgery day. That was two months ago. He did not refer me to this second opinion guy someone from my church did. All this second doctor did was get red in the face and tell me several times ask your doctor what the odds are of this helping your pain. And when I asked him about my neck exrays he said well it seems your back is the issue first. I was like I wanted the whole picture and he couldnt deliver it. Another thing I understood they thought I was coming in as a new patient, and I told them no this was only a second opinion. I just really felt he didnt like my doctor and he kinda got in my face a little bit and acted a little perturbed with me. Maybe when I told him what the other doctor said I would get worse if I did not do this surgery, his face got sooooooooo red and then he walked out the room with the spinal model in his hand. I dont know what his deal was, maybe he thought he lost out on money to do the surgery I dont know but I did not expect a second opinion to turn out that way. Maybe I should of stuck to a ortho second opinion. at this point its too late to get in with anyone else. Has anyone else had this experience with a second opinion doctor that says he wouldnt do surgery for my condition, thats where it makes me messed up a little bit but the pain assures me that no pt or pills can help this severe pain. Thank you all and look forward to hearing from you again. Quietcook how are you doing dear?

msmona,

Don't let the second doctor's attitude play with your mind. Fusion, even when I had two three levels done allowed me to fully function. The only thing I did differently was when lifting something from the floor, I had to put one leg out to the side or back in order to get down all the way for the lift. Other than that, I moved quite normally and carried on as I had before ever having back problems.

As I've related in many other posts, because you face this surgery, it does not necessarily mean that you will have more problems as I have had. Every individual is so different, just as our general health and life style is so different. Even though I was considered an analyst, I did lots of hard physical lifting all those years I worked with the Government, plus Fibromyalgia, asthma and all the steroids to allow me to breathe, arthritis and more and the meds to treat all the things made this body age a lot faster than some others might age. Your own outlook and intention to do well will carry you forth and play a major part in recovery, and dear I have no intention of being down and putting limits on what I can enjoy in this life if I can help it. Some fear the worse and it comes to them; I fear the worse and run like heck to make sure it doesn't catch me!!

Glad to say that at 13 months post op, and even in spite of my car being rear-ended at 70 MPH just over 2 months ago, my back is doing great. I've finished the PT following the wreck, finally have my car back with its good lumbar seats, and I am getting prepared to do some major work on my home. I believe that is an indication that I am doing quite well.

You take care, and if you are on arthritis meds, be sure that you speak with your doctor about those meds. Taking arthritis meds can prevent a fusion from curing. My spine specialist had me to take glucosamine/chondroitin instead of my naprosyn. It really does help, but not right away. However, some of my other joints are doing so much better that the doc's think I should stay on the glucosamine.

Be sure to let us know how you are doing as soon as you can. Best wishes.

Thank you Quietcook you are a blessing indded and an inspiration to me and alot of others on here. My appt with srgeon is on Friday this week and Monday is the big day. I know what you mean about the second opinion. I just really feel he was angry with the other doctor and that is not my problem. As they thougth I was a new patient I clearly stated several times that I was in for a second opinion only. Time will tell and I am handing it over the the man upstairs to watch over me and all the others who are scheduled for surgery in the upcoming week. God Bless You all and keep the posts coming, they are so helpful.

Love Mona