- Mar 25, 2008
- 5,522
- Boat Info
- 2006 Sea Ray 58 DB
- Engines
- MAN CRM V8-900s, Twin Disc Drives; Onan 21.5 Generator
10 weeks ago, I came down with what I thought was just sciatica. When it didn’t go away in about three weeks I went to the orthopedic surgeon. He provided the “Classic“ treatment plan:
1. Medications
2. Physical Therapy
3. MRI
4. If necessary, surgery
1. He prescribed meloxicam for the pain, and gabapentin to reduce the sensitivity of the nerves. Neither one did any good other than just plain old Aleve.
2. With each physical therapy visit, my pain got worse. After the sixth visit, he scheduled an MRI.
3. MRI found that I had arthritis in my spine, spinal stenosis, and bulging discs, with the L5 – S1 ruptured.
4. Orthopedic surgeon wanted to do immediate surgery on L5 – S1, with three days of hospitalization, and a 90 day recovery wearing $1000 back brace 24/7. Then another three day hospital visit for spinal fusion, with 90 days in the back brace again.
Susan did some research and found the Bonati Spine institute in Hudson Florida, about three hours north of us from Fort Myers. They have been providing alternates to orthopedic surgery for 30 years, with a 99.5% success rate. They do it on an outpatient basis with a local anesthetic and “conscious anesthesia”. We chose this option.
I was awake the entire time for each of the four procedures - 1 per disc. They began at the top: my L2 – L3 disc, then L3 – L4, then L4–L5, and then the worst one, L5 – S1. One procedure per day. When they finished the fourth procedure I had no nerve pain. I still have full numbness from my left knee down to the bottom of my foot, which they say will go away in about a week.
It’s expensive, $25,000 per procedure, and it’s out of network on my insurance, so we’ll see if they’ll pay anything. it really doesn’t matter, as I have relief from the pain.
As soon as I get my nerves back below my left knee I’ll be able to walk without a cane.
They have a great website you can read through – it provides a lot of information. You can send them a recent MRI, and they will do a full consultation with you over the phone for free.
So far so good for me and I’ve avoided two painful surgeries with the subsequent 180 days total recovery.
1. Medications
2. Physical Therapy
3. MRI
4. If necessary, surgery
1. He prescribed meloxicam for the pain, and gabapentin to reduce the sensitivity of the nerves. Neither one did any good other than just plain old Aleve.
2. With each physical therapy visit, my pain got worse. After the sixth visit, he scheduled an MRI.
3. MRI found that I had arthritis in my spine, spinal stenosis, and bulging discs, with the L5 – S1 ruptured.
4. Orthopedic surgeon wanted to do immediate surgery on L5 – S1, with three days of hospitalization, and a 90 day recovery wearing $1000 back brace 24/7. Then another three day hospital visit for spinal fusion, with 90 days in the back brace again.
Susan did some research and found the Bonati Spine institute in Hudson Florida, about three hours north of us from Fort Myers. They have been providing alternates to orthopedic surgery for 30 years, with a 99.5% success rate. They do it on an outpatient basis with a local anesthetic and “conscious anesthesia”. We chose this option.
I was awake the entire time for each of the four procedures - 1 per disc. They began at the top: my L2 – L3 disc, then L3 – L4, then L4–L5, and then the worst one, L5 – S1. One procedure per day. When they finished the fourth procedure I had no nerve pain. I still have full numbness from my left knee down to the bottom of my foot, which they say will go away in about a week.
It’s expensive, $25,000 per procedure, and it’s out of network on my insurance, so we’ll see if they’ll pay anything. it really doesn’t matter, as I have relief from the pain.
As soon as I get my nerves back below my left knee I’ll be able to walk without a cane.
They have a great website you can read through – it provides a lot of information. You can send them a recent MRI, and they will do a full consultation with you over the phone for free.
So far so good for me and I’ve avoided two painful surgeries with the subsequent 180 days total recovery.
