January 11, 2011

Back to His Pain

....or maybe I should have written....he has a mess of back pain. I learned some interesting things the past 2 days.

If your husband wakes up and tells you that he cannot stand up straight and that his past back/leg pain is back again and you proceed to call your primary care physician......you may be told that they will not see you and you should now call an orthopedic specialist. If you then call  3 separate orthopedic specialist's and 2 tell you that they have no time for you, one might suggest that they will not see you and that you must go to a comprehensive pain specialist(or something?).  If you then google local pain specialists creating a list of phone numbers......you just might stay on the phone for hours, forgetting to brush teeth, eat food, or tend to children.

If after hours on the phone....and reading many really bad reviews....some even scary...you then decide to call your insurance company for suggested names......you just might be given a list that contains a doctor who is currently in prison for fraud.

After calling your insurance company back and explaining that each name led to a brick wall......you ask if a name that you just found (Dr. Martins) was "in-network". After being told that the doctor is indeed in-network....you might be told that he actually has 3 offices and numbers. After calling the first number you might be told that the office has never heard of Dr. M. When calling the 2nd number.....you just might be told that this is in fact.....Dr. Martino's office and not Dr. Martin's.....you might start to question the capability of your insurance company and start wondering......"if we now live near a huge, major city....why can we not find a simple in network doctor for our problem?".

But.....if you do happen to reach Dr Martino's office you just might start to wonder if the wild goose chase, phone glued to your ear drama happened just so you could find Dr Martino and not Dr Martins....but then you also might wonder if you really should be seeing Dr Martins and not Dr Martino?



(where his back is right now....same couch...different house)

After much confusion.....crying in pain from husband.....and thinking that we should just go to the emergency room and be done with this craziness.......you might decide to see Dr Martino after all. 

After appointment with Dr Martino....your husband just might be so glad to have oral steroids, pain med's and a scheduled MRI....that he can finally rest.  And after all that.....you might be ready for a glass of wine and 1lb of chocolate. Maybe.

12 comments:

R.M. Jackson said...

Ouch!

Skip the wine, you need a clear mind) :)

Tara said...

Whew!!! Why can't anything be simple anymore?? I hope Dr. Martino is a good one after all that run around!

carole said...

I love the style of this post. Sorry about the terrible confusion and run around, though! I see a future calling for your boys in back massage. :) haha

Sherry Gann said...

What a nightmare!
You are a very good wife.

More Than Words said...

Oh my!!! I'm just glad he was able to see someone, and get some meds in the meantime!!

really.truly said...

Thanks for you thoughts gals!

I think the pain med's are kicking in for him :)

Darcie said...

Back pain...one of the worse! I don't know if you do Chiro's at all, but I would send him to mine in a second...he has been a life saver for John! Hoping you find all the answers you need.

Unknown said...

I love your humor. Sometimes it takes that to keep us going...and a pound of chocolate...and some wine. :) Glad he's feeling better for the moment.

Serendipityissweet said...

Definitely!

My mom has been through 3 back surgeries in the past 2 years. Ugh! Back pain is awful.

How rotten that you got such a run around. I hope you find some real help soon!

These Are The Days said...

Wow. So sorry girl. It reminds me of what we otherwise refer to as 'the fall of 2001'. Kimball injured his knee, couldn't get surgery for at least a month...leading to horrible infection...leading to complications, hospitalization and 'Big Papa' on crutches for 4 months. Minus 40 pounds later he was able to "gimp" as I call it. Let's just say the phone was strapped to my ear for a good two weeks and we both found ourselves in tears a handful of times. The good news is, we learned a lot (about keeping savings) and we grew closer to God and eachother. Good luck my friend!! Keep us posted. :)

Anna said...

Wow! I feel so bad for your husband... and for you having to get the run-around like that!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry for Greg's back. Nothing is worse than back pain! Your blog post was hilarious though.

And nothing is worse than trying to find a doctor (a good doctor) and getting the run-around all.day.long. The information age is not so great after all.

And, just a tip, eat the chocolate and drink the wine WHILE doing your research and calling. And when all is said and done, reward yourself with some more wine and chocolate - or switch to something salty.

:)

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