Hi everyone,
My name is Andy, and I am newly diagnosed as being disabled. I have
my court hearing next Tuesday, the 9th, and I am hoping that my
lawyer is going to be able to get this over with. I originally
applied in March of 2001, when I couldn't find a Dr. that was willing
to treat me properly, and there was no way I was going to be able to
work without proper care. After being turned down twice in 3 months,
I hired this lawyer, who has turned in to a royal pain in the rear. I
hope his attitude will be a plus, he did say in the initial meeting
with me that he only takes cases he knows he can win since that is
all he does. Again, I hope that next Tuesday will be the end of this.
NOW, about me, I am a 34 year old who lives in Chicago right now, but
will be moving to the Ft. Lauderdale area in the next year, depending
on the outcome of the hearing. I was diagnosed in 1999 with a
buldging disc at the L5/S1 level. I was referred to a Pain Management
Dr at the Hospital my Primary Care Dr was at, and I started getting
injections. They did not help. After a year, October 2000, I had a
Lamenectomy(sp?) and that too, did not work. I was still in pain, but
at least I was able to work while taking Vicoden ES, or Vicoprofen.
The pain continued to get worse, I had more injections and all it did
was keep me on the thin line with where I worked. I had to get an
injection every 2 weeks, for 4 months, and missed 2 days of work each
time. On January 1 2001, I slipped on my front stairs and went down 7
steps, and that was a week in the hospital with fractured ribs,
hairline fractured shoulder, and of course, my back. What a way to
start off the New Year. My partner and I decided that we were going
to move to Florida, where the only Ice we encountered was in a
glass.LOL. He transferred down to a position with his company in
Tampa, but we lived in St. Pete because we had friends that lived
there. It was a little town called Gulfport, on the southern end of
St. Pete. I started seeing a PM Dr there, and was diagnosed with
Arachnoiditis, which explained the pain all the time. There are alot
of contradicting opinion's on "A", but the Dr I was seeing believed
that "A" is chronic, so I was finally treated right. The med's,
however, interfered with my job, and I was let go due to "economic
adjustments in the work place". Living in a small town, and having
one car, it was very hard to find a job. I was let go in July of
2001, and my partner and I decided in September 2001 to move to Ft.
Lauderdale because there seemed to be more jobs available there. I
started seeing another Dr, who sent me to a surgeon, who, of course,
said I needed a fusion at the L5/S1 level. I should have gotten a 2nd
opinion, but I wanted the pain to stop.
***************Let me say that I am sorry this is so long, but we are
about 1/2 way thru, and it is 2 hours since I started because I can't
sit here for more than 20 min at a time.********************

Anyway,The Surgeon said he was going to put a cage, and a rod with
screws. I had operation on October 9, 2001 and it was suppose to be 4
hours long, but it turned out to be an 8 & 1/2 hours. Apparently,
there was so much scar tissue built up in the space that he could not
insert the cage, and he had to use 2 rods with screws. He also
claimed that he packed bone in the area where it would fit, but there
is NO indication that he did this. I had no other scars that would be
from where the bone was taken from, usually the hip or thigh from
what I was told, but I might be wrong. After the surgery, I was in so
much pain, and it only subsided a little. In December, I still hurt
so much, but was told that it could take up to 6 months before I was
pain free. What a concept, pain free, something I have not been in
years. My partner couldn't get a job because of how much he made in
his last job. When he transferred to Florida, his salary was kept the
same, which was above the scale in Florida by about 2 dollars an
hour. I could not work, and he was not working, so we decided to move
back to Chicago in December 2001 where our family is. I went thru the
run around of finding a Dr again, and finally found one. In Feb.
2002, I found a Dr that by April, had me on 500 mg of MSContin, and
MSIR for BT, as well as a load of neuro meds, and anti depressants.
Because of an insurance glich, he was not getting paid, and stopped
seeing me. I had to be hospitalized in Sept 2002 for withdrawal. I
have to cut this short, (about time huh?) so I will say I am seeing
a great Dr here in Chicago, and am going to have a morphine pump put
in. I am now on Oxycontin, 160mg a day, with Percocet 10/650 for BT,
as well as 6 other meds for neuro problems, anti-depressant's, and
muscle relaxants. I finally have a little more control over my life,
and what I can do, and I haven't had that since the surgery. It was
also discovered that the surgery in Ft. Lauderdale in 2001 was
botched. There was no bone packed in the area, he used the rods and
screws to do the job, and, he did not snap off the heads of the
screws, so they are sticking into my muscle. I had the surgeon's
office send me ALL paperwork for my lawyer, and there is no
notation's of this at all. The only proof I have is my partner's,
since he was in the office when this was explained to me, and he
might be considered objective. A surgeon I saw here in Chicago told
me that the risks outweighed the benefits of going back in the
correct this. So, currently, I have been diagnosed with
Arachnoiditis, DJD, failed back syndrome, intractable pain, permanent
nerve damage, partial loss of the use of my left leg, and Disabled.

That is my story, and I am truly sorry it was this long. We want to
get back to Florida because I do better in warmer weather, and now my
partners Mom, who has just been recently divorced, wants to move with
us. It is a good thing we get along so well, or it would be a very
bad Idea. It might be a bad idea anyway, but we live with her now,
and there are so few problems that I am not worried about it.

Thank you for reading this, I did not mean to bore anyone, but I
wanted to be as accurate as I could be. The meds I am on make me
forget things, and it is good to get it out so I do remember, even
though I am reminded everyday with a pain scale of no less than 7 on
a good day.

I am interested in making new friends, if I haven't scared you all
off, so please feel free to e-mail me at ampain247@...

Thank you again,
Andy