Bad news from the Doctor

[Macs]

I have been having back trouble for the last 5 - 6 years. Finally i went to a specialist and after all the X-rays they told me i am in Stage 3 degeneration. I am on the border line for back surgery. The Doctor suggested i go see a Chiropractor to maybe keep from having surgery. So i went to the Chiropractor and she is pretty certain that after 2 - 3 years of treatment i will not need surgery if i followed her orders. Of course her first order is to sale all my atv's dirtbikes and trikes. She said riding is history for me. As much as i hate that, she probley is right. Then she handed me a big fat bill. For 2 years of work it is over $10000. She wants half of it down. I contacted my insurance and they will only contribute $500... Argggg!!!! I have $52 in my checking account ( just payed my wifes first Tuition at UH) So i will probly have to sale a few things. All of this could not have came at a worse time.

[ATC-Eric]

Man that sucks. Real sorry to hear.

Good luck to you.

[Dammit!]

Get another chiropractor. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to pay for each visit as you go. Paying up front for services not yet rendered seems pretty shady to me.

Edit: by the way, I've had mild back trouble since I was eighteen and working out the abs always helped tremendously. Strongs abs takes a lot of the pressure off the spine. You'd be amazed at what 3 minutes each day of crunches can do and the movement is easy since your not doing a full sit up.

[firehart]

Most of the doctors we see are getting that way too. They want all the insurance forms filled out in triplicate with our deductable upfront. Needless to say, we don't go to the doctors like we should. I stopped taking my blood thinners and just take an aspirin a day and my wife only tests her blood when she feels bad.

[cody2]

Thats why i feel great to be canadian, what a total bummer. What kind of surgery are they going to perform on you? Like, what are they going to do back there?

[bear]

Barry
First off, I'm new to the boards. Sorry to hear about your back also.
But, I am a chiropractor. Been in bussiness for 20yrs. and have a post doctoral in sports medicine. without seeing your imageing it will be somewhat difficult to coment on types of treatment but my opinion from what you have saidis that up front payment is a big no no. I don't do it and don't refer to any drs that do. IT's BS. After 20 years of practice I can still not look at a case and tell a patient how much a coarse of treatment will cost, especially if insurance is involved. Feel freeto pm me if you want. But check out another chiro. we're not all wing nuts.

[Macs]

Barry
First off, I'm new to the boards. Sorry to hear about your back also.
But, I am a chiropractor. Been in bussiness for 20yrs. and have a post doctoral in sports medicine. without seeing your imageing it will be somewhat difficult to coment on types of treatment but my opinion from what you have saidis that up front payment is a big no no. I don't do it and don't refer to any drs that do. IT's BS. After 20 years of practice I can still not look at a case and tell a patient how much a coarse of treatment will cost, especially if insurance is involved. Feel freeto pm me if you want. But check out another chiro. we're not all wing nuts.

I got an idea, why dont i fly up there and let you take care of me. Hell, i will even throw in a trike or two.......Just joking.

the money upfront thing i really dont like. She came very highly recommended from several co workers. When she first came up with the plan i told her that i cant afford that. Her remark was " you work for Mustang right? ". Which i a very big and well paying engineering firm. So i think that she thinks i have tons of money. Anyway, she has talked to my insurance so when i go in today she suppose to have a new plan for me. In the mean time my wife is calling around about diffrent places payment procedures. I really dont understand why i cant pay each time i go.

[bear]

whats your zip down there? spent acouple of years working for a group that took care of cowboys on the prca circuit,maybe Ican find you a hook up.
The lumbar degeneration thing isn't the kiss of death all the time. My riding buddy is post surgucal on 2 discs in his low back and he rides a hardtail most of the time.

[Macs]

I am in 77536 but work in houston. I am not sure of the Zip.

I think you might have saved me from a scam. I started reading http://www.chirobase.org/17QA/index.html right after i saw your message. Almost everything she has said falls inline with what they say here. Especially " signing contract for future services" They also say on here and like you said, that there is no way of telling before hand how long i will need to go. Bear, if you could find me a good honest hook up that would be great.

[bear]

here ya go bro

John Nash 713-680- 8166

Older dude, met a few times has a pretty sweet sports med set up
very well respected in the profession

Dana harper 713-622 3456( i think)

Don't know this doc but has some pretty impressive credentials

see whats up with these two and let me know. both are in houston.

Any doc you see should be tryin' to fix you as quick as possible and keep you out of their office as long as possible before you need to come back.

[Macs]

thank you very much

[bear]

any time dude. keep everyone posted

How did you get so banged up? takes a number of years to get into that realm of degeneration. you an old guy like me?

[Macs]

No i am 28, will be 29 on thursday..... The DR asked me the same question. Wanted to know if i have been in any bad accidents etc etc... He said i was wayyy to young to have these problems. The only thing i can think of is i used to be an instrument tech. I was always bending in very odd places to reach stuff and that is when i started getting back problems. Of course i use to do alot of wakeboarding and have been run over by another boat. That pretty much made me bed ridden for a couple of weeks. I wonder if Budweiser causes this.......

[SYKO]

BARRY I got one serious messed up back, you know what a chiropractor did for me? F it up even more and then hit me with a 12k bill! my insurance said after they told me to go and got the bill they would pay only 1k of it, I said F them both! they ended up paying becouse they were wrong, my back was in worse shape, I went to an orthopedic specialist and had x rays done again, he told me that I will need surgery in the future but in the mean time I needed to work out some. So I started working out (this is 8 years ago) and ever since then Ive been fine, also staying active was ok, including riding and racing, there are a few times that my back acts up and messes me up good, but I deal with it. I know in the next 5 years or so I WILL have to have surgery, I wish I had a pic of my back x ray I have degeneration, its swayed to the right like scoliosis now and I have 2 vertebre that arnt even flat, there at agles causing pressure on my spinal cord, but ever since I started working out and staying active, nothing has really effected me much, pluss being a goriilla has helped alot as well!

[bear]

syko sorry to hear that dude But just like trikes bein' death machines, don't throw us all under the bus. You got hosed ! it would take me literally years to get a bill to 12k. Which is vertually impossibe. If your not a minimum of 50% better in a month it aint gonna work.

[TravEX]

Bear, I like your attitude and perspective. I'm a Physical Therapist Asst, so I'm not gonna bang on ya, hehe.

Barry, good luck with your back!

[tanks350x]

I started having some back trouble a couple of weeks ago, signs of a pinched sciatic nerve. A friend told me to go get some arch supports for my shoes. I'm probably 80% better than what I was.. The cause was, coughing too hard and throwing something out of whack, while I was sleeping

[300rman]

stay away from chiropractors.
my dad;s very reputable chiropractor blew 3 discs out of his lower back, and all the surgeons, doctors, and people told him he needs surgery, etc. etc.

He has been seeing a guy that practices ORTHO-BIONOMY for a few years now, and he is doing great. his discs stay in place in his back, and he can do things again.
after his chiropractor "fixed him" and before he seen this guy, he could barely stand on his own.

[Dirtcrasher]

I tell ya what Barrymann, I had a chiro tell me I needed to see him twice a week for a couple of years to get straightened out. When I talked to my dads bud who is a chiro, he said it's a standard thing for them to try and suk you into a contract - even if you don't need it.

He told me he could crack and adjust me a few times here and there and I'd be all set as long as I did the excercises myself....

It's just there way of ripping you off!!

[ThreeKing]

I had much better experiences with a chiropractor. When I went in for the first visit, I said I did not have insurance, so we worked out a cash price of about $38 per visit. I felt alot of relief from back pain, but he encouraged me to exercise and whatnot in addition to adjustments. He told me to stop ATV riding and ice hockey playing, of course I did not. Months later, I gave him my insurance info: my co-pay was $20 and he billed my plan $65 or so for each visit. I went in 7-8 times a year for 5 years, then gave it up.