I had my appointment this morning with the doctors at the Texas Back Institute. I went in with a pinched nerve and came out with "cervical radiculopathy syndrome", which is a $3 term for "pinched nerve".
My doc was about 60 and had a wall full of diplomas, certifications, and awards for published research. One that caught my eye was for "a controlled biochemical and immunohistochemical study of human synovial-type (group II) phospholipase A2 and inflammatory cells in macroscopically normal, degenerated and herniated human lumbar disc tissue." (He's either brilliant or a master of BS!) Along for observation he brought 2 new doctors, one being from Beijing.
The fix: an anti-inflammatory med, physical therapy starting next week, then a minimally invasive "selective nerve root block" in 2 weeks. I'm hoping this will do the trick and I can put this behind me for good. (Ha...pardon the pun.) As he didn't mention anything about surgery I'm assuming his Bentley is already paid for.
Now it's just a matter of counting the money in the coin jar and looking behind the couch cushions for stray quarters to pay for this. I can only imagine how much it would cost us if we didn't have insurance. Ouch!
S
