Question regarding spinal fusion responses

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I read the responses that was given to stacy about spinal fusion and thought they were very positive. I have the same problem and was wondering how some you people worked or survived with these health conditions?

I've been suffering back problems for close to ten years. Last Feb. 2001 my doctor told me that my two lowest disk were wore down to about 1/4 of an inch thick and was easy to herniate. He put me on weight lifting, repetitive bending, and no overhead work restriction. Due to this I lost my job(electrician) and have not been able to find employment due to the restrictions. I have even applied for low paying easy jobs such as bus driving for the local public schools with no avail. Companies seem to not want to hire me cause I would be a insurance risk.

I haven't been able to receive social security disabilit cause they say that as long as I can walk, stand, or sit than I am capable of holding a job.

So the bottom line is that I cannot get a job due to company insurance, and I cannot get disability cause I can still walk, stand, sit, and lay down. How did you people survive and what about employment after fusion?

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), January 11, 2002

Answers

r.h. my wife has 2 herinated disc right now. She's facing your problems too. It is not fair and the Disability people could care less. In fact here in Police State NC our Gov. is bucking for harder disability laws. Even Cancer patients can't get it here our county. Several families have left the state just to survive. Hope Oklahoma ain't that bad.

-- Kenneth in N.C. (wizardsplace13@hotmail.com), January 11, 2002.

dont tell them,,once you have the job,,they HAVE to accomadate you

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 11, 2002.

Stan, they can fire you if they later find out it was a pre-existing condition, and even if you were to later be injured on the job (if you didn't tell them) it would be only a matter of time before they found that you had previous back problems through your medical history.

r.h., can you get help through Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul? Or, could you work as a tech or customer phone support person, or (I hate to suggest this because I don't like telemarketers of any sort) as a phone psychic or telemarketer? If you could do any kind of phone work at home you could stand, sit or walk around as you talked. You might be having to work as an indie contractor, but you would at least have some money coming in.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 11, 2002.


r.h., I hearniated L5 S1 in 1998. Playing golf of all things! I live in Texas and was treated by a spine specialist at the Texas Back Institute. The hearniation was so severe surgery was the only alternative. I underwent a procedure known as a Laminectomy Discectomy. Plainly, they went in my back cut off the piece of disk that had hearniated and was pushing my nerves against my spinal column. Unfortunately, once the disk had been opened, the fluid which fills it leaked out causing it to deflate and become very flat. Because of this I had bone on bone with nerves pinched in the middle. I had 6 flare ups after this surgery and finally in September had one so bad I went back to the Back Institute. A new MRI was ordered. The results made it clear, fusion was my only choice. I had spinal fusion surgery in October and am now back to work full time. By the way I am a Police Patrolman and still have to mix it up occasionally with unfriendly people. The key to recovery is hard work on your part. There will be discomfort. It is paramount that you walk every day starting as soon as you get home from the hospital. Walk at least a mile a day, and do physical therapy. It was hard for me, but my motivation was a mortgage which must be paid and hungry children.

I will be praying for you. DV

-- David Valliant (dhvalliant@yahoo.com), January 11, 2002.


An employer can't inquire about your physical capabilities unless it's something required to do the job. I would think even in electrician work most wouldn't ask. I definitely wouldn't offer the information. If you've had a workers comp claim then they could find out but most jobs don't run that check. You might have to keep looking for another type of career. If 8 hrs a day is too hard on you, find a part time 4hr job or 2 of them with a few hours break in between. Work for a temp service where you decide your schedule. Find a source of income from home. You don't need the typical 9-5 job, you just need an income.

I've found the best medicine for my back is to not give in. There's no way I could do the type of work I used to do, or put in 80-90hrs a week anymore. I've had to look in all different directions to make an income. Since 94 I've only worked outside the home for about 12 months total. Most of that time I was hurting bad at night with no other choice but to deal with it. Work around it. It gets easier after a while. Your doctor can recommend anything but it's up to you whether you follow it. You have to weigh things out, either sit at home in pain or work in pain. Sometimes you just have to live with the discomfort and pain. What else can you do?

They can fire anyone for anything or no reason at all in most states. If you happened to get injured to that extreme again, it wouldn't matter much anyway at that point if they fired you.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), January 12, 2002.



If a DR tell you , you can go back to work, then your covered, they CANT look into your medical records,, unless you say its ok for them to do so. If you are ever asked about your medical condition, say , :acoording to your Dr your fine",

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 12, 2002.

Hey Rh,

It's quite the dilemma, isn't it? Did you file a Worker's Compensation claim? If so, did they deny you benefits? How long ago was the work related incident? I think you need to contact an attorney that specializes in Worker's Compensation, many work on a contingency, which means they don't get paid unless they get you benefits. Social Security Disability is the same way, they will deny you, and try to discourage you so that you won't file again. If you are denied- appeal the denial immediately, and again, retain an attorney- they work on contingency too. Many people aren't granted SSDIB until the Administrative Law Judge level(I think it's after the second denial). Be prepared to stay on top of the paperwork both SSDIB and Worker's Comp have deadlines. If your income is very low apply for Supplement Security Income with the Social Security Administration, it is a separate benefit from Social Security Disability.

The problem with not saying you were out of work is the gaps in your work history, a company MAY not be able to fire you from a pre- existing condition, they can for submitting a false statement on your application.

My husband's fusion is rather extensive- L3/4-S1. He was a Security Hospital Treatment Assistant--he cared for mentally ill inmates from maximum security prisons. He'll never go back to that type of work, but in NYS he can be retrained to return to more sedentary work. Other States may have a program like this also. It's been a giant run around to get him benefits, we were actually dealing with three agencies at one point- SS, WC, and NYS Retirement. Getting him the surgery he needs was even harder, and took longer than getting the benefits.

I know in NYS if you have to take a lesser paying job because of your injury, WC has to kick in at least part of the difference in pay.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. I was a Disability Claim Reviewer in a prior life, and I have actual "life" experince in these matters.

Stacy in NY

-- Stacy (KincoraFarm@aol.com), January 12, 2002.


My husband had a spinal fusion at L5/S1 back in 1996. Unfortunately, the NYS Insurance Fund (Workers' Comp.) fought him in court for over 2 years before they would allow him treatment and then denied the surgery a competent spinal specialist recommended. The two year wait caused the spinal nerves to be impinged and he now suffers from excrutiating chronic pain and cannot work. He is currently on a boatload of meds (including Morphine) which only relieve about 30% of his pain. The doctors have told him that there is nothing more they can do for him, short of installing a morphine pump.

Finally, the NYS Insurance Fund was forced to award him a permanent award amount per week for the rest of his life. Our attorney forced them to classify him as 75% disabled (for insurance purposes) and they must now pay him 75% of his Workers' Comp rate. This is not alot but is at least something. Did you apply for Workers' Comp? In the alternative, get a doctor to classify you as partially disabled and turn that statement in to the disability people.

-- Lisa (mountainlady@imbris.com), January 13, 2002.


Can you run an ad in your area for electrical work/reasonable wages? In our area people are always looking for someone that can do some jobs but not charge an arm and a leg to get it done. That's who I'm calling for some of the rewiring I need. Then you can take the work you feel able to do.

-- Terri (mrs_swift_26547@yahoo.com), January 14, 2002.

Thank you everybody for your responses. This problem that I have is something that started out years ago. According to one of my Dr.s my backbone grew slighlty crooked as I was growing up which is what cause me to have a weak back in the first place. I can't claim workmans comp cause I never have really hurt it on the job. Most of the time I can go to bed feeling real good but when I wake up I can be hurting and be too stiff to even tie my shoes. I have tried several different mattress with no improvement.

I have been working every once in a while, this last fall I started my own employment processing deer for people and I am doing a little bit of electrical on my own. But I can not do a whole lot of electrical due to a lot of it requires crawling in attics or under floor spaces which is a killer on my back. However I have enrolled in a taxidermy school and hope to use what I've learned along with deer processing. Hopefully after this next year I will make a good amount of income from doing deer to live on. Best of all by being my own boss, if my back starts hurting I will just take a day or so off and still have a job to come back too.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), January 14, 2002.



R.H., could you hang out your shingle and teach basic electrical at your local community college or hardware store? Or be a paid advisor showing someone how to do something at home? I bet there are lots of people who would love to learn at home.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 14, 2002.

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