The cost of being misguided...

Submitted by Spamelah on December 9, 2012 - 11:35am
Body: 

I just received my first wave of bills from dealing with Pelvic Organ Prolapse. I have health insurance with a high deductible: $1419.04

This was my Urgent Care visit, antibiotics, primary care doc visit for advice on what to do next, the resulting uro-gyn visits (2), pessary (2).

I still have my surgeon appointment on Wednesday! Not having surgery but wanting to see what she has to say about surgery to gauge if I want to stay with her for future care or move onward.

All of this because I thought I was being healthy by pushing myself physically and doing core work-outs to excess. Trainers have a one size fits all approach and this is the result. Of course I came in to training with a weakened pelvic structure due to 3 vaginal births and chronic constipation, but I was virtually asymptomatic prior to entering the fad of heavy, heavy lifting.

We need to spread the word! Posture, health, caring for our body as WOMEN and recognizing our unique anatomy and limitations. Yes, limitations. Never wanted to use that word to relate to me but I'm special and I need TLC. :)

This bill makes me want to do it all myself. More motivation to stay in posture. I just noticed I was slumping and sucking in belly. Crap

Forum:

MsNightingale

December 9, 2012 - 11:49am

Yes, we need to spread the word. So sorry for you about that bill. The system isnt set up right, one more place here in the world of women's medicine. I am doing it myself with the guidance of this wonderful place. Think now about strengthening in the WW way. So far, it is working for me and I still feel like a newbie. The am given great inspiration from Christine, Louise, Surviving, fab, and all these wonderful women who are here much longer than me. That tells me much more than the doctor. Sending you love and best wishes!

chickaboom

December 9, 2012 - 11:49am

This reminds me of something bad mirror said in her success story-

http://www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/3722

Surviving60

December 9, 2012 - 12:31pm

Wow Spam. That sure puts the cost of Christine's book and DVD's into perspective. Furthermore, that's about what I spent all-told on expenses to attend the Whole Woman Conference last May. Now THAT was money well spent. Best. Weekend. Ever. But you, Spam, did not get your money's worth......

petrified52

December 9, 2012 - 12:37pm

Yes, I agree with spreading the word but it is sad that some people will not listen. I have friends who are doctor crazy and think that whatever the doctors say is written in stone. Even my nurse friend, who has a phD referred to it in terms of: "as long as you are willing to put up with the annoyance of it." As if the surgery would be an instant cure. I have talked with several other nurses now who are totally against the surgery. They can't believe that I was recommended to have a complete hysterectomy and bladder repair. I do wish that someone would have told me prolapse was a possibility. Even though my mom has it, I didn't think I would get it as well. I thought that it was rare. So disheartened and downright angry. I would not have been lifting and pushing lawn tractors around the yard, etc. had I known what could happen. As for the medical bills? I don't feel like paying them because I feel that the service I got from these "healthcare providers" was totally unhelpful and detrimental to my future health. My deductible is not as high as yours but it is the principle of the issue. I am so grateful to have found all of you ladies and this site, since there is no one nearby that can be of help. Best wishes to you......

Spamelah

December 10, 2012 - 8:18pm

happened to stumbled upon the daytime show, "The Doctors" (bunch of MDs). The hook that drew me in was "1 in 10 women suffer from this" so I waited until the commercial. Turns out they were talking about fecal incontinence. The woman MD was explaining how when you remove the uterus the support system is compromised and it can lead to dropping or shuffling (I think that is what she said) of other pelvic organs.

YOU THINK THEY'D DISCOURAGE THE INITIAL SURGERY??? Nope, they just talked about little revisions here and there to deal with the cascading issues. No mention of this as a 'complication' at all!

Grrr. Although I am happy they linked the initial hysterectomy to fecal incontinence so maybe women will think twice about jumping on the OR table for cutting. That is a bill I don't want to see.

louiseds

December 10, 2012 - 11:50pm

That is exactly why I think it is risky to even talk to a gyn about repairing prolapse. Get a diagnosis, by all means, but they simply do not see past their own discipline, and would not infer that another medical practitioner set the woman up for this new surgically induced conditon.

When you are discussing your genital and reproductive organs with a gyn, remember that they will only see their part of the picture, and may choose to ignore non-gyn treatments which may be more suitable for the woman.

It is also why I really worried when I saw two posts yesterday referring to the relevant gyns as "impeccable", "really smart" and at other times terms like "the best gyn in town" and similar qualitative endorsements.

Aspects of them or of their work may be impeccable, really smart and the best in town, but that doesn't make their overall opinion about the best course of action for a patient the best opinion. It just makes it their *considered* opinion, which could be rephrased more honestly as "the best we can do with the procedures and treatments available to us in our field." We cannot ask more of gynaecologists than that.

Any gyn who tells you that there is a new miraculous procedure that has just been developed, which overcomes all the shortcomings of other procedures, pull up your knickers quick smart and get the hell out of there, and think about it later!

Don't be a guinea pig for any gyn who is on L Plates with a new procedure! Sadly, women are the only guinea pigs in the gyn game. Isn't that called vivisection? At least the old procedures have a track record.

Would you get a contemporary water colour artist to restore an 18th century water colour? No, a wise collector would probably get an antique painting restoration service to do the job. They would probably do very little to it except cleaning it very carefully, and they may or may not add some skillful dabs of matching paint, but they would ensure that in future, you protect it from light, and reframe it to keep insects and other damaging things away from it. That's what an 'impeccable, really smart, best restorer in town' would do. They would probably have nothing but derision for the amateur who did the last restoration, and they would tell you why, and how they made his/her work more difficult this time around.

Louise