Though I agree w/ your doctor, I also disagree in some circumstances, & I think ES is one of those, especially where vascular compression has been noted. That’s not something to “let slide”. It is something you want to fix sooner than later. I had a recent example of that in my life. Last spring, I had a horrendous URI. My cough was so bad, I finally went in & got tested for COVID (the quick & long tests were both negative). Two days later my face was SCREAMING!! I knew I had developed a sinus infx. Back to urgent care I went & waited almost 2 hrs (even though I’d made an appt & no one else was there in the waiting room but me!?!). Finally I saw a doctor, & she said she’d Rx antibiotics, but I should wait another couple of days to start taking them so my body could fight the infx longer. I know my body very well, & I knew what I needed to treat my symptoms, but she made me question my judgment. Thank goodness for my husband who made me start the antibiotics that evening. I took one dose & woke up pain free in the morning & the pain never recurred.
In this situation, the doctor was wrong to have suggested I wait. I think I would have gone to the ER if the pain had gotten any worse, & I have a high pain threshold.
Yeah he was kinda just saying to relax more than anything. He could tell I was anxious. But I promise I am calling everyone I can and emailing everyone I can. I have the appointment at the beginning of the month. And I have an appointment in Denver with dr Hepworth. I contacted Samji but the assistant said they only take ct w/O, but I’m gunna send mine sonde it was with and without.
Honestly, I’d wait until you’ve dealt w/ your ES before doing anything serious about correcting your cervical curve. If the straightening has been caused by a natural postural change to reduce pressure on your IJVs, trying to reinstate the curve at this point is not a good idea.
I am currently going through the process with Dr. Samji, so I can give you an idea of the timeline. I mailed all of my documents to their office. His assistant Yerelin Castaneda reached out to me and let me know the documents were received and my case would go under review. She said give them 2 weeks for the review. At exactly 2 weeks I hadn’t heard anything, so I reached back out. Yerelin apologized and said she would update me on the status soon. I just got their response yesterday that they are going to accept my case (3 weeks from when they received my documents). Yerelin is going to call me next week to setup the consultation. They must be very busy right now, so their normal timeline has been pushed out. I will let you know how things progress so you have an idea of timing for your own case. I am in the same boat as you! I am very excited to get the ball rolling and start to feel better, but also nervous. This forum has been a great resource!
Isaiah is right, send what you have and let him make the decision. My CT was with contrast and he ended up accepting my case. I think it depends on the situation.
You might be able to get her to book your surgery pending consultation (assuming you are good candidate for surgery which is likely if he took your case)…if you want to push up the timeline. His process is pretty standardized. He does surgeries on Mondays and Wednesdays. You are required to come in the day before (Friday or Tuesday) for a pre-op and get your RX. You have to hang for at least 5 days for post-op appt. Surgery on Monday - post op on Friday. Surgery on Wed, post-op on the following Tuesday. Yeah pretty scary when you actually look forward to having surgery…
Yerelin from Dr. Samji’s office just called to setup my consultation. The earliest available was Sep 24, so it looks like they are booking about 2 weeks out. Hopefully booking the surgery isn’t too far out either. I asked to be put on a waitlist, so hopefully sooner.
That’s GREAT NEWS, alawton3214! I think you’ll be able to be scheduled for surgery w/in 2-3 weeks of your consult. I had my first surgery w/ Dr. Samji in 11/14. My consult w/ him was in late Oct. or early Nov. (can’t remember). His system seems to be more streamlined now.
I’m not sure what Dr. S recommends as I wasn’t working at the time I had my surgeries. My recommendation based on personal experience & that of many of our members is at least 2 weeks then ease back in part time over the course of the first month. If part-time for a few weeks doesn’t work, just do your best to keep your stress level as low as possible & listen to your body, trying to rest when it asks. It took about 2 months for my energy to come back fully & before I started feeling pretty normal again.
Every body is different. I was 58 when I had my surgeries so perhaps a little on the slower end when it comes to healing.
Just an update, heard back from Dr Hauser with a further plan. He said getting my left styloid out is major priority right now. And I got my referrals over to Dr Bunnel and Dr Nuss. I have Appointments with Dr Hepworth October 4th. And I have an appointment on October 12th with Dr Withrow at UAB. I’m gunna stick with these right now. Still waiting to hear back from Samji. But hopefully I can get in and see Dr Nuss or Bunnell in less then a month. I’m ready to get this dang thing out.
Being proactive has helped you along, Calebp. Good work! Please keep us in the loop as you get information from the doctors you see. It may not be consistent from doctor to doctor.
I will update y’all, yeah I figure each will have their opinion. But Dr Hauser telling me it’s imperative to get it out before proceeding, makes me more motivated to get in somewhere. But I definitely will let y’all know.
