If you have been dealing with back pain for a long time and your doctor hasn't found anything to help with the pain, it's time to talk with a back surgeon to see what's going on. Surgery may be a necessity, and you don't want to put it off any longer.
When you meet with the back surgeon to get a consultation, you want to make sure that you fully understand your recovery and how long it will take. Ask the surgeon about the following things before you go under the knife.
Realistic Return to Work Time
You have to plan accordingly and let your employer know how much time you'll need to have off work, so you'll want to have a realistic return to work time. This will be the time when you should be expected to be cleared to resume all the activities that you were doing before, or at least to do what you have to do when you're at the office.
Prescription Medication Dependency
Are you going to need prescription pain killers to help with the pain throughout your recovery, along with other medications to help with swelling and to prevent infection? You'll want to ask if you have to worry about any type of dependency that could affect your health and ability to work long term, and what you can do in advance to prevent it. You can have a few different alternative pain treatment plans put into place before your surgery.
Risk Versus Reward
What are all the risks associated with the surgery, and can they guarantee the reward is going to be higher than the risk? You want to know that that success rate of the surgery is high enough that it's worth going under the knife and enduring the recovery process, so you'll know that you are making the best decision for your overall health and quality of life. There are always risks, but choosing a surgeon familiar with the surgery that you need and who has a high success rate can put you at ease.
If you are going to be going to consult with some back surgeons to see if they can treat that pain that is disrupting your life, then you want to know what you're getting into before you check in. You want to get the relief that you need, so it's worth taking the chance and getting the procedure in the hopes of relief when it's over.
Share25 March 2016
Seniors are like any other specialized group of people. They need services specific to their needs. Everything from nutrition to housekeeping to travel is different for seniors, and the services they receive should reflect that. I am a mental health care provider, and I work exclusively with people over the age of 65. My goal is to help educate the general population about the special needs of seniors and to inspire people to make their homes, businesses and lives more acceptable to the older generations. Seniors deserve our care and attention, and I hope that I can show others how to provide it.