ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION

[Cerveza Fria]

So, approx. 10 days ago I was freaking out, just being told by some Greedy Gringo doctor that I needed to have 2 surgeries on my left shoulder. A MRI showed that I have a Torn labrum requiring surgery and a highly inflamed AC joint also requiring surgery involving scraping/shaving of some bone. I was told that the recovery would be 3-4 months and that I would be severely limited in my activities during that time. I didn't want to have surgery, unless it was absolutely necessary. A lot tof things can go wrong. And there's always a risk of infection. I called the doctor back the following Monday and spoke to his staff. I told them i wanted to consider non-surgical treatment options. They said, If I didn't want to follow the doctor's instructions, I should see someone else. Called a buddy of mine. Recommended me another doc. They showed me everything on the MRI in detail on the screen. Showed me exactly what was wrong. Gave me non-surgical treatment options and told me surgery was definitely NOT needed, as although I do have a torn labrum and inflamed AC joint, I still have full range of motion. And since, I'm not a professional athlete, I should recover enough for my needs. Currently on day 2/6 of 'roids. PT starts next week. And, i don't have to stop working out or running. ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION.

[dwai]

So, approx. 10 days ago I was freaking out, just being told by some Greedy Gringo doctor that I needed to have 2 surgeries on my left shoulder. A MRI showed that I have a Torn labrum requiring surgery and a highly inflamed AC joint also requiring surgery involving scraping/shaving of some bone. I was told that the recovery would be 3-4 months and that I would be severely limited in my activities during that time. I didn't want to have surgery, unless it was absolutely necessary. A lot tof things can go wrong. And there's always a risk of infection. I called the doctor back the following Monday and spoke to his staff. I told them i wanted to consider non-surgical treatment options. They said, If I didn't want to follow the doctor's instructions, I should see someone else. Called a buddy of mine. Recommended me another doc. They showed me everything on the MRI in detail on the screen. Showed me exactly what was wrong. Gave me non-surgical treatment options and told me surgery was definitely NOT needed, as although I do have a torn labrum and inflamed AC joint, I still have full range of motion. And since, I'm not a professional athlete, I should recover enough for my needs. Currently on day 2/6 of 'roids. PT starts next week. And, i don't have to stop working out or running. ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION.

just sun your balls

[Sanlmar]

I know all about the AC and torn labrum thing. Everyone who has pitched has shoulder damage and no one is really any worse off in middle age. You’re in good company.

Let’s have some fun though.

Did you ask for the estimated prices for these surgeries and post op nonsense? Of course not.


Back in the day of wage price controls (the first time) companies eager to compete for employees figured out they could offer health care tax free. Clever way to end run the rules.

Let us suppose they offered free food instead. Its would have been nearly as random as health care. Do you think there would be any prices listed in the supermarket?. Of course not.

I’m not Druff but I’m noticing more and more medical upselling and scammage in my personal experience. I’ll make a rare (for me) Druff call tomorrow.

Speaking of the future of medical care costs as baby boomers age. 25% of all Medicaid costs are for the last 12 months of life - quality trivia. You feel me.

The US medical costs are gonna change politics in a big big (socialist) way. Buckle up.

What are there? 2.4 or 2.8 workers per anticipated retiree? Covid was a failed plan. Old folks made it

[Sanlmar]

Why can’t insurance companies sell medical insurance across state lines the way auto insurance markets nationally?

I haven’t looked into it but smells of a strong lobby at work.

Sorry to derail.

[Cerveza Fria]

Why can’t insurance companies sell medical insurance across state lines the way auto insurance markets nationally?

I haven’t looked into it but smells of a strong lobby at work.

Sorry to derail.

The insurance laws are different in each state. While the ACA and Medicare are nationwide laws, there are additional laws in each state based on the needs and wants of each state’s residents. And you’re correct about the lobbying thing.

[Cerveza Fria]

I know all about the AC and torn labrum thing. Everyone who has pitched has shoulder damage and no one is really any worse off in middle age. You’re in good company.

Let’s have some fun though.

Did you ask for the estimated prices for these surgeries and post op nonsense? Of course not.


it

No, I didn’t ask for the prices. Here’s why. I have a HSA compatible plan with Max Out Of Pocket of $4250 per year on my plan. I obviously would have hit it if I had went ahead and done the surgery. Since $4250 is my worst case scenario, it doesn’t matter to me what the price is. Insurance Company pays the rest. I can easily cover the $4250. I saved more than that in premium each year by going with HSA plans. I pay the first $4250, insurance company pays the rest. I save $4800 in premiums by having this plan over one with lower deductible and copays. Even if I hit the $4250, I’m still ahead.

Also, I didn’t want surgery anyway, so the cost wasn’t relevant.

[Sanlmar]

I know all about the AC and torn labrum thing. Everyone who has pitched has shoulder damage and no one is really any worse off in middle age. You’re in good company.

Let’s have some fun though.

Did you ask for the estimated prices for these surgeries and post op nonsense? Of course not.


it

No, I didn’t ask for the prices. Here’s why. I have a HSA compatible plan with Max Out Of Pocket of $4250 per year on my plan. I obviously would have hit it if I had went ahead and done the surgery. Since $4250 is my worst case scenario, it doesn’t matter to me what the price is. Insurance Company pays the rest. I can easily cover the $4250. I saved more than that in premium each year by going with HSA plans. I pay the first $4250, insurance company pays the rest. I save $4800 in premiums by having this plan over one with lower deductible and copays. Even if I hit the $4250, I’m still ahead.

Also, I didn’t want surgery anyway, so the cost wasn’t relevant.

That’s kinda my point. No one gives any fucks about medical costs. That’s a model that really isn’t gonna work.

Can’t fault the surgeon for the hustle though.

I’m just in a foul mood about medical offices and the newer scammy practices.

Wife’s friend is a medical coder. Her stories really sap my faith in medicine. Btw, she is union. A union medical coder. The fuck

[Texter]

My company has medical but will list prices/providers for procedures (colonoscopies etc) and if we use one of the preferred cheaper providers, we get a check for some of the savings.

[BCR]

I’ve had shoulder pain for years. I got sick of dealing with it at the gym every day on anything pressing and finally went to the Steelers orthopedic group. This was like 15 years ago.


It hurt more on a chest exercise that required pressing more than an actual shoulder exercise. So they told me it was the AC joint. Went and had it done. Rehab was easy, almost too easy, but the whole procedure was worthless. I mean absolutely worthless and I had the same pain and some scar on the top of my shoulder that left me questioning if the guy just made an incision and closed me back up and charged my insurance company because it hardly felt like they did anything.

So then five years later I got sick of it again, and went to another surgeon, and he said idk why that guy did AC joint surgery, you have a torn labrum. So you’re 100% right on second opinion. I assumed since I was dealing with a really reputable group of sports guys, they were right. They weren’t.

You can work around it or go through some extensive surgery. I’ve just worked around it for last decade. Shots, and I use a ton of bands to warm up before I go to the gym. There is actually a lot of really good shit on YouTube. There’s been periods where it’s been almost pain free if I’m diligent at following the various protocols the more knowledgeable PT’s and personal trainers recommend on YouTube.

I do it for like 20 minutes at home and then jump in car when warmed up and head for the gym. It would look like some gay 80s Richard Simmons rubber band workout to do in public. At this point and age, I just don’t feel like dealing with some months long expensive labrum procedure. It’s not like Indians are signing me to be the set up man.

The gym hurts a little, and if I do something stupid like reach into the backseat when I’m driving, it can create a world of shooting pain up into neck region like a stinger that has me weaving all over road until I can pull over, but otherwise doesn’t bother me much. I’ve found swimming helps it a lot also. I don’t even like to swim, but it’s pretty therapeutic.

[splitthis]

Question EVERTHING with the mindset they are trying to make the most money off you as possible, cuz they are.

[Sanlmar]

Question EVERTHING with the mindset they are trying to make the most money off you as possible, cuz they are.

Mother was a nurse and she was the first to drill question EVERYTHING into my head at a very young age. Be your own advocate.

I won my medical billing scammage customer service call today. Druff would be proud.

[Dan Druff]

Less is generally more when it comes to medical treatments.

They make a lot more money on tests and procedures than they do examinations, so your best interest is not always what they have in mind.

Always read reviews. Do not go to a doctor with a healthy percentage of bad reviews, especially one which would be performing surgery on you. Especially stay away from any accused of money-grabbing, because once money is informing their advice/treatments, they're useless and can't be trusted.

Avoid any surgeries at hospitals where they have residents. If that's your only option, try to schedule the surgery in the spring, and never in the summer. This is known as the "July effect", as new residents show up in July, and you might literally be their first surgery. You can't demand the surgery be performed by non-resident doctors. They have a right to reassign you to a resident based upon various factors.

Try to have doctors operating on you who are between 35 and 59. You want experience, yet someone not in physical/mental decline. In general I'm happy right now to see any doctor who looks roughly near my age.

Second opinion is extremely important for any non-urgent surgery. Watch out for anything involving knees, ankles, or shoulders. All of these can be very difficult to correct. You have the fantasy that you'll go under the knife, and a years-long problem of chronic pain will vanish after a short recovery period. Often it doesn't go that way, and the doctor was just taking a shot in the dark. Sometimes they end up making it worse, or bringing on new problems.

For all the "Druff's immune system" jokes, I've been fortunate enough to never have had surgery in my life, aside from oral surgery once. At 50 years old, that's running well. Eventually that streak will end, but so far I've been able to dodge the knife.

[Cerveza Fria]

Less is generally more when it comes to medical treatments.

They make a lot more money on tests and procedures than they do examinations, so your best interest is not always what they have in mind.

Always read reviews. Do not go to a doctor with a healthy percentage of bad reviews, especially one which would be performing surgery on you. Especially stay away from any accused of money-grabbing, because once money is informing their advice/treatments, they're useless and can't be trusted.

Avoid any surgeries at hospitals where they have residents. If that's your only option, try to schedule the surgery in the spring, and never in the summer. This is known as the "July effect", as new residents show up in July, and you might literally be their first surgery. You can't demand the surgery be performed by non-resident doctors. They have a right to reassign you to a resident based upon various factors.

Try to have doctors operating on you who are between 35 and 59. You want experience, yet someone not in physical/mental decline. In general I'm happy right now to see any doctor who looks roughly near my age.

Second opinion is extremely important for any non-urgent surgery. Watch out for anything involving knees, ankles, or shoulders. All of these can be very difficult to correct. You have the fantasy that you'll go under the knife, and a years-long problem of chronic pain will vanish after a short recovery period. Often it doesn't go that way, and the doctor was just taking a shot in the dark. Sometimes they end up making it worse, or bringing on new problems.

For all the "Druff's immune system" jokes, I've been fortunate enough to never have had surgery in my life, aside from oral surgery once. At 50 years old, that's running well. Eventually that streak will end, but so far I've been able to dodge the knife.

Less is More couldn't be more correct. The thought of someone shaving my shoulder bone down really scares the shit out me. This even more than inserting a pin in my shoulder to fix the labrum. And, as my bother-in-law who is an anesthesiologist says "there's always risks involved" with general anesthesia.

So, office where I got the second opinion is the orthopedic team for the Miami Heat and other Major South Florida Sports teams. The head Doc is the one that does the surgeries, including on the professional athletes. He reviewed my MRI report without an appointment and said he didn't think it warranted surgery and suggested I see another doc in the practice that does the non-surgical remedies. The doc I saw is a real doc (not a resident) and spent a good 35 minutes with me. They went through several different treatment options with me, including ones that insurance didn't cover. They gave me the pricing for everything and gave me their opinion and let me choose and said whichever way I wanted to go they would accommodate. They encouraged me to ask questions and made sure I understood everything. They made me feel I was doing the right thing.

[Sanlmar]

Avoid haircuts at the barber college

There is a local state prison that teaches culinary to the inmates and I hear the lunch (served to the public) is very good.

[BCR]

Try to have doctors operating on you who are between 35 and 59. You want experience, yet someone not in physical/mental decline. In general I'm happy right now to see any doctor who looks roughly near my age.

I used to preach this back on NWP. I picked extremely well for all the serious surgeries I had just previous to this one. Other doctors would look at how minimally invasive my surgeon did much more serious surgeries and admire his work. I was early 30s during most of them and picked a great guy. Old enough to know wtf he was doing and young enough to be up on the latest stuff.

That ortho fooled me. He had the right resume and was the correct age, and my opinion of orthos were they were legit serious guys. Most are. I was young enough I hadn’t heard a lot of shitty knee and hip replacement stories from my peers parents yet. I have since then, so I’d be a lot more wary today.

I told my wife at the time idk about this dude, he seems perfectly competent, but the whole looks around 47 with blond highlights makes me a little nervous. He was an ortho who looked more like a cosmetic surgeon or used car salesmen. Should have went with my gut.

It’s a little like trying to decide a marginal fold or call against a guy with a pinkie ring or giant necklace at the poker table. You should probably call way more often as they’re full of shit most of the time. You should always fold on nearing 50 highlights surgeon. It was a leak.

This was right after I left GM and they had elite benefits that I was still paying to Cobra for the 18 months allowed. It was getting close to the end and I was trying to solve a problem when it was essentially free. I’d be more incensed had I laid out thousands for the procedure.