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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Any Surgical Procedure Cure Degenerative Disk Disease?

hi. I am having serious problems with neck and back pain due to degenerative disk disease in my C6 and C7. I am trying to manage the pain and spasm with medications including anti inflammatory, muscle relaxants and some sort of nerve calming drug. The cocktail makes it impossible for me to function at home or at work. I have been waiting almost 2 years for an MRI. I have no private insurance. my income is low due to my inability to work many hours. My question is , do I qualify for disability and is there a surgical procedure I could have that could relive some of my symptoms and reduce the pain to a more tolerable level. How can I make this happen, I have no family doctor. I am 42 and feel like life is passing by and I do not want to be disabled but it there is no medical solution, I need financial help. Thank you for your time, Sincerely Suzanne Charlebois
posted on Mon, 24 Mar 2014
Twitter Mon, 24 Mar 2014 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 25 Mar 2014 Last reviewed on
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Neurologist, Surgical,  's  Response
Hi Suzanne. My name is Vinay. I am sorry to here about your disc degeneration.

There are many different types of surgeries that can be done to help control the pain that you are suffering from but none of them can be attempted before you get that MRI. The Surgeon needs to know what kind of nerve compression is causing the pain and the stiffness and needs to be able to plan out the surgery using the pictures that are given with the MRI.

Now when it comes to insurance. I am no expert on health insurance and I wish I had some easy quick fix place that you could go to. My best advice is to check in with your local Public clinic (which i'm betting you have already done).
The only other thing I could possible suggest is that you look to getting treated in another country. There are companies that can arrange for travel and surgery to other countries to get treatment at a fraction of the cost of the same treatment in the United States. The whole concept is called medical tourism. You could look into it if you want. See if that works out better for you.

I hope this helps. Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic.com
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Can Any Surgical Procedure Cure Degenerative Disk Disease?

Hi Suzanne. My name is Vinay. I am sorry to here about your disc degeneration. There are many different types of surgeries that can be done to help control the pain that you are suffering from but none of them can be attempted before you get that MRI. The Surgeon needs to know what kind of nerve compression is causing the pain and the stiffness and needs to be able to plan out the surgery using the pictures that are given with the MRI. Now when it comes to insurance. I am no expert on health insurance and I wish I had some easy quick fix place that you could go to. My best advice is to check in with your local Public clinic (which i m betting you have already done). The only other thing I could possible suggest is that you look to getting treated in another country. There are companies that can arrange for travel and surgery to other countries to get treatment at a fraction of the cost of the same treatment in the United States. The whole concept is called medical tourism. You could look into it if you want. See if that works out better for you. I hope this helps. Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic.com