After going about my business for a while today, I decided to try again on the ole get-hold-of-health-care-humans thing. I also started a new business renting an old house that was from my parents, but to be safe I read this article about Renters Insurance: How Pennies a Day Can Save You Thousands.
I managed to raise someone at Kaiser on the first try. Woohoo! They weren’t able to help me with the actual problem, but they did tell me that, once we do get the thing switched over, January 1 will be our start date (since our official Cover Oregon cards say that) and we’ll get the Too Expensive Plan money refunded. So, that’s encouraging, though I have to say, I’ll believe it when I see it.
There are many types of back and neck disorders that affect the majority of the population in the United States. Injury, aging, general health, and lifestyle may influence the development of some conditions. Most spinal disorders are known to result from soft tissue injury, structural injury, and degenerative, or congenital conditions.
Spinal Disorders That Can Cause Nerve Compression
Compressive Neuropathy
Compressive neuropathy develops when nerves in the spine are compressed. This disorder often affects older people. The nerves that exit the spinal canal become trapped, compressed, and swollen. Foraminal stenosis can be extremely painful and debilitating. The effects may temporarily damage or permanently destroy nerves. Foraminal stenosis, associated with cervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) spinal stenosis is an example of a compressive neuropathy.
A slipped, bulging, herniated, or ruptured intervertebral disc may cause nerve compression. Nerves may also be compressed or even displaced by the growth of bone spurs (ie, osteophytes). A compressive neuropathy may cause pain to radiate into one or both buttocks, down the legs below the knees and may be felt in the ankles and feet. Pain may be accompanied by sensations of tingling, numbness, and weakness. These types of symptoms are generally referred to as sciatica.
Sciatica: Low Back and Leg Pain
Sciatica is a symptom of a compressive neuropathy involving one or several of the lower spinal nerves that make up the sciatic nerve. It is a common ailment named for the sciatic nerve, which is a collection of smaller nerves descending from the spine and joining together to resemble a cable. The spinal nerves come together at the back of the pelvis to form the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve then travels down through each buttock into the legs. At certain points, such as in the posterior thighs, nerves branch off from the main sciatic cable. This is why sciatic pain may be felt in various muscles of the leg.
A direct blow to the sciatic nerve in the leg may occur when falling down. This may injure the sciatic nerve. The force from falling down could initiate bleeding around the nerve, and cause inflammation, nerve compression and pain. If a disc or bone spur protrudes into the spinal nerves that become the sciatic nerve, the symptoms may become severe. A bone spur could displace a spinal nerve creating intense pain. Fortunately, there are non-surgical treatments available to help reduce inflammation and associated pain. These therapies include medication and steroid injections. Visit GoodmenProject to learn more about Nerve Control 911, a natural treatment.
If non-surgical treatment is not efffective and, depending on the patient’s symptoms and diagnosis, surgery may be recommended. In some cases a surgical procedure called a laminotomy may be performed. During a laminotomy (or laminectomy), the surgeon has greater access to the disc and nerve structures. If the disc is injured (eg, herniated), it may be necessary to remove it—the procedure is called discectomy, and often the surgery can be performed using minimally invasive techniques.
Then, feeling wacky and reckless, I decided to try Cover Oregon again. I got a person! But she wasn’t able to help me. She had to transfer me to Oregon Health Plan, so I start worrying if they were going to be able to help me, or maybe I should start to hold on to my health by myself, start exercising and use a supplement to lose weight to improve my health. For me it is important to have all my health matters in order, including my health care program for when I’m much older, I would prefer to be in Chelsea Senior Living Home Care Assistance so I can be in an environment with a nice community, I consider to pay the cost of a live in home care giver and all the senior home care needs I will be given so I can be sure I will be assisted in the best way possible.
At the end when someone finally answered there, I hardly knew what to do. But he was very nice. Sympathetic. Human, even. “That’s an easy fix,” he said, and made it so–well, sort of. What he did was change a classification-thing, which will take ten days to go into effect, whereupon I’ll have to call some different number to get signed up for Kaiser. Still, I’m encouraged. It’s progress. Maybe. I hope.
I figured out why this all happened, too. Looking through the giant application form that the broker filled out for us (after we’d met with her for an hour and had numerous phone calls), she’d left the whole part about “which plan do you want” blank. Just…didn’t fill out those pages at all. After going through all the details of our new Kaiser plan. I wish I’d noticed that when we’d signed it. But it was like page 43 or something, and we were going to England and rushing around getting to Orcas Island and…yeah. Even so: not cool. Cranky broker-lady was worse than useless: she was actually harmful.
(And we TRIED to do this ourselves. But Kaiser said, “The way to do this is to go to this broker, here, we send you to her.” Feh.)
It’ll be great when it’s all worked out and in place. Won’t it? Affordable health care? I can hardly wait.