Hi All: I'm posting this on both PN boards because I'm not sure who goes to which board.

Hopefully some knowledgeable person out there will be able to answer my question.

Today Alan and I went to a free consultation to a chiropractor that uses the DRX 9000 , the spinal decompression machine table……

Thank God the consult was free
He brought all his previous mri reports. His last was done last year.

After looking at the MRI report she turned to Alan and said “you have severe spinal problems. I really don’t know right now!! You may or may not be a candidate for DRX 9000. We have 11 slots. How important is it to you!!! Alan just sat there and said “well, I want to get rid of my neuropathy”. He had filled out a questionnaire and one of the questions was “how has this affected your life”. And Alan had written “I wanted to commit suicide, the pain was so great”. He then explained that he wrote this 4 years ago before he went to Dr. Theirl and had adjustments.

She said “When you write down I want to commit suicide, that is a powerful statement. How bad do you want to get rid of your neuropathy? Alan honestly did not know how to answer her. He thought he did answer her.

So I interrupted and said “how much are we talking here, how many treatments?” She said “about three months, and it will run between 3 and five thousand, but honestly most of my patients pay $100 a month because their insurance only covers 10% of the treatment.
I said “if the treatment works, why don’t insurance companies pay for the whole thing?” she said “well, this has been around for 6 years, and most insurance companies need a thing to be around for over 11 years. I just stared at her. I then asked her “what’s the worst thing about Alan’s back and she said “well for starters, he has stenosis, he has a lot of disc problems, not just one or two.”

Then she said “you have three options”. 1. You have surgery (you can probably find some surgeon to operate), 2. You do nothing and take pain pills the rest of your life, and 3. You do non surgical decompression (DRX-9000).”

Then she said “the next part of this consultation is the exam and the emg non-invasive scanner.”

So Alan went in for the scan. . The doctor did a Rolling Thermal Scan of his spine. He sat at a computer and she ran this hand-held scanner thing up and down his back. She called it a non-invasive emg.


Then she sits us down and says “tonight I will review all the reports and I will determine if you are a candidate for the DRX-9000. “You are young to have such a bad bad back”. I asked her “when people do the DRX, do they have to stop going to the gym and exercising and she said “absolutely”.

Alan goes to the gym every other day, lifts weights and feels better for doing it. Also, his chiropractor/neurologist Dr. Theirl knows Alan goes and says “go for it”.

Dr. Theirl and Alan’s primary care doctor, Dr. Fred (who he adores), said “alan is not a candidate for surgery”. Dr. Fred also goes to the gym and meets Alan there sometimes.

So I just wanted you guys to see the report and read what this DRX doctor said to Alan and tell me what you think. Do you think his back is as terrible as she told him. I mean the guy goes to the gym 3 times a week, has muscles and the only time his neuropathy drives him crazy is when he lays down at night and after I massage him like crazy, he goes to sleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here’s what it says on the report:

TECHNIQUE: Neurtal/Sitting: Sagittal T1 Sagittal T2, Axial T1

Interpretation: Desiccation of all the lumbar intervertebral discs is present. Minimal narrowing of the L1/2 disc is present. Ventral marginal osteophytes and diffuse disc bulging are noted at the L1/2 and L2/3 levels. Both bulging discs impinge upon the thecal sac. Moderate narrowing of the L3/4 and L4/5 discs is present. Ventral and dorsal marginal osteophytes and diffuse disc bulging are noted at the L3/4 and L4/5 levels. Both bulging discs cause small ventral impressions upon the thecal sac and extend into the inferior aspects of the adjacent neural foramina bilaterally. Minimal narrowing of the L5/S1 is present. A diffuse disc bulge is noted at the L5/S1 which impinges upon the thecal sac and extendes into the inferior aspects of the L5/S1 neural foramina.

A moderate fat island hemangioma is noted within the L4 vertebral body. Minimal bilateral facet hypertrophy is identified at the L4/5 and L5/S1 levels.

The lumbar lordotic curve is well maintained. There is no evidence of loss of height involving the lumbar vertebral bodies. The bone marrow demonstrates normal signal intensity.

The paravertebral soft tissues demonstrate normal signal characteristics and morphologi appearance.

There is no evidence of spinal stenosis. The cous medullaris and cauda equine demonstrate normal signal intensity. The conus is within normal limits in size. There is no evidence of an intra-dural lesion.

IMPRESSION: L1/2 DISC BULGE, WHICH IMPINGES UPON THE THECAL SAC.
L2/3 DISC BULGE WHICH IMPINGES UPON THE THECAL SAC.
L3/4 AND L4/5 DISC BULGES CAUSING SMALL VENTRAL IMPRESSIONS
UPON THE THECAL SAC AND PARTIALLY COMPROMISING THE ADJACENT NEURAL FORMAINA BILATERALLY.
L5/S1 DISC BULGE WHICH IMPINGES UPON THE THECAL SAC AND PARTIALLY COMPROMISES THE L5/S1 NEURAL FORAMINA BILATERALLY.
DEGENERATIVE DISEASE.


I really didn’t want this to be a long drawn out posting but if anybody heard anything good about the DRX, I’d love to hear about it. I know we discussed this once on the old boards, but now that he had the free consult (Oh, I forgot to say, I asked the people in the waiting room about it and they were raving about it).

So any input would be most welcome.

We don’t have a lot of money (we don’t have any money to be truthful) but if he gets a part time job we could come up with $100 a month but we are talking about $100 a month for many years here.

We just want to make sure.

Thanks to anybody who can offer any information.

We would really like to know if she interpreted his mri report truthfully.

Thanks,
melody

I had a back operation in 2001 on L3-4 & L4-5. Two levels. After 2 long years of misery before hand. But I was never able to do any working out,and barely walked too.

My MRI reports said things such as marked herniation,fragmented displacement and so forth. Bulging discs is much less severe. The only thing is he has them at multiple levels.

If he is fit,and working out than he is managing this condition. I too have stenosis, which is narrowing of vertebrae, and athritis in neck and lumbar spine.

I work everyday, clean a fairly large house and look after my 7 year old with this bad back.

Alan sounds much fitter than me, and he is able to workout.

I don't like the sounds of paying 100$ for the rest of your life, and maybe the reason he is not a candidate for surgery is because the discs aren't herniated enough to merit an invasive procedure?

I agree. But I want to make sure that this is not another scam and if this machine does what it claims and he can change his spine and find what is pinching and get rid of the neuropathy!!! Well, it's something to think about isn't it.

thanks much.

Melody

It appears that they are creating alot of intrigue with this device by making people compete for it. this is actually a marketing technique, called "Illusion of Exclusivity."

They are basically saying that not everyone can have this, and only the chosen few will have the privelage of this cure. So they make you pour your guts out,and tell them about all about the pain and torture you have suffered. They can then use this as manipulation. Obviously nobody can afford the costs, so they even have a payment plan option. Why does it cost so much anyways? I've been operated on for less.

I would feel much better if there was a bit more mainstream,and you knew people who had done it, before commiting to the tremendous cost. I would also call my insurance comapny and ask them why only 10% is covered, and ask if anyone else has recently done the treatment and so forth.

I forgot to mention one thing from the conversation!!!

As I sat down I observed an x-ray on the wall of a seemingly curved spine!!

Now 3 years I was diagnosed with severe S shaped scoliosis. The only reason I went to my doctor for an x-ray was because ocasionally I would experience a sharp pain between my shoulder blades. The pain would knock me off my feet but it happened maybe twice a year and believe it or not, it hasn''t happened again.
So my doctor said "let's get you an x-ray of your upper back".

So I take the x-ray and the x-ray technician goes to me 'well, you do know you have scoliosis, don't you"??? I looked at the x-ray and there was a big S on the screen. I said "that's my back????" and he goes "oh, you didn't know you had scoliosis'.

So the report goes back to my doctor and he says "Melody, there's nothing you can do at your age, just keep as fit as you can." Honestly my scoliosis doesn't give me any problem, I'm not hunched, and by looked at me, I stand straight so I have no idea why there's a big S on the screen and on the report, where it says Interpretation, it reads. Severe S shaped Scoliosis!!!

So I'm sitting across from this doctor yesterday and I said "by the way, I'd like to ask a question before you begin with Alan and I go. "do you treat scoliosis?" and she goes "yes in some cases". I go "but if a person is 59 years old, you can't change the bone in the back, that's why they rarely operate on people over 14, I researched this'. She answered "well, we do help people in some cases".

I didn't believe her.


what do you think???? and people, please keep the comments coming, okay?

thanks,

Love, Mel

If they try to make money on Alan's misery I wouldnt trust them for a second. Find out if the machine and treatment is standard procedure in a quality hospital treating these health issues.

best wishes for Alan and you
Per, Norway

Mel,
This is what Aetna Insurance company considers their opinion of this machine, but I don't know anything about them. Just seems to me they are not proven to work yet.

http://www.aetna.com/cpb/data/CPBA0180.html

Billye

Want to know what Alan wants to purchase?

He saw on shopnbc.com a back reclining machine promoted by Tony Little. It's different than the Hang Ups upside down hanging thing that I saw on QVC.

Here's the link for that one.


http://www.hsn.com/cnt/prod/default....*hf0007*807172

Anybody have any opinions on either this machine or the Hang Ups one!!

Here's a link to the hang ups machine:

http://www.teeterhangups.com/testimonials/index.html

We are seriously thinking about getting one of these!!!

melody

Thought I'ld share my experience on DRX-9000. I used it for 3 months 3 times a week along with massage, and tens unit. I do admit after the three months I did feel much better, the hook was to use it weekly and then monthly for maintenance. I was fortunate that my insurance picked up 80% of the cost and the Dr. wrote off quite a bit of the remainder. My neurologist gave me botox injections after this and the pain was tolerable for almost a year. It is back full force now though, so if a person can afford it, it does work but (this is only my personal opinion) it would probably be pretty much a life time commitment to be more than a temporary fix. Anyone with chronic pain knows that even short durations of manageable pain is a godsend and helps you refuel, only wish it was permanent.

Cathy

Mel, you may have mentioned this and I missed it, but did you and Alan discuss this treatment with Dr. Theirl?

I know you trust his opinions ... and he did help Alan tremendously, yes?