I HAD AN MRI W/DR. COLLINS LAST MONTH CUZ MY LEFT SIDE WAS GETTING WORSE. IT SHOWED A LOT OF COMPRESSION ON MY LEFT SIDE ALONG W/COMPRESSION ON MY POSTSURGICAL RIGHT SIDE. THIS NEVER EVER GOES AWAY BUT I AM SO MUCH BETTER SINCE MY SURGERY. MY PRIVATE INSURANCE ENDED UP COVERING THIS MRI/MRA AND I ONLY OWE 26 BUCKS!!! IT BILLS FOR OVER 9K!!! I AM HANGING IN THERE AND JUST GOT ACCEPTED IN GRADUATE SCHOOL FOR THIS FALL. ALL I CAN DO IS TRY? RIGHT? I HAVE TO MOVE ON W/MY LIFE AND THIS IS THE ONLY WAY HOW. CONGRATS TO ME!!! YEAH!!!

Loved Dr. Collins. Afterwards did explain all the images. He is super smart Anatomy guy

Dr. Collins is amazing. He spent a ton of time with me explaining my images and they were fascinating. I'm getting better as long as I remember to do my exercises and watch the posture. It is a slow process and can be frustrating.

Yep It Is Extremely Frustrating, But Just Hang In There Cuz Life Goes On...it Has To. I Try To Roll W/the Punches. Well Not Exactly But Figuretively. Dr. Annest Did An Amazing Job On Me. I Can Hardly Notice My Scar. Although I Still Have Problems, It Cut My Migraines In Half By 90%. I Wouldn't Trade That For Anything. I Still Take My Pain Meds Along W/a Lot Of Other Medicine, But I Figure That's Life And The Drugs That They Have Now Are So Much Better Than The Old Stuff. For Instance, Lyrica Vs. Neurontin Or Lexapro Vs. Prozac (which Isn't Even That Old). I Still Have To Take Medicine To Help Keep Me Awake, Because I Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Along W/fybro. I Try To Ignore The Names And Just Learn To Deal W/it. I Have No Choice And Being All Alone, There's No One To Take Care Of Me Except Me!!!! Dr. Collins Is Awesome. I Recommend Seeing Him If Possible. But If You No Insurance And Work Comp Is Not An Option Or They Deny It, Then Don't. It Is Too Expensive. If Anyone Has Any Questions About Surgery, Then Feel Free To Pm Me. Also, It Will Be One Year From My Surgery 4/5/07. I Need Another Surgery, But I Have Elected To Not Have It, Because My Fatigue Is Too Severe, And My Surgeon Was Concerned About That.

I Am Mistaken....ucla Billed For Over $13, 000, And My Insurance Allows To Pay Them Per Contract Over $8300. I Owe Much More Than $26 Bucks......

Oh Law, bummer. For mine they billed over $12,000 and I owed $400.

I hope you do not owe much.

Take care

law76 I am very glad that you are better on your post surgical side. but i'm puzzled-why do say that the compression never goes away? i thought that the whole point of surgery was to get rid of the compression. and if the compression doesn't go away why do feel so much better?

re your MRI bill. you could request to pay it off monthly. and they may discount the amount you owe if it is a hardship. doesn't hurt to ask.

Not sure about Law but would "guess" that compression could still happen for awhile because of:

1. Normal swelling after surgery...the surrounding tissue will be inflamed and that is swelling and swelling reduces "space" and that results in compression.
2. compression may still exist because of posture. Again, I do not know Law's situation...but if he/she hasn't fixed posture and that really was the culprit, then he/she will still have compression.

Don't forget the possible scar tissue growth - nearly a year since her surgery.

Good luck with Grad school Law!

Thanks Everyone For Your Input. Um, I Will Try Calling Ucla To Work On A Payment Plan...yes, They Billed Over 13k, And I Believe That My Insurance Is Paying 8,300 Due To Contractual Agreement.