by msimon » 27 Dec 2015, 14:46
I know how you feel. I was crying and shaking all the way to the OR. It is not an easy decision to make but you have to step back and look at the quality of life you have, as well as those around you. Some Doctors don't take AFs seriously as they are not life-threatening but I consider that they are as they cause suicidal-pain. I seriously considered ending my life over it. In the end, I did the surgery for my family. They needed to have me back to who I was and who I needed to be.
If you have a supportive Doctor, that is a good degree of the battle won there. What they write in that referral letter is really important. Let them know you had to quit your job because of this (you did right?) and that you are in so much pain you cannot function normally and that this is urgent. You also may not want the new CRS to know you have been rejected elsewhere. It's like the old boy's club out there and one Doctor doesn't want to touch something that another one didn't deem a big enough problem to treat. I think it makes it easier for them to reject you. Sad as that is, it is something I have learned through experience.
Things might be tough to move on until after New Year's as many Specialist's offices shut down over the X-mas break. Also, I don't know what your financial situation is but there are many people out there that take a short-term bill like you mentioned so they can get back to functioning again. If you are not able to earn an income due to this, the sooner you get it fixed and can work again will actually mean less financial loss in the long-run (A short-term deficit that you could recover from when you are fully functioning again-like an investment, really). Just some of my personal thoughts on the matter...
Dec '13 Fissure from anoscope
3 X internal sphincter botox
'08-'15 Botox for pelvic floor dysfunction
Nov '14 LIS/sentinel tag removal
Feb '15 Deroofing of recurrent infection from LIS
summer '15-healed but still ongoing muscle dysfunction/pain