A frisbee, an hour and a half, and a brand new VMax.

[YSR_Racer_99]

I was playing disc golf last summer with the family, and just like I do with regular golf, I tried to double bogey the par 5 as if I were Mickelson playing sudden death for a million bucks. And every time I do it, I think something like "its a par-5 for a reason, dumbass".

I pull back, let her fly, and feel a screaming pain in my right shoulder. Because I'm a guy, I ignore it for six months even though it wakes me up 4-5 times a night.

Late December, I go see an ortho doc. Tells me its a SLAP tear, orders an MRI with dyes, and sends me on my way. Get the MRI, he's correct. The tear extends along the whole back of the labrum, from the 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock positions. I go see him, and he recommends one of his colleagues. I go to see the colleague (he was in the Kettering Superbowl commercial, so must be good, right?), and he tells me how he wants to sew the labrum back to the bone using anchors and thread. Okay. We schedule it for late February.

Of course no mention has been made by anyone re: cost of this thing. I'm self employed, and our family insurance premiums are weighty (even though we're healthy for the most part) with a highhhhh deductible. I decide to make a couple of calls on Thursday. They are using three billing codes which total about $3500. Hmmmm, okay, this may not be too bad, but that sounds awfulllllly cheap. I make another call, and a lady researches it and calls me back on Thurs afternoon. Essentially, once the hospital adds their charges, you figure in the anesthesiologist, etc, that frisbee throw is gonna cost about $15,000 (about the cost of a FatBob or Vmax). The outpatient surgery should take about an hour and a half. I'll have to be off of work for two weeks totally, and rehab will take at least three months, and maybe up to six. No trabajo, no dinero. I realize that there will be increasing abilities/ permissions as rehab/ healing progress.

I'm floored, and I'm pissed. I start thinking that if I were an illegal or a loser welfare POS, I wouldn't be paying anything for this. Then I start thinking about it being so expensive partly BECAUSE I'm paying for those people to get theirs, too. Then I start thinking about how much of my money goes to taxes. Then I start thinking about how the hospital looks like a five star hotel. etc etc etc

I've started researching consequences of not getting this repaired. Its really not a big hindrance. Honestly. I need to go hit some golf balls and see how that goes.

I didn't sleep very well last night...

Sorry. Need to vent.

[BadTrainDriver]

I always thought i didn't want to play disc golf because it seems so gay...thanks for opening my eyes to the dangers of it!

PS: I'll chip in $20 towards your surgery. Get enough people to follow my lead and we'll pay that bitch of lickety plit!

[Ron505]

I didn't sleep very well last night...

Sorry. Need to vent.

Understandable on both accounts. I hope it works out for you, and you are able to sleep and not get thrown in jail, or Leins put on your property.

[3.504]

take some advil and rock on.

healthcare is so f***ed. every hypochondriac that makes an insurance claim for the sniffles, not to mention every fatass that requires life support to take a s*** drove premiums through the roof and made coverage terrible.

the working class is so screwed.

in the mean time: grab some advil and tough that thing out. its what I do with my slipped disc.

[crb]

I hear you and feel the anger. Our OBGYN's office put us on a payment plan (required) to have our obligation paid before the 8th month. Welfare people do not even have a copay. To top it off the hospital billed $5,100 to insurance for labs. Apparently the hospital used an out of network lab.

[cOoTeR]

Ive had 2 surgeries done on my left shoulder the labrum because of an old wrestling injury. Both surgeries have failed even though they were done by what is considered the best sports medicine orthopedic surgeon in Columbus. He was the Dr. For the blue jackets for awhile. After both surgeries my arm was really tight and my range of motion sucked even though I did all the rehab I was supposed to. When it dislocated after the surgeries it hurt worse than before. I decided a third surgery wasn't worth it. I'm glad I didn't go in for the third because my arm is better without it. I'd say if its not grinding rest it for awhile then find some rehab exercises and do those as long as it doesn't hurt.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Dr. hell I'm not even a janitor in a medical building so my advice is not based on any fact just personal experience.

[cOoTeR]

I hear you and feel the anger. Our OBGYN's office put us on a payment plan (required) to have our obligation paid before the 8th month. Welfare people do not even have a copay. To top it off the hospital billed $5,100 to insurance for labs. Apparently the hospital used an out of network lab.

You guys could burn your fingerprints off then go make up an identity get a state ID card and claim you dont work just make babies for a living. Then as an added bonus to the free health care if your kid becomes an asshole you can show them the birth certificate that has the fake names and say they were adopted.

[crb]

You guys could burn your fingerprints off then go make up an identity get a state ID card and claim you dont work just make babies for a living. Then as an added bonus to the free health care if your kid becomes an asshole you can show them the birth certificate that has the fake names and say they were adopted.

Lol

It is simply aggravating that we work and pay for our insurance and the welfare mommas yet we can't expect tgem to pay a dime. Tax payer = copay welfare recipient=FREE 100% FREE!

To the OP: good luck with the surgery.

[Bad324]

That sounds a bit worse than when I tore my labrum playing baseball. Hell I pitched for 4 years and played another 3 years of softball before I ever went to a doc to get it checked out. I declined surgery and only did 2 weeks of a rehab before I said screw it

Good luck with the surgery!

[YSR_Racer_99]

That sounds a bit worse than when I tore my labrum playing baseball. Hell I pitched for 4 years and played another 3 years of softball before I ever went to a doc to get it checked out. I declined surgery and only did 2 weeks of a rehab before I said screw it

Good luck with the surgery!

So what is the outcome? Any issues? From the stuff I see online, some folks go 20 years with no issues.

And what did the rehab consist of?

The lady whom I spoke to yesterday was very nice. She said "Thank goodness you're not crying. I have lots of people cry when they call in like this". I. Bet. They. Do!

She said "the doctor will probably advise you to have the surgery", to which I replied "Of course he will. Its a $10k payday for him". I realize he won't get all of that, but still.

[Bad324]

So what is the outcome? Any issues? From the stuff I see online, some folks go 20 years with no issues.

And what did the rehab consist of?

The lady whom I spoke to yesterday was very nice. She said "Thank goodness you're not crying. I have lots of people cry when they call in like this". I. Bet. They. Do!

She said "the doctor will probably advise you to have the surgery", to which I replied "Of course he will. Its a $10k payday for him". I realize he won't get all of that, but still.

Stretches and weights were what I went through since I declined surgery. The only reason I even went to the doc was because my roomates girlfriend was a trainer for the UC football team and she got me in to their specialist at no charge, all I had to do was pay for the MRI which was at Paul Brown Stadium. I woke up one morning and it felt like my shoulder was on fire and I could barely move it any which way without it hurting

The only time it hurts now is when I throw too much or too hard. Due to compensating for the pain in my shoulder over the years I developed issues in my elbow and wrist. Nothing serious and again only when throwing but I've just learned to play through the pain

[cOoTeR]

Mine was horrible it would dislocate a lot at first but after rehab it has been fine. My rehab was mostly using an exercise band and a stationary bike type machine that I had to crank with my hands.

[jbot]

Of course no mention has been made by anyone re: cost of this thing. I'm self employed, and our family insurance premiums are weighty (even though we're healthy for the most part) with a highhhhh deductible. I decide to make a couple of calls on Thursday. They are using three billing codes which total about $3500. Hmmmm, okay, this may not be too bad, but that sounds awfulllllly cheap. I make another call, and a lady researches it and calls me back on Thurs afternoon. Essentially, once the hospital adds their charges, you figure in the anesthesiologist, etc, that frisbee throw is gonna cost about $15,000 (about the cost of a FatBob or Vmax).

Do you have an HSA plan? what's your co-insurance coverage like? i'm assuming that's where the extra expense is coming from?

so if your deductible is 3500, that means the remaining 11,500 is from your co-insurance, which if there is any at all, it's usually 20% for you. that means the surgery and all the other crap would total out to $61,000 (assuming i'm correct about the co-insurance part). if I'm wrong about the co-insurance, why would you have to pay for anything beyond $3500? i'm self employed, but am covered by my wife's plan (she works for a large corporation, with excellent benefits) so I'm not too worried about it, but i know people with HSA's with supposedly 100% coverage on co-insurance so I'm curious.

[LJWalter]

Well, you can always invest in an ID counterfeiter. Change your name to Armando Chavez, give yourself a fake social and start the process again. Just learn "mi hombro ne es bueno", my shoulder is no good.

[cOoTeR]

Well, you can always invest in an ID counterfeiter. Change your name to Armando Chavez, give yourself a fake social and start the process again. Just learn "mi hombro ne es bueno", my shoulder is no good.

Instead of butchering Spanish just go in and point at your shoulder while making an angry face and doing pelvic thrusts followed by a pain face then a sad face.

[shittygsxr]

So what is the outcome? Any issues? From the stuff I see online, some folks go 20 years with no issues.

And what did the rehab consist of?

The lady whom I spoke to yesterday was very nice. She said "Thank goodness you're not crying. I have lots of people cry when they call in like this". I. Bet. They. Do!

She said "the doctor will probably advise you to have the surgery", to which I replied "Of course he will. Its a $10k payday for him". I realize he won't get all of that, but still.

Dont be mad at the Dr. for the sacrifices they make (10 years of school and debt up to their eyeballs) and the cost of making an error (killing someone) they dont get paid that well. If I fuck up at work and dont fix a toilet right then someone might get a wet ass.

Dont be mad at the people that take advantage of a fucked up system.

Be mad at the ones who created this fucked up system.

I would look into medical tourism or getting a state job for a little while.

[Mykill]

^ or go to jail. Criminals also get free healthcare.

[YSR_Racer_99]

Dont be mad at the Dr. for the sacrifices they make (10 years of school and debt up to their eyeballs) and the cost of making an error (killing someone) they dont get paid that well. If I fuck up at work and dont fix a toilet right then someone might get a wet ass.

Dont be mad at the people that take advantage of a fucked up system.

Be mad at the ones who created this fucked up system.

I would look into medical tourism or getting a state job for a little while.

I'm not mad at the doc. Can't blame him a bit.

I am mad at the system. I don't have the answer for fixing it.

I used to be a social worker, and got gently nudged out of it by a guy who was a great boss. "You've got to find something else to do". He didn't fire me, but lit a fire under me. I got sick of the welfare moms coming into our agency trying to get their perfectly fine/ normal gets diagnosed with ADHD so they could get a bigger check. I've been fed up with the system, and bitter, for a looooong time.

Thanks to all for the good insight/ advice/ thoughts. I appreciate it.

[YSR_Racer_99]

Do you have an HSA plan? what's your co-insurance coverage like? i'm assuming that's where the extra expense is coming from?

so if your deductible is 3500, that means the remaining 11,500 is from your co-insurance, which if there is any at all, it's usually 20% for you. that means the surgery and all the other crap would total out to $61,000 (assuming i'm correct about the co-insurance part). if I'm wrong about the co-insurance, why would you have to pay for anything beyond $3500? i'm self employed, but am covered by my wife's plan (she works for a large corporation, with excellent benefits) so I'm not too worried about it, but i know people with HSA's with supposedly 100% coverage on co-insurance so I'm curious.

Used to have HSA, but switched to a high deductible plan ($5700 indiv/ $5700 family). Yeah, after the ded is met, the insur pays at 100%. The surgery center wants to put me on a payment plan for about $5550 (my outstanding ded), "and then everything else you do for the year will be free".

$5700 plus a years worth of premiums ($7200) is more than I'm willing to throw out there at this time. I realize I'm going to pay the premiums regardless of surgery, so thats a zero sum issue.

In mentally weighing the pros and cons of the surgery, the pros don't outweigh the cons. Yet.

[shittygsxr]

I'm not mad at the doc. Can't blame him a bit.

I am mad at the system. I don't have the answer for fixing it.

I used to be a social worker, and got gently nudged out of it by a guy who was a great boss. "You've got to find something else to do". He didn't fire me, but lit a fire under me. I got sick of the welfare moms coming into our agency trying to get their perfectly fine/ normal gets diagnosed with ADHD so they could get a bigger check. I've been fed up with the system, and bitter, for a looooong time.

Thanks to all for the good insight/ advice/ thoughts. I appreciate it.

I am right were you were back then. Good luck

[Steve Butters]

tore my rotator cuff and stuck it out....after a year it was doing mostly better, after 2 i have no problems with it at all....my doctor also advised surgery, but i declined

i wrecked my bike in 07 and by 09 it was perfectly fine, and to this day no problems with it

[ReconRat]

Dislocated my shoulder trying to lift something that weighed way too much.

Trying to lift it over my head did the trick. Partial dislocation and tore who knows what.

Popped it back in myself, after I figured out what happened.

It was messed up for a few years, but luckily it healed up slowly on it's own.

I was very careful not to repeat or make it worse for quite a while.