Surgery with Dr. Fielding/Affordability solutions

[nitewatch]

Hello, all.

I've been reading in your forums for a bit and after a lot of positive reviews of Dr. Fielding I decided to go with him. I like his method and met with him. He's a nice guy with a good understanding of the issues dealt with. For my initial consultation he asked me to take off my shirt and sit down in a chair (as opposed to other doctors who just simply examine you standing up). He did this so he could examine the problem as I'd deal with it on a day-to-day basis.

That was a major motivation for me, but there was the cost. He called my case a "medium" severity, and set a cost based on that.  Luckily there are other methods for those who don't have $2,000 saved up. He recommended 1 of 2 creditors, one called "Medicard", which I went with due to interest rates, and another called "Credit Medical".

Medicard was the best rate of the 2, but Credit Medical has a 1.5 year payment method that I wanted. I ended up opting for the lower rate, and at $1908 (cost for surgery) that came to about $86 / month for 2 years.  I plan to make extra payments to this so I don't have it lingering around for 2 years, but nonetheless very helpful to some who can't afford to dish out the money immediately. I have pretty good credit, but I hear that most people can get credit with these guys fairly easily.

http://www.medicard.com/
http://www.creditmedical.com/

My surgery is November 29th and looking forward to it, although I am not telling my work because I don't want them asking questions (nosey sometimes). I'm just gonna call in sick a few days and the weekend will be there to recover as well.

I have a few questions.

1) I workout quite regularly and would like to know when I can start doing light cardio and when I can start doing light weights. I forgot to ask these questions!

2) Will I need anything extra than what Fielding provides (tensor, etc) to have a successful healing process?


Thanks!

Nick

[nitewatch]

I think it would be a great idea to pin these financing companies to the top of a thread so others who are considering surgery will have financing options brought to their attention without second guessing their ability to be able to do this surgery.

[Dadadaboom]

Answers to your questions:

1) Dr. Fielding told me I could start running 2 weeks after my surgery, and that I could take walks immediately after surgery. He told me I couldn't lift weights until 3 weeks after surgery. Based on my experience, I would agree with these time estimates.

2) No, Dr. Fielding advised me against using any of the commercially available compression garments. The vest he provides you with is the best there is - you will be wearing it from the time you wake up after your surgery, and it is included in the cost. I heard that he sells additional ones at his office for about $80. If you can afford it, I suggest you get an extra one in advance so that you can wear it while the other one's hanging to dry after washing it (you can't get an extra one at the hospital - I tried). I wish I had bought an extra one from Dr. Fielding before hand. If you can't afford it, at least make sure you get two or three pairs of tensor bandages from the hospital. They should give them to you for free. They're not nearly as good as the vest, but you'll need them for when your vest is wet after washing.

You may feel you need more time than one weekend and a few days off from work. If you could take a week off, including both weekends, I would recommend that.

[nitewatch]

My work is a desk job and the operation was a success! (so I am told, I can't see much)

I feel great, and could probably return to work tomorrow. We'll see what happens when I wake up.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Medicard was the best rate of the 2, but Credit Medical has a 1.5 year payment method that I wanted. I ended up opting for the lower rate, and at $1908 (cost for surgery) that came to about $86 / month for 2 years.

There ya go.... $86 a month! That's $21.50 a week. A measly $3 dollars a day!   

Even if money is tight, 3 bucks a day isn't gonna break ya guys.... 

John.