Patrick's Migraine Surgery - HOPE!
Patrick is getting a migraine surgery that is not covered by insurance.
Patrick has been suffering from migraines his whole life. The past few years they have greatly increased in severity and happen more often. This past year they have become overwhelming and debilitating. He has been experiencing migraines 3 - 5 days a week, many times leaving him unable to do things. He now has to have intermittent FMLA because he is unable to work through the migraines and he has been missing 1-3 days a week of work. He does not like that he is missing time from work. Even more so, he does not like missing time with family. He has not been able to go to everything he used to and he does not like to miss out on fun things with Melodee. He is a very dedicated daddy and has fought through migraines to see her performances and go do things, but many times he has to leave early due to the migraine. He just wants to get back to every day life and "normal" functioning.
Patrick has run the gamut with treatment options for migraines. Patrick has been seeing a nurse practitioner who specializes in migraines for years. He also sees a neurologist who he became tied to when he had post concussive syndrome that also helps with the migraine treatment plans. He has gotten second opinions to no avail. He takes herbal supplements and is on daily preventative medications that have changed over the years. He has tried monthly injections and is currently trying a new one. He also has had Botox treatments and trigger point injections with varying success. He has had physical therapy. Patrick has learned some triggers and stays away from certain foods. The weather is the one trigger we cannot control so rain is an enemy in this household! As you can imagine, he has become very frustrated that the migraines keep getting worse and he has not been able to find a reprieve.
Patrick found a plastic surgeon who has pioneered migraine surgery. Dr. Guyuron discovered the surgery when patients who were getting other plastic surgery reported that their migraines also went away. He has discovered ways to complete nerve decompression surgery at specific trigger sites. Dr. Guyuron has published more than 26 peer reviewed articles, offering evidence-based proof as to the efficacy of the operations and he has a success rate of 80 - 90% in the reduction in migraines. There are other plastic surgeons that now also use these techniques. Patrick scheduled an appointment with Dr. Guyuron and the diagnostics that were used led him to believe that Patrick would be a good candidate for the surgery. He identified three trigger points where the nerve decompression surgery would be good. We had hope again after a lot of disappointments, especially when Patrick's migraine went down to a 1 out of 10 in less then 10 minutes with the nerve block performed. The bad news, my insurance has denied the surgery deeming it to be "investigational/experimental." This surgery has been around many years, and what insurance is paying for now costs more, but we all know that insurance rules the world. He is scheduled to have the procedure on September 20th. We are hopeful that this will be successful and that Patrick can reclaim part of his life and be more involved with activities with Melodee.