Questions to Ask Your Doctor
Situation 2: Discussing Treatment Options
About Your Choices
- What treatment options are available?
- Which do you recommend? Why?
- What is the success rate of each treatment?
- What happens if I choose not to treat this?
About Conservative Treatment
- What medication should I try first?
- What are the side effects of the medication?
- Do I need rehabilitation? Where can I receive it?
- Would nerve block injections be effective?
- How long should I continue conservative treatment?
About Surgery
- Is surgery necessary?
- In my case, do the imaging findings match my symptoms? Is the compression site clear?
- What are the pros and cons of surgery?
- What kind of surgery would it be? (Decompression? Fusion?)
- Is minimally invasive surgery an option?
- Is there any risk in delaying surgery?
- What is the likelihood that surgery will completely relieve my pain?
About SCS (Spinal Cord Stimulation)
- Would SCS be appropriate for me?
- Am I the type of patient who should consider SCS before surgery, or is SCS more relevant for post-surgical pain in my case?
- Which has a higher success rate for me -- SCS or surgery?
- From the perspective of "Is the pain neuropathic, and can surgery clearly fix it?" -- where does my situation stand?
- Can you refer me to a facility that performs SCS?