TIPNA

[jacko]

Hi

Happy New Year to you all.

I just wondered if anyone has had any joy with getting money from Southern Cross NZ, for overseas treatment.

Many thanks.

Jacko.

[Stephanie P]

I don't know what Southern Cross comes up with, Jacko, but I was insured with Tower who paid for my surgery in Nantes in 2004, and further surgery plus botox and cortisone in Sydney in 2007; also air fares.
Stephanie
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Pudendal neuropathy (undiagnosed) since 1985. Worsened by an accident in 2003. PNMLT July 2004 5.7 and 8. Bilateral surgery in Nantes August 2004. No change.

[jacko]

Thanks for the prompt response Stephanie.
I did speak with Southern Cross about paying for me to go to Australia for a diagnosis.

They said that before they would consider anything ,I would neeed a letter from a specialist in NZ.

I did try to explain that I would not be going
to Australia (bang head against brick wall) if there was a specialist in this country, but the guy on the phone just kept repeating the same thing.

Thats why I wondered about others out there.

I hope you had a nice new year stephanie and thanks very much again.

Jacko.

[bindy15]

Hi Jacko

I know my pain physician wrote a general letter of endorsement stating that he had pursued several options and that the only way forward for me was to travel to Sydney where there is a specialised clinic. It is just a general reference letter. At the time there was no Southern Cross options as the opportunity for subsidy has only happened in the last year.

I also started as an ACC patient as this was initially a cycling 'injury'

If you have the will to fight for this I am happy to support you, I know a time will come when I also want to revisit the clinic and we need to get the ball rolling...

Jude
_________________
PNE from biking, since Dec 2005
Surgery Sydney Australia, April 2008
TIR approach, Prof Vancaillie

[Stephanie P]

What you may need to do Jacko, is to see if your GP will write a letter to Southern Cross confirming that there are no PNE specialists in NZ, and that you need to go to Sydney for diagnosis.

What I did, in order to get to Nantes, was to take my GP the article by Prof. Robert et al (you can find it under DOCUMENTS where it is listed under Technical Medical Articles by the PNE Experts as 'PNE by Prof. Robert'), plus some further information from this site. The GP, informed by this article and accessory information, and having ruled out any other obvious cause of the pain via x-ray, blood tests, MRI etc, agreed that my symptoms suggested I likely had PNE and I would have to travel abroad for diagnosis.

And/or, you could email/fax Vancaillie with your details and ask him to email your GP confirming that, to his knowledge, there is no PNE expertise in NZ.

Good luck, Stephanie
_________________
Pudendal neuropathy (undiagnosed) since 1985. Worsened by an accident in 2003. PNMLT July 2004 5.7 and 8. Bilateral surgery in Nantes August 2004. No change.

[jacko]

Thanks for your response.

Also do you know how likely it would be to get a definate diagnosis if I do go. Is the testing process fairly accurate.

Thanks.

[Stephanie P]

In Nantes - having ruled out the possibility of other conditions before I left NZ (the MRI etc) - the diagnosis was made after a discussion of my symptoms, the results of CT guided nerve blocks given by a specialist in this area, and a PNMLT undertaken by a neurologist. I'm not absolutely sure of what happens in Sydney, but Bindy 15 could tell you.
All the best, Stephanie
_________________
Pudendal neuropathy (undiagnosed) since 1985. Worsened by an accident in 2003. PNMLT July 2004 5.7 and 8. Bilateral surgery in Nantes August 2004. No change.

[jonehank]

Many health insurance policies carry lifetime caps, or limits on the amount the policy will pay over an individual's lifetime. This is a potential problem for everyone, but it has special implications ...
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