Hello newbie here :)

[nburns]

Hello all,

I've been lurking around here for awhile learning as much as I can about ADR and learning about others experiences. I'm 20 years old and currently considering this as an option, well really as my only option because I feel as if I am too young to even consider doing any type of fusion, I want to keep my mobility. My L4-L5-S1 discs are herniated and have bad DDD. I've been told that my back looks like that of someone who is 55+ and my 92 year old grandma jokes around with me that her back is in better shape than mine . The pain is starting to really affect my school work, I'm trying to major in photography and the work I have to do in the darkroom, out in the field, and the digital lab is really taking a toll on my back. It's making me miserable to the point that I don't get to really enjoy hanging out with my friends and I try to rest as much as I can to make it through the next day.

I have a few questions and hopefully some of them can get answered
-Would you do an ADR at the age of 20?
-Would trying to be a full time student shortly after doing the surgery be something stupid or would it be doable? (3-4 classes some online)
-How long did it take you to feel some relief?
-How long did it take you to get complete relief if you got any relief at all?

I want to thank all of you for sharing your experiences on this website it has helped my research a lot and it has even swayed my dad to being on my side! and that means a lot to me seeing as it is his insurance and he's the lucky one who gets to pay for this

[Harrison]

Welcome, but sorry you are here. I hope we can help you. In the meantime, I'll look for a few similar topics that may answer most of your questions...here's one I was thinking of, posted by tooyoungforthis:

L5-S1 (DDD) TBI Clinical Trial What to do?