A new life after ADR

[SpineInSecurity]

By coincidence, I found this forum exactly four weeks after getting a Prodisc-C at C5-6.

So far, it's been good. The arm pain is reduced, intrascapular pain has almost disappeared, and I've got more range of motion than I've had in years. The various muscles that get stretched during the surgery are still a bit sore, but getting better as well. An unexpected benefit is people say I look better. Apparently, I'd been wearing over ten years of chronic pain on my face all this time.

I was in line for a fusion, but my insurance company changed their mind, and as of October 1, 2011, UHC decided to cover cervical ADR. I'd already done some research on ADR before then, but kicked it way up once I knew it was an option. My surgeon has done a few hundred of these, so I was comfortable with his skill and experience.

My C6-7 has more or less auto-fused, (Doc says it set up perfectly with the foramina wide open) and I need some work at C7-T1. Hopefully a micro discectomy will do the job there, otherwise, I'll be looking at an ACDF there.

[Cirobi]

Congrats on the successful surgery and welcome to the forum!

It's funny you mention that people have told you that you look better outwardly. My boss made a similar statement after I returned from my lumbar ADR surgery/recovery in that I looked like I was walking straighter. I knew I sometimes had walked bent over but thought it was only on the worst of days. Apparently I had been doing that almost daily!

Hope things continue to go well in your recovery from surgery and that the other work you need done also goes well. Hooray for feeling better!

~Sara

[cherylstewart67]

Congrats on your recovery. where did you have surgery? what type of United Health Care policy do you have? - thanks, Cheryl

[SpineInSecurity]

My ADR was done by Dr. Deshmukh at Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine in Charlotte, NC. You might recognize the names of some of his colleagues - Drs. Dom Coric and Tim Adamson.

Everyone there seems to be deeply involved with advancing the art and science, rather than just accepting a stream of checkbooks, err... patients and saying "You need a new disc and I can fix you" to everyone who walks in. From my experience, they also take time with patients - by the time I'd left Dr. Deshmukh's office at my first visit with him, I was entirely comfortable with the idea of getting the implant vs fusion, we had a plan for future work (freeing the C8 root with a microdiscectomy) and most important, I was comfortable with him as a person and his skills. That first visit was nearly an hour long, but my neck was literally on the line.

I don't recall exactly what kind of UHC coverage I had, other than it was a "consumer directed" plan. Think it used to be called Definity in the past. I was in a bit of a race to get the ADR done by the end of 2011 as my employer decided to switch us all over to Anthem BCBS.

As for looking better - one of my co-workers said I look more relaxed than they'd ever seen me. Also, my head is finally straight. For years, I had a touch of wry neck, with my head tilted slightly to the right. Apparently, the C5-6 disc itself was a bit wedge-shaped, and straightening out my head is a happy side-effect of the perfectly flat implant. The only snag is that the muscles on my right side have been accustomed to my head being tilted, and now that "a bit longer" is their new normal state, they have to get used to the stretch.

[laid up doc]

I consulted Adamson and Coric too... they are great guys. Had the Prodisc been appropriate for me or had I been able to get the Freedom outside of the trial, I would have had Coric do it. Had fusion been the right answer, I would have had Adamson do it.

I still go there for PT... but not for my pain doc. They like to have a say-so over the pain docs and I think that's wrong... and since I had surgery overseas, they don't really want much to do w/ me.... so I see someone else.

SO glad you're doing so well, keep it up!