Last resort?
 

I've bee lurking here for a while and want to say the information I've gained has been great. I've got a herniated C5/C6 disc with left nerve root compression. After 3 interlaminar ESIs (most recent 1/10) providing only 2-3 weeks of semi-relief and dealing with a ding bat "pain managment" doctor whose answer to everthing was more drugs (I happen to be immune to Percocet) I saw a surgeon yesterday.

He confirmed the herniation and brought more bad news saying I've got 50% strenth loss + possible nerve damage in my left arm. Add to that he said the Doc that did my ESIs was wasting my time & money for doing interlainar because they almost never work. His recommendation is to try a transforaminal ESI then start down the surgery route.

I felt very comfortable with him as he came highly recommended by a friend and is very active in Doctor's w/o Boarders and has a secondary expertice in nurology. I asked about an ADR vs. fusion and he said in his opinion there is no difference in recovery time or effectiveness. Said he was one of 10 doctors selected to do ADR trials in the early 2000s and said the jury is still out. Said he didn't care which he did.

I would really welcome some thoughts/comments about my first experience. Does a 4th ESI (3 since 10/2012) but differnt technique sound logical? I imagine I'll encounter less resistance (and cost) for the insurance company with a fusion over an ADR yes? Does 6 weeks to normal activity seem right with a fusion? I'm a guitar/sax player in my 2nd life which now causes pain having those hang off my shoulders..post-op would this be a problem?

Thanks for the great forum!

Luther in Denver

Insurance will pay for fusion, and may or may not pay for ADR, though you have only one level, yes?

wow
 

i am in almost the same situation as you! Had a doc tell me that there is no difference between adr and fusion since there is not much motion involved with level c5/c6. from the research i've done online and through looking at recovery blogs on youtube it seems like the fusion does take longer to recover. My main concern is all the data on fusions causing the levels above and below to go out in the not so distant future. also from what I gather here if the dr doesn't perform the adr correctly it can be a nightmare so there seems to be good and bad with both. I'm trying to hold out as long as I can to get the ADR but it is very difficult when I'm being offered the fusion and a fix now would be great to relieve pain but i don't want to rush to a bad decision. good luck keep me updated please.

Yes- one level only is what he is saying

I cannot believe how similiar our situations are. I have had a really good week with almost no pain and I swear the numbness has lessoned. Perhaps the last injection will do the trick!