[Molly]

Hi Will,

It's nice to know that there others out there who are dealing with the same issues. Although I wouldn't wish this upon anyone!

I've made a decision... I'm going in for a fusion on Nov. 23, 2008. I saw a 3rd Dr. (Dr. Zigler at TX Back Institute) about a week ago. He said my facets are not strong enough to hold the disc in @ L5/S1 & that I needed to get a fusion at that level. Of course I already knew that part, so I asked if he's leave the disk in. He said yes to leave it in & he'll just, as you put it "bolt and screw things together". If I'm still having pain, which is possible b/c L4/L5 is degenerative, but not bad enough to do anything about it now. It's more than likely that I'll need an TDR at L4/L5 sometime in the future.

While this isn't exactly what I wanted to hear, I already knew most of that in the back of mind. I do feel a slight sense of relief having made this decision, since I've been struggling for so long w/ it. Since I sit at a desk all day, I did buy one those orthopedic foam cushions w/ the tail bone area cut out & it does give me partial relief throughout the day. I'll keep you posted on recovery, etc. as I can.

- Molly