new guy joining the club
 

This is a club no one really wants to belong to, but alas I must join your ranks.

I'm a 52 year old Canadian guy. My story started 6 years ago when I awoke with what I thought was a kink in my neck that would go away in a day or two. However, within 50 seconds of getting out of bed, a sudden excruciating pain went into my shoulder and down my right arm. It felt like I had literally been impaled by a spear.

Eventually it was determined that had degenerative discs at c5-6 and c6-7 which were "mild to moderate" six years ago and are now "moderate to severe". This includes osteophytes and suspected facet damage. I need to learn more about that.

I won't take the time right now to describe everything that happened over the past six years, but any Canadians out there can likely appreciate what it's like being caught up in the medical system here. Very slow.

If you are interested in that, you can read here about the nearly 100,000 residents of BC on surgical wait lists. I have been told I can see a neurosurgeon "sometime in 2021". I don't think I can make it that long.

So, I have been reading here the past few weeks and researching elsewhere the past year or more about getting two level ADR surgery outside of Canada at my own expense. Hopefully I can learn more from everyone here and make a decision soon. But as I have read here in various threads, there is no good solution at this point and any decision brings with it a large degree or risk.

It's a difficult call to make but it helps to read about others going through similar experiences.

I'm sorry to hear of your problems.

You may want to get a lumbar MRI as well - in that if you should go overseas, well it might be good to have a holistic assessment of your spine.

When getting lumbar imaging (for a persistent multi-year lumbar problem)... With the intention of sending it to overseas surgeons... I got a cervical MRI as well because every few years I get pretty bad shoulder pain... Indications something was not right.

Lo and behold... My cervical imaging looks much worse, my surgeon is much more concerned about that... (And I get his point...)

Thanks for the response Jack.

You're probably right about getting the lumbar looked at. Makes sense but I'm nervous about having more problems to deal with when I can barely figure out how to deal with the two I have now.

That's surprising that your cervical condition was worse, isn't it? I feel for ya. It's a real challenge navigating through this at the best of times and when there are two problematic areas, it's twice the burden.

So how is forum participation these days? I don't see a lot of new threads really. Are the regulars still checking in? It's a great resource none the less, even if some of the info is perhaps out-dated.

The FB ADR support group is pretty active...
Here there are some regulars that are pretty active, but it's tough to compete with Facebook.

I hear you, Canadian system really bad. People think it is so amazing around the world because it is free etc. It is free if you do not mind waiting forever to get things done and then have an overworked stressed out doctor try to get you out of the door as fast as possible when you do get to see one, that is my experience with the Canadian health system. It is only when you are near death or screaming in pain they might decide to push you up the list.



In any case I went overseas and got a 3 level ADR done, IF you like to discuss it sometime I am happy to talk to you on the phone, skype etc of my experiences, I have talked to a few people already. I am not working for any doctor or anything, no benefit to me to do this but to share my experiences with people that had crappy spines like me, something that others have done for me in the past.



The FB group is really good, extremely active, I visit it daily and there is all sorts of people with procedures finished, ones that want to do it, success stories and yes unfortunately failures as well. The FB group is for people with spine problems either pre or post surgery. There is no ads, selling services, people trying to get you to go to their doctor etc, if those people show up they are removed from the group.



It is a great group for support, information on the surgery, doctors, costs, what to expect , all that jazz. This forum is also great, in fact it was one of the first things I ever found that made me even consider ADR surgery, something I am grateful for.


If you want to talk hit me up on private message, I am a Nova Scotian but live in Asia right now so if we talk we got to work out a time for both of us. BTW that goes for anyone really, I do not mind at all spending 15 to 60 min on the phone with anyone. Cheers

Thanks Dorian. Have you ever heard of anyone that has had ADR surgery in Canada, successful or otherwise? I haven't. There are apparently some surgeons that do it in Canada, but there is no way to determine what kind of results they get. One neurosurgeon I consulted in Victoria, said he would do it but didn't even take the time to tell me what device he would use before showing me the door. I think Mobi-C is still the only one approved for two cervical levels in Canada but I'm not 100% sure of that.

Facebook ADR page sounds pretty informative but I've never been a Facebook kind of guy. I suppose I could join and restrict my use of FB to the ADR page only.

Whereabouts in Asia re you, if you don't mind sharing? My wife and I have travelled a lot there. We're not Asian but we love to visit. Unfortunately, travels are grounded until these spine problems can be resolved.

When I was in Barcelona, the day I was having my post op, there was a man and his wife there in the waiting room. He was about to have his second surgery with Dr. Clavel for that very reason.
He also stated that the weather in Spain helped his arthritis.