Ideas?
 

Hi I just joined. I have DDD at L4-S1 and looking for options to get it fixed so I can remain active in sports. I have been sidelined for about 2 months now by Sciatic pain. I originally injured it 30 years ago and have had flair ups that have all gone away. This time it won't go away. Tried PT, Chiro, Steroids so far. I believe disk space is minimal and the only real fix is surgery..........now what are my choices?

Hi WC, sorry for the delay. Have you seen any spine doctors yet? Any DOs or naturopaths? Docs that can help you figure out what's going on? :wiggle: Some homework: http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f58...-health-11053/ ;)

Hey Walker. Check out the surgical outcomes area. You can private message lots of people with first hand experience. You know where to find me! :)

Im on it Stuuk

Harrison,

I did consult with my Ortho 2 weeks ago and should have an MRI this week. My guy did the 2 level ADR in my Cervical back in 2007 as part of the Mobi-C study, the results have been great. He is not so keen on Lumbar ADR and we will discuss after MRI. I have heard from 2 American Ortho's who say that there is less interest in the ADR's in the US. They both say that they don't have data that supports agressive ADR usage. I remember researching for my neck and finding that Lumbar patients were having less success than Cervical...........do you agree?

Sad thing to remind you but remember that American doctor's are a business.
They make the most monies on surgery.
The fact that you are on a forum reading tells you to look out for your own
best interests.
Read through the surgical outcomes forum.
I had lumbar surgery and I'm doing great and have my life back.
You have to decide what is best for you, can you afford to pay for your own surgery if ADR is the right choice, will your doctor here in the US still support you if you go over seas and have surgery? You might need to find a new doctor who supports what you feel is best for you vs what they feel is right for you. Last thing they want is money to go over seas.
The US can't do a multi level ADR. If I were you, I would wonder if you only needed one ADR, would his opinion be the same?

In my case, I only needed a one level.
My doctor who in the beginning was anti fusion, wanted to do ADR on me.
When insurance denied it, he then told me that fusion was the way to go?
Gave me a cash price of $54,000 and that was a few years back!
In my case, it was less expensive to go overseas and get an M6, a better more experienced ADR doctor and still save money.

All of which wouldn't have happened if I hadn't joined this forum and read for myself.
Good luck with your decision.

Vicky,

Thanks for the post. I see Nick is no longer an option, he did a surgery on a friend of mine also. I just got MRI results last week and is shows several levels of DDD, however it clearly shows a bulge in L4-L5 and my surgeon wants to go in and trim it. He did a 2 level ADR on my neck in 2007 and the results were great, part of a study. He is not in a hurry to do Lumbar surgery as it is more tricky and the results are less successful than Cervical. He is convinced from the film that a little trimming will relieve my pain and I am inclined to go that route.

Who would you go with now that Dr Boeree is out of the question?