Hi ~ I am so thankful for this forum and happy to introduce myself. I am 39 and married with 3 children (ages 10,6,and 3). I'm a stay at home mom - which hasn't been an easy thing on a really painful back.

I've had back pain for 13+ years. Three years ago, 3 months after my son was born, my L4-5 disc had a severe herniation. Passed out at the kitchen table from pain, rushed to the hospital, and 4 days later had microdisectomy. The immediate excruciating pain was gone, but I was left with a lot of pain and numbness in my right calf and foot. And in the last 3 years the pain has continued to get much worse. In February, I was scheduled to be part of a clinical trial for the nucleoplasty. I had a discogram to confirm the pain generator. My pain had shifted to other areas - my low tailbone and both legs and the pain in my right leg had improved a little bit. I wanted to be sure the surgeon was operating in the right place. The discogram revealed that I had most of my pain coming from my L5-S1 and that I had problems at two levels which kicked me out of the study. Now, my surgeon wants to do a hybrid - fusion at l5-s1, adr at l4-5. The second opinion I sought said not to do the hybrid surgery as a Boston spine group was having problems with this surgery. He suggested 2 level ADR. He recommended Texas Back and Jack Zigler or Dr. Bertagnoli. Through researching Dr. B, I found this forum. I also ironically got a phone call from Paula (my second opinion doc was her surgeon and he put us in touch). When she mentioned her name, I shouted out "I know you" - because I had read all about her on this forum. And of course I had wanted to talk to her since she has had surgery with Dr. Zigler.

As it stands now, I am researching ADR. I go to see Dr. Zigler at TBI on June 25th. I am emailing Pro-Spine and talking with Mark ******* - trying to figure out how to go about seeking Dr. Bertagnoli's opinion.

And discussing a spine stimulator as an option if I try to hold out longer on the surgery with my pain clinic doctor.

I think that is about all of an intro I have in me at this moment - I need to lay down! Arg!

Again - this forum and all of you sharing your experinences has been an incredible gift.

Thank you,
Stephanie

Welcome to this site. Glad you have found us. This stie has lots of great information here. If I can be at any help please let me know. I have lot of experinces that hopefully could help you out. Cheers!

Welcome,
this place can be a source of great comfort, information, and hope to keep up the fight.

It's a roller coaster, first making the decision what to do, then who to trust to do it, and then the insurance fight and/or taking a hard look at the finances.

Best of luck.

Thanks LBP. I'm very quickly becoming aware of the complexities of trying to make this decision.

My insurance company is not going to pay ~ trying to figure out how to fight that one as well.

Stephanie

Thanks Chillee ~ I've read your story and cannot believe how much you've been through. Thank you for offering your support and knowledge!

Stephanie,

Welcome! You will find this to be great source of information. But you will also come across some stories that will really concern you, or even scare you! Its good to know both the pros and cons about elective ADR surgery, so seek out the positive as well as the negatives that some will tell you.

I had surgery with Dr. Zigler in February. I've had some discussions with Paula as well, as she went through it right after I did. If you ever want to talk about Zigler, TBI and what you can expect from them, please feel free to PM me.

Best of luck as you explore your options! Its a big decision and one you should take your time making.

Bailey

Hello Stephanie -

Sorry that I didn't catch this post sooner. I haven't been on in awhile, since life got pretty busy with work, physical therapy, and I am finally doing things that I haven't been able to do in awhile (take long walks, entertain, etc).

I'm glad you made your introduction.

How did the appt with Dr. Zigler go? What did he say? Have you made any decisions yet?

Please let us know if we can be of any help.

Paula,
I'm so glad you are doing well. I met with Dr. Z on Monday. He was wonderful. Good news I don't need surgery right now. Bad news, I probably have some neurological problems in my back in addition to back pain/bad discs. I need to sort that our first. I'm going to see a neurologist in a week and I'm pursing a spinal cord stimulator and will have a trial run on the 23rd of July. Thanks for your concern.

Welcome! I am glad that you do not have to have surgery yet. The longer we can wait, the more options will be available.

I was wondering if you could elaborate on the "spinal cord stimulator". How does that work? What is it supposed to do, relieve neurological deficits? Stimulate healing of the cord damage?

Jessica,
I'll be having my 10 day trial on the 23rd and will know more about what pain relief it gives after that. My understanding of the spinal cord stimulator is it is a pain relief mechanism. The doctor inserts two leads into my spinal canal and it connects to an electrical impulse box of some sort. It transmits impulses that intercept the pain signals and provides a warm tingling sensation instead. I am hoping for some relief as most of the narcotics I've tried have been very poor at handling my nerve pain and I'm not able to take neurotin nor lyrica which gives many people relief from nerve pain.

Thanks,