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Hi

By way of introduction I had a car accident in 2003 - car flipped over and I was left with pain in my lower back. I was reviewed by a conusltant for insurance purposes at the time but no MRI scan - just a basic diagnosis which was back strain which should disappear within 2 years.

3.5 years down the line and I was still having problems. I have an office based job, sitting all the time and the searing pain from my coccyx up to my lumbar region became intolerable after 10 mins of sitting. Walking was no better - felt as though my vertebrae were sliding around, shooting pains down my left leg and local around L5/S1.

Was seen by Mr Roysam at the Washington hospital who ordered an MRI and prescribed a course of physio. The MRI came back with a severely herniated L5/S1 disc and he suggested ADR as the physio was doing no good and my pain was getting worse. No amount of codeine would help and I couldn't take anything stronger as I was trying to stay at work but eventually had to give up and go sick.

Had my surgery on 4th Nov 2006 (ProDisc)and I am now 4 weeks into recovery. Checked out this forum the night before my surgery to see what to expect. Some of the stories of post op pain did scare me a bit (particularly the frontal incision) but I had to weigh this up against a lifetime of worsening pain. I'm only 40 and Mr Roysam agreed this is a bit on the young side for this level of herniation and agreed that the car accident could have set it off.

Since my surgery I had 10 days of feeling great, then the distraction pain set in with a vengeance - intense nerve pain from my left buttock down into my calf, tingling and throbbing in my toes, hip bone feeling like it was being pushed out of joint!

Turned to this site to see if this was normal as I was paranoid that the new disc had slipped. The postings on this site and a confirmation from my consultant have reassured me and now the pains have almost gone. I haven't taken dihydrocodeine for 3 days and today I haven't taken anything at all!

At this point I have no regrets on having the ADR and would reccommend this site as a great source of info and reassurance for anyone considering or recovering from ADR surgery

welcome anne
the distraction pain you are having is common you must have had alot of disc hiegh lost for it to be so bad as i did.this will get betterhttp://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...icon_smile.gif
chuck

Thank you for sharing your story!

From what the consultant said after the op, my disc was dried out to almost sand, so my nerves have had a bit to get used to with a new ProDisc in there.

One question I'd like to ask - My employer is doing a workstation assessment for me in the New Year and I will need to have a special chair- has anyone got any reccommendations for the best type of chair or seating position? I have read recently that we shouldn't be sitting upright as this is too stressful on the spine.

Any ideas would be welcomed
Cheers
Anne

Anne, welcome and thx for sharing!

You may want to visit and comment within this previous topic on office chairs:

http://adrsupport.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7701036081/m/1...881076081#3881076081

Hope this helps!

PS: I hope that article is not a license for people to have poor posture!? http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...s/icon_eek.gif

Harrison

I was a bit surprised by the article in one of our UK daily newspapers, which said that the most healthly position for sitting was 135 Degrees (we tried to imagine the logistics of this when working at a PC in an office without success!)

I will check the link you sent out - thanks

Anne

Interestingly enough, I had dinner with Dr. B about a week before this particular article came out, and he said exactly the same thing....

David

When I was still working I sat at a desk most of a 12 hour day with my neck tilted down towards a computer. I sat in tons of office chairs at office depot...I found the ones that had an opening where the seat meets the back was key...a nice extra soft cushion, and then finding the right amount of lumbar support is so personal. raising the computer moniter up much higher than normal helped force me to sit up straighter and kept my neck and back from bending forward.

Hi Lyndsay

I am in the UK in Durham - whereabouts are you?

From the dates on your signature you seem to have been suffering for quite some time. I had my surgery the week before you on November 4th so I am just over a week ahead of you in recovery. How are you coping? What meds have they got you on?

Hope things are going well http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...icon_smile.gif

Anne