[Lewis01]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies. I am getting extremely serious now to move forward with a solution. Waking up in the middle of the night with some numbness in my right leg. I do a few exercises and the numbness goes away after a while. Then it's difficult to go back to sleep.

Ruby, thanks for your reply. Sounds like you are doing great. What level of activity do/will you have? Dr Pettine sounds like a great choice if I only needed one level and the "Freedom Disc" was approved. It seems to take an incredibly long time for these discs to get approved in the US. It's interesting that many of these disc are made here, but only used outside of the US. I would love to stay in the US if it were possible, but I believe I will need multiple levels done.

Thanks Melissa. It's great to have multiple people recommend the same doctor. I've waited a long time for a disc with "natural body mechanics" and "shock absorbing technology". I have found ways to put off surgery for years, but cannot wait any longer.

It's frustrating that the disc is one of the few parts of the body that cannot regenerate / rebuild using any type of therapy such as nutritional therapy. Little to no blood flow to the disc, especially the center of the disc, I've read. At this stage of the process this is probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with. That includes football, military service, passing the cpa exam, various car/motorcycle wrecks, etc. etc. I believe this will change when I talk more with various doctors etc and finally make a decision on what to do.