Lee, can you tell us more about your overall health? Spinal health? Diseases that may have been diagnosed or undiagnosed in childhood? Trauma like car accidents? Sports' injuries? Some of the above?
When spine patients get to the point where they/we are disabled, we tend to suffer from what many docs describe as "just-fix-me-itis." And that's why the pathology behind the DDD tends to get ignored:
http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f44...l-causes-9218/
Patients tend to ignore this etiology, as it appears to be too challenging and not actionable. The medical establishment tends to ignore it because it is in their financial interest to have you as a patient. Healthy patients don't pay medical bills --because they don't have any -- because they don't need surgery. For example, see this multiple page topic:
http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f60...-ulcers-10655/
Let me know if you need help with this:
http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f58...-health-11053/