reminder
Boxer,
The distraction pain you mention isn't all that harmful. Lifting the vertabae back to their natural height is primary in freeing up nerve roots. You're not doing any damage but the longer you've been at a reduced height, the chances are the distraction pain will last a bit longer. I gained nearly an inch back in height that took me back to the nearly the height I was at in my 20s.
The surgeon had several disc heights to choose both levels to better space the facets to reduce the chance of facet issues down the road. I have the Maverick discs. I'm not sure if they're being used anymore but at the time, the M6 wasn't past the EU testing. Just a few weeks earlier, the surgeon that operated on me implanted the first M6L in Germany.
The distraction type pain lasted around 5-6 months but decreased in severity as time went on. The pain was minimal compared to the nerve pain prior to surgery.
Mike's experiences mirror mine. You find out who you really are and who your true friends are when you go through this invisible suffering.
Good luck.
Bob
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04/06 L5/S1 Rupture
05/06 MRI shows DDD @ L2-S1
06/06 Diskectomy/ Laminotomy L5/S1
04/07 Recurrent Disc L5/S1
4 Ortho and 1 Neuro Surgeon, 5 MRIs, 1 EGM, 1 Myleogram & 11 EDIs later:
03/27/09 L4/5 & L5/S1 Maverick disc at Stenum
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