First thought: you mention arthritis of your vertebrae, is it the facets going or self fusion of the vertebrae? If your facets are allowed to go too far you'll either not be acceptable for ADR or risk not taking care of all of the pain generators when the disk is replaced. If it is a close call, you may have moved from a "plenty of time for research" to a "grab as much info as possible and decide real quick" state.
As I'm out of my depth with questions of workers comp (you mentioned it elsewhere), I'll stay away from that and just stay with the bits I'm more sure of.
Second question: are you a double level patient? You mention L4 and L5 and a previous fusion at L5-S1. Does that mean that you've fused L5-S1 and have problems with L4-5 and L3-4? If so, your options are narrower with fewer surgeons willing and competent enough to risk a double layer ADR.
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Laura - L5S1 Charitee
C5/6 and 6/7 Prodisc C
Facet problems L4-S1
General joint hypermobility
Jim - C4/5, C5/6, L4/5 disk bulges and facet damage, L4/5 disk tears, currently using regenerative medicine to address
"There are many Annapurnas in the lives of men" Maurice Herzog
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