Hi all,
Hope you folks can offer a new guy to the board a little info.
To give a brief run-down of my history, i first had a micro-discectomy (L5/S1) in Dec08 and until the 7/8 month post-op stage all was pretty good, soon after this i started to experience some pain again, however nothing too bad and could be managed with some daily NSAID's, however in Dec09 things started to get real bad again, to the point now that i'm basically back where i was before my operation, bad bad daily pain, can't sit, nor stand for more than a few minutes and walking more than a few feet in also excruciating. The surgeon said it was unlikely that i would re-herniate the disc as apparently about 80% of it had prolapsed, however symptom wise, it feels exactly the same as before. It was also eventually done first time on an emergency basis as i was suspected as having Caudia Equina given i had some saddle numbness and felt the need to urinate continually, i am getting some of this again now also.
To make matters worse i'm currently in Thailand after taking a fantastic new job on the tropical island of Koh Samui and now after 4 months in the position i have had to resign as i firstly cannot take the pain of sitting in the office all day (only relief i get is lying flat on my back!) and also cannot afford any type of decent hospital services here in Thailand as i don't have private med cover, so i am next week having to leave my girlfriend and fly home to Scotland (UK) to get back on a potentially v long National Health Service (NHS) waiting list for treatment.
I'm not quite sure how on earth i'm going to make it through the flight, the whole journey is going to involve 4 flights (economy class!) and take almost 24 hours before i eventually make it home, given i can hardly sit for 10 minutes, how the hell i am going to get through the flight i simply do not know. To compound it further, alongside the normal diclofenac and paracetamol that i take, i have also been taking tramadol which can be purchased here over the counter, however i am flying into the UAE on route to the UK and they are on of a long list of 'banned' drugs there so i cant even rely on the small relief that these give.
Anyway enough winging i guess, my questions are:
- Can ADR be carried out on a disc level which has already had micro-d surgery carried out on it?
- Given i have no Med Cover and very little savings do the big names in ADR surgery (Zeegers, Bertagnoli etc) have any finance schemes, and how much does it cost approx for a single or 2 level ADR?
- As previously stated the surgeon advised that re-herniation was unlikely, (i know only a further MRI will confirm the situation) but on the assumption he is correct, then i understand that the next biggest reason for failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) can be scar tissue formation which shows at around 6-12 months post-surgery, which again would be in line with my pattern of symptoms. so should this be the case, i understand that little can be done and i'm effectively screwed...correct??
- Any suggestions on how i endure this flight? i'm beginning to panic
Also i my trawling on the net i thought i had seen it all regarding spines and pain etc, however i have come across some interesting sites on pain mitigation...have a look and comment on these....
http://www.painmd.com/about-us/testi...odulation.html
http://www.nrimed.com
(If this later one is for real, i wish i could get a shot before i fly
)
Thanks all,
Neil.