[Twiz77]

Hi Lynette - welcome to the group! I am sorry you are going through these issues. I am also sorry to hear about your sister's surgery. There are alot of folks on this site who have alot of knowledge and experiences to share. It is a great resource. I encourage you to do as much research as possible - and ask questions. But it sounds like you are no stranger to this process. I am just starting to learn about my spine......

I too am in the same boat with my neck - herniated disk at C5-6 with myleopathy (it is not super bad - but bad enough with hand and neck motion the legs get cramps and muscle spasms, etc - which really freaks me out to think about what could be going on with my spinal cord..... I sometimes just wish I could send a tiny robot in there - so you can see what exactly is going on - the MRI's are good - but does not capture the entire picture) For me -it all started last Aug - when "mild" stenosis was diagnosed (I had off and on neck pain, numbness in my hands (and my left toe)- they said no significant compression - it was a good 4 mos of rehab and pain, limited motion, etc. EMG's normal. None of the NS I spoke to thought my issues warranted surgery. I was told I was an "neurological oddity"...Ok, whatever. Finally - and just as several had indicated would happen - the body calmed down for 5-6 mos and life went on. Just this past month - I moved my neck in such a way that - voila - all of the issues have re-fired up - but more of the direct neck/arm movement causing leg pain/cramps, muscle twitches, etc. My arms/hands/shoulders are ok - sometimes they burn. Neck pain is there - but more of a pressure feeling - especially with my limited use of it. I guard it alot too inorder limit issues. My lower back get really sore too.

I agree with your concerns of fusion. I do know many folks who have had it done - and no problems. My concern is with my DDD - of having other herniations, and of course - just never being the same - but spinal cord compression is not good either...

I love the idea of ADR - but until reading some of the posts - I now know I need to be worried about facet degeneration going into this. Never even occurred to me about that issue. Last fall I was freaked out with the whole idea of just having surgery - and was a little unsure of the newness of the ADR (only a few drs were doing them in Fla then - alot more are doing them now). With the body rebounding last fall - I stopped my research and went back to life. This time around - I have been reading and reading - which is what I encourage you to do. I would urge you to google the heck out of it. This board is terrific with information - I have learned so much since I joined just a few weeks ago.

I do know that traction really caused me more pain than I could ever dream of having - so I wonder if this is a sign of the facets going bad. I wonder and worry about the height/size of the ADR - will it be like it was with traction - but as I have thought that through - traction is opening up the spaces of the bones - alot more than the smaller size ADR would.

I have an appt with an orthoped. surgeon - Dr. Garcia - in Miami - to grill him on all of these issues.

In talking with your drs - here are questions you may want to ask about (my list is still growing and this is what I am going to do next week with Dr. Garcia and some other NS I plan to see - I am sure you have tons of better questions than I do - but thought I would share):
- what are sizes, shapes of the ADR's (the manufax list these - but good to get input on the dr who may be doing the procedure), what type do they use, how much experience have they had in doing the procedure, are you a candidate for ADR, how do I know if I have facet issues, what type of tests to do to figure this out for sure, how are my bone structures, is it more of a concern being a female with these things for the bone structure, what is involved with revision(I have read the horror stories with lumbar revisions - so not sure if it is as bad with the neck) - if this thing causes my facets to rebel? am I eligible to for part of the disk that is sticking out to be removed - will it cause more instability, what about these new advances with nucleus regeneration they are doing in Germany (ADCT - I believe is the acronym), is there anything else out there that is an option for me to save my spinal cord - other than fusion or ADR?? Ugh.

We will see how long Dr. Garcia indulges me to get all of these questions answered!!

All my best to you - please contact me if you want to talk about it.

Lisa