[Mary1989]

Hello!

My name is Mary and I am 18 years old. I've been diagnosed with DDD of L5-S1 and L4-L5. My surgeon and I have gone through several treatments, including physical therapy, steroid injections, and plasma disc decompression.

Plasma disc decompression was the last option, and I go back to him on December 18th to decide about surgery. Before I ask my question, let me give you a little background on myself/expectations from my surgery.

I was an avid athlete and horseback rider prior to being diagnosed. My DDD was ruled as hereditary, because of its rarity at my age. I was diagnosed a year ago, and since then have been undergoing various treatments. My greatest desire is to get back in the saddle, literally. I fully understand the fact that I will never compete again, but I want to be able to do some casual groundwork and trail riding.

My two surgical options are Charite ADR or fusion. Since L4-L5 is the badly herniated disc, my doctor only wants to operate on it at the moment. I am completely torn between these two options, because I have heard so much good and bad about both.

In the end, I just want to walk again. I want to go out with my friends and not have to leave halfway through a movie because I can't sit any longer. I want to be able to know that my legs won't randomly give out on me, and that I can go to college. Will ADR give me that? Or is fusion the better option.

I look forward to your responses, and thank you all so much for your help.

EDIT: I wanted to amend my post to include the fact that I have developed arthritis in my facet joints as a result of this. When I went to PT it was also discovered that I have mild scoliosis.