[henry4956]

Hi James, I just read this thread for the 1st time.

In a earlier post by Drew 'Drewrad' I am the guy he referred to as the one where the radiologist and surgeon arguing in german about my mri as I lied on the floor in agony. Seems to me that you are instinctively aware that you have something seriously wrong (like me) and your mri is not showing anything conclusive, ( again like me). So I am here to tell you that I am glad that I trusted my instincts and gave my surgeon the go ahead. He made his diagnosis partly based on some abnormalities on mri but more so based on physical exam and other factors. Personally I am glad my surgeon has over 20 years experience to tap into. Undoubtedly I'm sure he drew on one or more of his previous cases and made the right call with me.

The 2 discs he replaced were 'completely gone' in his words on the surgery report. 'Dried toothpaste' is how he described their condition. Sure enough I am about 10 weeks post op and the terrible 'Belt pain' I had is gone. See my signature (I was bed ridden for about 22 hrs/day for 3 years). I could not stand up for more than 30 minutes without collapsing before the surgery. I truly hope you get yourself a good experienced surgeon. My wife and I were fortunate enough to borrow the $ because we have excellent equity in our home. I know you are 'on the clock', but you do only have 1 chance to get this right. I live in Connecticut and I decided not to see Dr Yue ( 1 hour from my house) because my research on him left me with the impression that his record is spotty.

If you go the ADR route (which most of us here have chosen to do then you most likely have to pay out of pocket anyway) I suggest that IF you forego fusion then find one of the several great adr surgeons, don't settle for someone just because he's local. Just my opinion

I hope it all works out for you