[Cynlite]

Welcome! Sorry you are here at such a young age. There are others here that know more about lumbar related issues than I do but, I did read this little blurb yesterday about the Activ-L Disc on Dr. Clavel's website. Perhaps it applies to what you are describing.

6. What artificial disc designs do you use?
Mainly M6C and M6L for both cervical and lumbar spine surgeries.
We have occasionally used Activ-L Aesculap, especially at the level of L5-S1. It is indicated if the surface of the L5 is concave. The convexity of the upper platform of Activ-L fits perfectly into the pronounced concavity of the anatomy of some patients.

http://www.doctorclavel.com/en/en-us/faq/

This is my opinion from my own research and not that of a surgeon so, I could be wrong. The surgeons remove osteophytes during surgery when they press on the spinal cord and nerves. However, surgery is a trauma to the spine which can lead to autofusion of a disc (this happened to me between several surgeries) so, I think there is a trade off of risk and reward when they are in there working and removing or grinding down things. To avoid the real risk of osteophyte growth post ADR surgery, many of us have taken high doses of NSAIDs for a month. There is not a consensus about NSAID use post surgery between ADR surgeons unfortunately. Dr. Clavel recommends taking them for one month postop. I wish I had known about this practice with my earlier surgeries so, I might have avoided my autofusion....such is life.

Have you looked into stem cell injections to re-hydrate your disc or discs? It is expensive but, is another option to surgery.

Hopefully, this information will lead you to your answers. Good luck!