[Cynlite]

You're welcome. I'm happy to share my experience and be a person for you to bounce off ideas with in hopes you don't have to go through what I have gone through. Thankfully, I was active and able to water and snow ski into my 40's. You definitely need to get back on your feet. You have many more years of competing and playing ahead of you!

Wow, you're one smart guy! You are really blessed to have that going for you. Being smart comes in handy when having to make really advanced medical decisions unless you are squeamish about medicine and surgeries like my very smart sister who is also an engineer hehehehe. I have found that most surgeons and doctors take me seriously because I do my research first and then can speak intelligently with them about health problems and treatments. I helped both my parents and grandmother through their end of life health issues so, have spent more time in hospitals than the average person in the last 10 years. When a doctor doesn't reciprocate respect because of an over inflated ego, I toss them out. The best have risen to the top of their fields because they are so smart they are able to acknowledge what they don't know and have become humble in the process. Usually, the best doctors will have PA's and support staff that are also really good! The way I look at it is 50 percent of the people that graduated from medical school, graduated in the bottom half of their class. I always want to work with the best of the best. Neurosurgeons are kind of in a world of their own. They are known in the hospital hierarchy for being at the top of the food chain and also many for being a bit wackadoodle with not so great social skills hahahaha. I really wish the Mayo was offering ADR surgery. I met with the head of Neurology out here at an appointment for my Mom and was so disappointed. Usually, the Mayo has the most remarkable doctors and surgeons. So, you are looking for the best surgeon at a great hospital using the best disc for you and even then may still run into to a few problems but, at least they will be minimalized.

I read part of the blog you posted. It's a good blog. He had some really good suggestions. I'm going to go back and look at it again. I was surprised that chamomile tea was so helpful for him. I've always thought of it as a pretty mild nervine herb but, I've never drank it on a regular basis. I think the tea is worth a shot. There are many naturopathic things you can try out if you are open to such things. For example, if you are making blended protein shakes, throw in a 2 inch piece of fresh ginger for a 24 ounce drink or larger. I'm sure you already know how important water is but, hydration is seriously important for the health of the spine. I didn't know about it's affect on the spine until recently but it makes sense and where I live, I've carried around a 32 ounce bottle of mineral water with me for years. I have to measure and think about how much water I'm taking in every single day. It's easy to let that slide. Anyway, my point is that there are a lot of little life changes we can do to support our spines and our bodies to reduce inflammation. Drewrad wrote a good thread in the Naturopathic corner on his approach and I've written a few things too. It seems like too many people give the surgeons all the power to fix what is broken but, they really are just one piece of the bigger puzzle.

The interesting and somewhat scary thing about spine surgeons is how differently they all can see our condition so, getting a lot of opinions is really important. I never got a consensus but, hopefully you will because your spine is so healthy still! For example, Dr. Zeegers said this about my neck "It is very questionable if the protrusion at C3/C4 is significant at all; no indication for surgical repair." With my images up on the screen while talking to Dr. Clavel he said, "I don't know why the other surgeons don't see it. I think this level is where you have the most cord compression." Since I'm not a surgeon and did not have a consensus, I decided that I needed to choose the best surgeon I could find in the world and then when it came to my neck, let him decide how to approach the problem. This does not mean I didn't question him but, I did have complete confidence in him.

My L3/L4 has Spondylolisthesis. It's pretty minor because I didn't see it on my MRI at first glance. Rather than have the level fused, I opted to heal from my neck surgery, lose some weight, work on my core strength and use my inversion table. I have degeneration at the adjacent lumbar levels already so, I really don't want to worsen my body mechanics by having a fusion until absolutely necessary. I am considering stem cell injections down the road as an alternative and am doing what I can to improve my strength and posture. It is possible that I can avoid lumbar surgery and that's my goal. My neck surgery helped to correct my body mechanics and I work with a therapist on gradually improving my posture as I continue healing. Since all parts of the spine are connected, I believe that the correction to my cervical spine from the ADR surgery may ultimately help me to improve my lumbar spine health.

I can see what you are talking about on your images but, I'm afraid I don't have enough experience looking at lumbar images to offer any suggestions about it. I keep hoping some of the other senior members here who have gone through ADR lumbar surgery will have something to offer. You mentioned that your pain is getting worse. The spine is funny. My neck was symptomatic in my early 30's and then it went away after I decided to not get injections at the time. It came back with a vengence about 13 years later. There are people in terrible pain that have great images and people that have terrible images that are not symptomatic. I was one of the later for a long time. You kind of have to trust your gut on it after talking to a bunch of surgeons. Just remember though that surgeons only have one tool in their toolbox and that's surgery so, they almost always recommend it.