Posted by JFerg (Member # 719) on April 07, 2006 10:59 AM:
Hey, guys.......what a pleasure to have come across some like-minded, similar situation kinda folks as me. Have thoroughly enjoyed reading the painfully honest and thought provoking posts.
Like many of you, I've been diagnosed with DDD at L4, and the disc is protruding 6 mm. to the left. The protrusion apparantly rubs against the blasted sciatic nerve which just throbs........down the left leg to the back of the knee.
To get to the quick of this, somehow I've thought that I'm entitled to be pain-free in this life, and I've self-medicated myself to that end for a number of years. It has caused a great deal of problems at home, work, and with my significant relationships. I've managed to abuse the prescription meds over the years to the point that I have to admit that I'm powerless over medication that affects my moods.
After being told by my boss that I was "impaired" at work and to "take a few days off," I finally realized the extent of this problem. It has been a month now of very conservative med intake while learning how to tolerate a relatively fair amount of constant pain.
So, I wanted to introduce myself in that regard, and to let you know that I'm trying to be proactive in my search for a positive outcome.
I saw Dr. Blumenthal at the Texas Back Institute, Dr. Rolando Garcia at Aventura in Miami, Dr. Cure (a leading neurosurgeon in Bogota, Colombia), and a wide variety of ortho's here in South Florida. The general consensus is the the Charite ADR procedure is recommended. Not to get a fusion as they would be back at another level in a few years. United Health Care has denied the procedure 3 times as "too experimental." Doctor will do it in SA for approx. $20,000. I just didn't feel fully comfortable there.
I'm communicating with an experimental study in Sarasota. One group will get the Kineflex disc and the other get the Charite. From what I understand, a participant in this study does not have to pay for the operation?? Since $20 million was allocated for the study, I'm wondering if this is an open door??
Thanks for allowing me to share my story here. Thanks to Alistair and Harrison for your welcoming me. Harrison, I really appreciate your efforts to keep this going. In my wildest dreams I never thought there was such an open forum anywhere on this subject.
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Posted by David (Member # 220) on April 07, 2006 11:12 AM:
I am not currently aware of the status of potential open slots in Dr. Yue's Prodisc / Activ-L study, but you might want to at least think about it:
http://info.med.yale.edu/ortho/clinical/yue.html
David