[russguy]

Hello team,

Firstly thank you for this community as it has been a very challenging last 6 months and to stumble upon this page has given me some comfort and positive vibes.

I have so many questions to ask but I will dispense my story first.. I think it is important to note that I have had a very high impact career over the last 15 years and finding one acute injury that caused anything in my spine is like finding a needle in a needle-stack. I also have Scheuermann's Kyphosis which causes accentuated thoracic curve of the spine (average is 25-45 degrees i am around 60 degrees).

Right - So, I would say since around 2018 I have dealt with comings and goings of unusual, dull pain into my right buttock/hip. Some months I feel great, others I feel the presence 24/7. It's not changing my routine but it's just there. In early Sept 2021, I have a great day surfing, climbing, and being active. Over night my back starts to spasm. Every little core muscle... Excruciating. I end up in the hospital, morphine, cyclobenzaprine, nothing helps. This spasming event lasts for 4 days, followed by another week flat on the floor. Since then, I have not recovered to a point where I can live my life properly. I can be up, walk around, drive a car, etc. But nothing remotely sporty, lots of ibuprofen , sometimes sleeping is very uncomfortable... Just not the life I want to live.

Coincidentally, I had an MRI taken in July of 2021 as I had the dull pain in right buttock for 2 years previous and finally wanted to get it checked out. I then got another MRI after this spasming event in Jan 2022 and the L2/L3 disc had lost height and now had bone edema in both of the adjacent vertebrae. To me it looks like the disc just "deflated" overnight and that's why I had the muscle spasm reactions and have not been able to recover fully.

A friend of mine has dealt with back pain for 2 years and had just done ADR at ONZ in Germany, so I quickly did my own due diligence and decided to send my imaging to Dr. Bertagnoli which I just received a prognosis a couple days ago recommending ADR at l2/l3 and possibly l3/l4. That brings me to today. I have been referred to a spine clinic here in Canada by two different MD's but knowing that all they offer in Canada is spinal fusion, I am planning to wait until I see someone in Canada just for another professional opinion but should anything surgical happen it will likely happen in Germany.

SO my questions for you good people... who have had ADR surgery... (I will also be asking these to the surgeon but they are a business...)

- Is there any reason in waiting to do this procedure? I have never had an injury / condition last this long but I would consider myself to only be at the 6 month mark since it has been really bad.

- How much of your active life did you get back? Sports? Do you feel "back to normal" or are you always having to take precautions, constant physio etc.

- I really hate to ask this one but is there a certain percentage of people who did not get better or even got worse after ADR?

- Kind of rogue one but I read somewhere that it can cause infertility and sexual dysfunction can anyone elaborate on that?

- Other than that I really would just be grateful of anyones advice. Not going to lie - I am scared. Scared of not being able to do the things that my life is based around; being outside and active... but also scared of this surgery and if it doesn't help or if it makes things more complicated.

Thanks everyone, hope that wasn't too long..
Much appreciation!