[CharlesinCharge]

William,

I assume you had a discogram done on your diseased disc before you had it replaced? Discography is an imperfect science and the source of much debate in the spine community, but most surgeons agree it is still a good tool to verify the diseased disc is indeed the pain source. Have you had injections in your facet joints, to verify they are not a pain generator (even though they look fine on film)? Most agree the only way to be sure the facet joints are not a pain generator is to have a diagnostic injection, if you get no pain relief then you can rule out the facets as a pain source.

Spine surgery has such a low success rate (about 60%) compared to surgeries like knee, shoulder and hip because it is so hard to diagnose with real certainty where the pain is coming from. Sadly, the world is chock full of people that had back surgery (fusion or ADR) for a diseased disc, and their pain did not go away. My surgeon told me that the nerves in the spine do not operate like those in your fingers for example, and so back or neck pain can be from literally dozens of possible sources.

Don't give up, consult with as many specialists as you can and get diagnostic injections or other tests (Myelogram, CT Scan, MRI with contrast) until you can find the pain source. I know all too well what it is like to be in pain every single day, I wish you the very very best.

Good luck,