Thanks, all, for the encouragement. Had a bit of trouble sleeping last night. Tried some better living thru chemistry (Jet lag meet Ambien), which helped. I'll plan on posting more after I get settled in at the hospital.
It all feels a bit surreal. Makes you really appreciate how brave others who have gone down this path have been. All the stories and shared experiences in this community really do help take some of the mystery out of it and prepare you better for forging ahead with surgery in a foreign country. Not to mention all the folks who were willing to speak with me over the past few months, many of whom are on this site. I plan on posting throughout this process so others can benefit as much from this great resource as I have.
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Nov 2010: herniated L4/5 led to back pain, sciatica and foot drop
Dec 2010: back pain resolved, sciatic pain and foot drop worsened
Jan 2011: micro-discectomy resolved sciatic pain and foot drop; back pain returned
July 2012: discogram reveals L4/5 and L3/4 have grade 3 annular tears and produced concordant pain
Nov 12, 2013: 2-level ADR (L3/4 and 4/5) by Dr. Bierstedt
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