[brattigans]

Thank you for taking the time to give me all the info about your own experience. I'm really sorry for the pain your in and I'm sure it's a grueling decision, especially since you've already been through a surgery. I ran a 1/2 marathon in 2010, and really got into the running before and after the run. I was running 5-10 mile runs at least 4 days a week on top of my normal work out of cross training and spinning. I think that is why I started to turn for the worse. About a year later was when I had to start turning to pain killers. I had in the past taken them when my back went out, but now it was where I was having to take them all the time. I could not handle the pills, anymore and would stop taking them, but I couldn't last more than 2 months, until I had to so I could make it into work, but I couldn't handle the emotional roller coaster that puts you on. I am now on a fentanyl patch, all the time, and no more pills, but I believe once you succumb to the pain killers it's all down hill from there. I've now seen 6 surgeons for my surgery. I've heard 4 different ideas for surgery.

Today, I met with Regan in Los Angeles, and I really liked talking with him. He spent almost an hour meeting with my father an I. His idea for surgery is different than the rest of the surgeons, in that he only wants to fuse L5-S1. He said I have a bulge in my L4-L5 but not enough to do fusion and that the adr's that are being used in US are creating issues. He actually made sense in suggesting to wait on the additional fusion. There could be options with Stem Cells and that there is one adr that he thinks is looking promising but is not FDA approved. He also talked to me about Germany and the work they are doing there. He stated there is a new adr that looks promising but is very new. May be the M6 that is being talked about allot. So that was my experience with him. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your opinions on him, and what your experience was because I am seriously considering him for surgery. I appreciate him not wanting to fix something because it might break, but waiting for it to break to fix it.

A couple of additional questions if you don't mind:
*How long did the fusion last for you? Were you pain free for the most part?
*What would you consider the most minimally invasive fusion?
*Where was the majority of your pain coming from, legs or back before your first surgery and now?
*What medications were you on? How did you wean? I'm super nervous about it and even contemplating a detox center. I have read that the Fentanyl is grueling to get off and I could barely handle getting off the small time I took the norco.

Thanks again.. B

Thank you for your time, I hope your able to make a decision that works for your L4-5, and that your L3-4 are not negatively effected.