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Old 02-09-2011, 10:46 PM
annapurna annapurna is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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Can you get your hands on your x-rays? They should tell most of the story about positioning of the ADR. Even if you can't get the radiologist's report on the x-rays you could choose to post a picture of it here and get unqualified but eager assistance or send it to a ADR doc who can give you an opinion, mostly likely for a fee.

How did the neurologist check for nerve damage? Typically, that's done with an EMG which is an unpleasant enough test that you would have likely mentioned it. Being stuck with that many needles tends to stick in your memory (sorry, terrible pun while you're in pain). If he didn't use an EMG, I wonder how he managed to make the decision that you don't have nerve damage. That might be something else you could try.

You might have had a second level go bad. You can get another MRI to check for adjacent levels. The ADR will mess up the image at that level but you should be able to see other levels. CT with contrast could be used to check the ADR level but that's a difficult and somewhat risky test so you'll want to try the easy stuff first.

I'm not trying to lead you away from the ADR revision to fusion but that's a difficult and expensive surgery. So much so, that you'd really want to be sure you need it before getting it and it doesn't sound like your surgeon has been giving you any of the answers you'd like to have before you try something that serious.
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Laura - L5S1 Charitee
C5/6 and 6/7 Prodisc C
Facet problems L4-S1
General joint hypermobility

Jim - C4/5, C5/6, L4/5 disk bulges and facet damage, L4/5 disk tears, currently using regenerative medicine to address

"There are many Annapurnas in the lives of men" Maurice Herzog
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