[Cirobi]

Hi Yoav,

Reading through your story, I would have to argue that you truly may need surgery if you cannot resume normal daily functions properly. If you can only find relief while in bed, what kind of life is that? Judging by your whole situation, it sounds like you have a lot of limitations. If you can't resume your studies because of the pain, that's not good. One doesn't have to consider just their ability to do sports as part of whether or not they should face surgery to correct a problem.

While it sounds like the previous surgery helped a little, it doesn't sound like you're very happy with your situation at all.

In my own experience, I was able to deal with the pain, to a point. I could go swimming or do some mildsporting activities, but would be in pain for days afterward. I could sit, but it wasn't always comfortable, especially in most chairs. There were days where I would force myself to sit just to get tasks done. Standing? Forget it. Just waiting a couple minutes for an elevator at work left me wishing I could climb the 10 flights of stairs to my office if our building had a stairwell open for daily use. There were mornings I was afraid to do my normal hygiene routine... especially after spitting out toothpaste threw my back out.

In general, what I'm saying is that you should take everything into consideration. Your doctor may or may not agree that surgery is a good next step. You may not currently think you need surgery. But, if you're suffering and can't live even close to a normal life, it'll only take a mental and emotional toll on you, which makes healing even harder long term. I never realized how much my back problems affected my mental and emotional state until I was on the post-op side. I don't know that I can find the proper words to describe the relief I felt mentally and emotionally on top of physically.

I do agree that if you don't truly need surgery both in terms of physical condition and quality of life, don't do it. But, if you've had other milder treatments that haven't worked, why continue doing them to continue getting zero results? Surgery isn't for everyone and ADR isn't for everyone. It's all dependent on your physical conditions. It may be worth talking to several physicians, if you can, to gather multiple opinions on your situation medically. Some of your previous spinal conditions may or may not make you a good candidate for ADR.

I do hope that you find the relief you seek. Everyone deserves to be able to live life as normally as possible.

~Sara