Wow, that's insane. So what if nobody knows if they'll last 10 years? I suppose some folks might care, but I would imagine a lot of us just want some relief no matter how long. At least... I speak for myself on that one. I think I even told one of the docs I worked with that I'd be happy to have even just one decade with little to no pain than to continue going along the path I was one pain-wise.
In some ways, I can understand some of the report inconsistencies, but only because of what I dealt with. My MRI report was written to make it sound like the disc bulging was mild at all levels bulges were visible, so the first surgeon I approached per a friend's recommendation, declared me a non-surgical candidate and didn't even bother to let me know until I called to follow up. So, I looked into minimally invasive options with another doc at the practice who took one look at the actual MRI images and said nothing minimally invasive was going to help! This was all after my primary care doc at the time completely blew me off with a declaration that it was only an arthritis issue. *facepalm*
Ugh... I'm frustrated for you on this one. Hopefully you get some kind of real solution soon. That double fusion bit would scare me too. As far as I'm concerned... fusion should be a last resort option anymore....
~Sara
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31 yrs old
Lumbar herniation L5/S1
- Did mild PT, some chiropractics and self regulated pain management since initial sports injury in Spring 1997.
- XRay and Bone Scan Jan/Feb 2007
- PT March to May 2007
- MRI Jan 2008
- Disco positive at L5/S1 Feb 2008
- ADR surgery at L5/S1 on June 23rd 2008 - Prodisc
- Recovery - so far so good!
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