[Anne B]

Hi

By way of introduction I had a car accident in 2003 - car flipped over and I was left with pain in my lower back. I was reviewed by a conusltant for insurance purposes at the time but no MRI scan - just a basic diagnosis which was back strain which should disappear within 2 years.

3.5 years down the line and I was still having problems. I have an office based job, sitting all the time and the searing pain from my coccyx up to my lumbar region became intolerable after 10 mins of sitting. Walking was no better - felt as though my vertebrae were sliding around, shooting pains down my left leg and local around L5/S1.

Was seen by Mr Roysam at the Washington hospital who ordered an MRI and prescribed a course of physio. The MRI came back with a severely herniated L5/S1 disc and he suggested ADR as the physio was doing no good and my pain was getting worse. No amount of codeine would help and I couldn't take anything stronger as I was trying to stay at work but eventually had to give up and go sick.

Had my surgery on 4th Nov 2006 (ProDisc)and I am now 4 weeks into recovery. Checked out this forum the night before my surgery to see what to expect. Some of the stories of post op pain did scare me a bit (particularly the frontal incision) but I had to weigh this up against a lifetime of worsening pain. I'm only 40 and Mr Roysam agreed this is a bit on the young side for this level of herniation and agreed that the car accident could have set it off.

Since my surgery I had 10 days of feeling great, then the distraction pain set in with a vengeance - intense nerve pain from my left buttock down into my calf, tingling and throbbing in my toes, hip bone feeling like it was being pushed out of joint!

Turned to this site to see if this was normal as I was paranoid that the new disc had slipped. The postings on this site and a confirmation from my consultant have reassured me and now the pains have almost gone. I haven't taken dihydrocodeine for 3 days and today I haven't taken anything at all!

At this point I have no regrets on having the ADR and would reccommend this site as a great source of info and reassurance for anyone considering or recovering from ADR surgery