[Rein]

OK; here's my perspective. Originally, based on what I know now to be utter speculation on the part of myself and surgeons who were supposedly well-connected with the sources of info, I believed I could get a ProDisc within X number of months. I tried to plan my life schedule (bareboat charter in the BVI, sailing w/my daughter during the Summer, Fall sailwash working season, etc.) around the timing of an operation and subsequent recovery. I�ve done this twice so far. Both times it turned out that no amount of guessing could predict when the FDA would approve the ProDisc. It STILL hasn't been approved, despite a pre-approval press release by Synthes...

In the end I decided to do whatever I could to stabilize myself and my condition and put my mind in a place where the timing of the operation wasn�t as important as taking care of myself right now. I know this can�t work for everyone, but for me this has been the single most important step in my journey to healing. I did the research to figure out what I need to do for myself to make me feel OK most of the time and be able to work (after a fashion) within the limitations of my injury. I�ve been in a place for about a year now where I can bide my time and wait for the disc *I* want and the surgeon *I* want, without feeling pressure from my body or my life to �get on with it�.

I accept that you don�t want people�s suggestions as to what you should do, so I�m only trying to bring to your attention things which you may have missed. Along those lines, I�d like to point out that no one from this forum would ever recommend to you that you get an operation from someone who has only performed a dozen, so far, of what is still considered very much an experimental prosthesis. If you want to gamble, then gambling with better odds going in would make more sense. Members of this forum can tell you all about letting someone with little experience cut you open. Many Charite recipients suffered huge problems later on due to non-experienced surgeons doing faulty implants or procedures. The numbers of ProDisc complications are much smaller. Draw our own conclusions.

I spent most of my early research time on anatomical studies. Then I moved on to the engineering of the discs under my consideration at the time (Charite, ProDisc). Then to the results of those two discs in actual cases. It was a no brainer for me that the ProDisc was much better designed and had far fewer failures of either disc or implantation technique. The engineering of the ProDisc, the required training necessary to be certified to use it, the surgical tools which accompany each one which guarantee a high degree of success in correct implanation, the years of waiting to see how well it would work long-term (after the first 60-odd implantations), all those things together satisfied me that it was a far superior disc to the Charite. Now that Dr. Yue has invented his own disc which combines the best features of the Charite and the ProDisc and eliminates all the problems associated with both, I feel even more confident about receiving the Activ-L. My point is that I read all I could about all the discs available and familiarized myself with their engineering enough that I could understand the differences and comprehend any subsequent reports coming out on either and then make a really informed decision, rather than one coming from a place of pain, need, necessity of timing or any other outside component not directly concerned with the efficacy of the disc itself.

The single largest factor to me, after the disc itself, was money (because I have none). I spend inordinate amounts of time dealing with how to get the disc I wanted with the insurance I have. In the end, I might have gone to Germany, only because BCBS was paying for some US patients to have it over there, despite not paying for it here! Insane but true! As far as I know, that�s still happening. The difficulties of the trip, recovery and added expenses might have been overcome, for me, if the Activ-L hadn�t been announced and hadn�t been free! This was the break for which I was really waiting, so now it�s a question of patience, because all the other parts of the puzzle are in place (good disc, good (trusted, responsive) surgeon, close to home, right price, good support system at home). Since I�ve overcome the anxiety associated with a faulty mental attitude towards the waiting, I�ve pretty much got it licked. When the disc is approved I�ll get my surgery. When that will be I don�t know. I�ll tailor my own life around it when it happens. My family (my wife) is extremely supportive and is willing to do whatever it takes to help me get better, whenever that may be. She has seen how debilitated I became, how much pain I was in and how this has affected our lives, so she�s all for doing whatever I feel comfortable with, as long as it heals me, eventually.

What can you take from this? Research! Educate yourself *and* your family about all the ramifications of this problem. Get them on board with your problem in such a way that they understand how serious this is for you and (ultimately) for them. So many people on our forum don�t have a family, or have family members who just don�t understand how much this affects your life and how difficult it is to deal with this problem itself, never mind trying to find your own cure. Look at this problem in long-range terms, because (as most of us old-timers have learned through bitter experience) it will most probably *not* be solved as quickly as you initially believe (or desire). If you manage to get yourself healed quickly, great! However, putting your mind in a place where you can accept a long-range solution is much more realistic, given what we now know about the industry and our bodies. If you do manage to get yourself into that mental place, you become much more enabled to make a more informed decision about an ultimate, successful solution.