Hello all
First of all want to say what a great website i have found it very helpful.
I'm a 41 year old active male, Ok so some history, first hurt my back sometime around 2002 in the gym and have had lower back pain pretty much since then to varying degrees.
I had my first MRI in 2012 where i was told i had DDD at L4-L5 and L5-S1, since 2012 i have had a number of injections, epidural injections, caudal blocks and in December 2016 i had discogel injected into both these discs.
As i have now exhausted all options for pain relief it is time to decide on my next step......SURGERY
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My symptoms appear to be slightly different from everyone else that i read about, i generally can walk and sit for extended periods of time, again standing is not a problem but i definitely feel it the next day if i have been standing for extended periods of time the day before.
My pain comes from movement, so bending forward, going from a sitting to standing position and vice versa, getting in and out of cars, lifting heavy objects etc, i am like a very old man straightening up. Any physical activity leave me in severe pain for days afterwards.
My pain is very localised to just my lower back, i don't have any nerve pain in either leg, my back pain varies from 3 up to about a 7 or an 8 (out of 10), i feel now like i have had enough of living with the pain.
I have had contact with various Dr's, Clavel, Bertangnoli, Ritter Lang, Rischke and all have said i am a candidate for ADR at both levels, haven't had a Dexa scan or allergy tests to confirm but based on MRI & CT scan they believe i am a candidate.
I have full medical insurance which would cover the costs so whats holding me back from the surgery?
Well its the confusion as to how long the recovery will be, i read 3 months to 6 months recovery then i read it will take at least a year. Confusion as to what level of sports i can go back to, i read nothing is out of bounds when recovered then i read that there are lots of things such as weight training that i will never be able to do, the confusion is never ending, some say the recovery is ok with some up and walking around the day after surgery etc then others say the recovery is a real slog.
i genuinely have no idea what to do, one day i think i will go with the surgery, the next day i think i couldn't think of anything worse.