[Cynlite]

A very interesting doctorate thesis is linked to this post at the bottom. It compares many of the discs available and discusses 6 degrees of range of motion while also needing limitations in movement to mimic what happens in the the body. The Mobi-C does not limit the movement while the M6-C does limit the movement. This concerns me as the FDA has only approved the Mobi-C for two levels in the U.S. I will speak to a surgeon about this Monday but, I suspect that any surgeon I speak to will never be able to give me a completely unbiased answer because he will be biased towards the devices he has implanted. It seems in general, the surgeon's goal is for a successful surgery more than eliminating pain in the patient. I can't blame them for this because that is what they are trained to do but, hopefully, I will find the right surgeon who can diagnose the source of the pain too!

I spoke to the surgeon's office that completed 6 minimally invasive surgeries on me between 2006 - 2010 yesterday. They still warned me against ADR and think I should come back to them to avoid a more invasive surgery. My response was well you had six chances and I'm still no better than I was before the surgeries. I've lost 9 years of my life to pain. At best, the surgeries only reduced my pain a little for a short period of time and then the cervical spine degenerated more and back came all the chronic issues plus more.

There is no guarantee that I will be in less pain after surgery. All I can do is look at the statistics and weigh the opinion of the surgeon. The first surgeon I saw back in 2006 recommended a two level fusion but, stated he did not think it would alleviate my symptoms. I very much appreciated his honesty. I did not get the fusion. Dr. Bierstedt did not give me a caveat in his quote and opinion re surgery regarding pain as NJ Gene had but, when I spoke to him on the phone about my leg pain and weakness, he could not say that his surgery would fix these problems. Again, I appreciated his honesty. I am very much aware that the pain in my lower body is an atypical symptom so, it may or may not be related to my cervical spine. Nevertheless, I do believe that my cervical spine needs surgery. I intend to explore all options with several surgeons before I decide what to do so, I hopefully do not repeat my experience of having a surgery that does not improve my condition. It's hard to not rush into surgery when living in constant pain, with hope that the chronic pain will be alleviated but, I'm not going to give into the pain and make that mistake. I remind myself everyday that my mind and will power are stronger than my body and the pain I'm experiencing.

http://people.bath.ac.uk/en1tph/thesis.pdf