Thanks for the heads up on Aleve causing high blood pressure. My SO recently bought a home blood pressure device and low and behold mine has crept up a bit. Unfortunately (or fortunately) my stomach only tolerates Aleve in small doses. A friend of mine tried lidocaine patches for back pain but with little or no relief. I've tried them and they work quite well for me. I use them while golfing or after doing housework. The drawback is that when the lidocaine wears off the pain comes back quite suddenly and generally feels stronger than before.
I have tried other conservative treatment with little effect. The stiffness and pain is progressively getting worse. At this point I feel that my age (45) and fitness level (5'6" and 125 lbs) is something I have going for me as far as surgery is concerned. Fast forward 5 or 10 years and my fitness level will surely decline and so will my body's ability to heal. If surgery is inevitable I'd rather bite the bullet sooner than later and be able to, hopefully, enjoy life more fully with less pain.
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2011 - onset of lower back pain during hot yoga
2011 - 2013 Treated with massages, chiro and physio - pain getting progressively worse
2013 - Xrays normal
Dec 2013 - MRI showed moderate DDD @ L5/S1 - modic type 1 endplate changes - remaining disks well preserved 
Jun 2014 - became patient at Caleo clinic
Jan 2015 - first consult with surgeon
May 3, 2016 - L5/S1 - M6 - ADR in Canada (Calgary, Alberta)
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