View Single Post
  #11  
Old 04-05-2012, 10:41 AM
jackal57 jackal57 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 7
Default

Thanks to everyone for their input and feedback. It’s so helpful to know that other people who have gone through this are helping me think about my situation.
In no particular order:
Ouch2, congratulations on your progress, and thanks for your advice which I will use. What is your pain like now? It sounds like you’re current view of the process you’ve been through and are going through is somewhat tempered. I wish you great success in your recovery. I will be seeking advice from the overseas doctors, and am putting together the mountain of test results and other information I’ve accumulated over the past 2 years. I’m lucky in the sense that may parents grew up in Brazil speaking portugese and german, with some spanish thrown in. So if I have any trouble communication with the doctors, I think they can help.
Dingie, wow, what a great story. I think I can guess from your note, but it sounds like your experience with Dr. Clavel was a good one – is there anything you did not like about it? Please keep posting updates if you are willing to do so, as they are very inspirational.
And Harrison, thanks to you as well, this site is a godsend. I’m not sure to what I would attribute my DDD. My back has hurt for so long that I can’t remember when it started. I did get rear-ended at a red light 13 years ago (the driver was on a cell phone the size of a WWII walkie-talkie and didn’t look up in time –argh!), but I don’t think that was it. Ive always played a lot of sports, so maybe repeated abuse or some unusual pathology if I had to guess.
Two more questions for the group:
1) A surgeon told me that my L5-S1 is at the point where it will probably autofuse within 5 years and that should take care of the pain from that particular area. Does anyone know anything about that? It sounded strange to me.
2) In December 2011, I had an electromyographic (EMG) evaluation, which was mostly normal, except: “spontaneous potentials (fibrillations or positive sharp waves) except for 1+ positive sharp waves and occasional fibrillation potentials in the right semimembranosus, as well as 2+ positive sharp waves and occasional fibrillations potentials seen in the right L5-S1 paraspinals, withincreased polyphasic activity noted in the right semimembranosus muscle.” The doctor (who, by the way, I really like) concluded the results were “consistent with a low-grade, acute upon chronic, right S1 radiculopathy”. Does this mean anything to anyone?
As always, I’m looking forward to your input.
__________________
DDD L4-L5 and L5-S1, running out of options
Reply With Quote