ADR Surgery in 2 Weeks - Anyone faniliar *Please Read*

[Dreamy]

Hello Everyone,

I’m new to this site. My name is Jamie and I live in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Like Greg said, I am so happy to have found this site! I have been going though pure hell the worst 4 years of my life with this back issue. Like everyone else I have issues w/the L5/S1 no disk at all left just bone on bone. I have tried everything from Physical Therapy to Acupuncture to the Injections (of every kind) to Discectomy and nothing has helped. I have been in pain mgmt for the past 3 years I am on enough drugs to knock down a Horse, yet the drugs don't even help anymore! I think about just stop taking them, but then I am so afraid that if I do I really may not be able to move. I have been to Dr. after Dr. and then they tell you crap like "you will just have to learn to live with it"! I can honestly say that until a couple months ago I was HOPELESS!!!! I was done really ready to throw in the towel! I am only 38 years old but I have the back for a 100 yr. old. So as a last ditch effort I went to see a “Spine Specialist” who actually seemed like he might know what he was talking about. He ordered a bunch of tests as well including the most barbaric of them all the Discogram (I thought I was going to dye!!!) they couldn’t even get the needle in. So after that I went back to take to him and said that my only op. was surgery, or to live w/it. So we starting talking and the only surgery he does his Fusion, but he is very close with a college that does the ADR. So we talked about the Fusion and then he told me listen, I want you to go and meet with Dr. Garcia, he even called his office to see if they accepted my Insurance, and of course they didn’t….lol but, he got him to meet with me anyway. So about a month ago I went and meet w/Dr. Garcia and learned about Disk Replacement and not only that but I was a perfect candidate for a clinical trial to have the Disk put.



So after reading as much as humanly possible talking w/both Dr. Garcia & my other Dr. and my kids and having really nothing to loose I have decided to have the Disk Replacement done on the 19th of this month. I am scared to death, but I am even more scared of not having this done!



So if anyone could let me know if you have had this done and what I am looking at as far as recovery time, pain, just anything & everything at all, I would really appreciate any feedback. I am so nervous & scared yet I am so excited to get my life back. This has affected EVERY SINGLE part of my life!



I look forward to hearing from any of you soon.



Thanks,

Jamie

[Jim M2]

Hi Jamie,

Sorry to hear about your terrible pain levels. What did the discogram say about L4-5 and higher? Sounds like they weren't the culprits.

Have you had a facet blocks at L5S1? The collapse of L5S1 can cause degeneration of the facets although it's not clear whether are not it rules out ADR. We've had at least one ADR patient here (Alastair!) with bone-on-bone that came out of ADR painfree.

[Eddie G]

At least L5-S1 is usually an easier surgery than L4-L5. Mostly because they dont have to move that large vein that feeds your legs. Hopefully you won't need ADR at L4-L5 anytime soon because they only do one level in the USA. You can't have 2 disk replacements, only a disk replacement and a fusion.
L5-S1 is not the worst place to fuse because it doesn't move as much as the L4-L5.
I have ADR at L4-L5 and am having a fusion at L5-S1 in a few weeks. I wouldnt be happy if the ADR was at L5-S1 and the fusion was at L4-L5 only because of the freedom of motion issue.

What kind of medications/dosage are you on?

Discograms can be fun. When they stick me I tell the doctor how good it feels. Deeper!!! Deeper!!! Yeah!!! I even bought him a rose...
Seriously, I was amazed at the clarity of the discogram pictures. It's a great test though ambiguous. I had a discogram 3 years ago and my L5-S1 only reacted once but not twice so they didn't work on it even though it showed the dye leaking out. My recent discogram had the L5-S1 react twice so NOW they are going to fuse. I feel like the last 2 years of treatment were a total waste of time & pain, while they're poking around my back looking for something thats not there, while my L5-S1 annular tear was probably the culprit all this time. It depends on how the discogram is interpreted.

My second discogram didn't seem as bad as the first though...

Best of Luck!

[racergaldar]

Welcome to our world!

I'm not far behind you. I found the surgery blogs to be very helpful to explain the details before and after surgery. Do a lot of research, write down all your questions, put them in priority and ask your doctor. You probably won't have enough time to get them all answered, but I found by making an appt with the physician's asst, I was given enough time to get all my questions answered. I also talked to the PA over the phone.

If you're getting the ProDisc, go to their website (Synthes ProDisc) and go to the section for surgeons. Its hard to find, but there is a video (almost looks like a doctor's training video) on how the do the procedure. Study it and if anything pops up that concerns you, write it down and ask the doctor. I also found a lot of interesting videos on YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. with actual procedures.

Keep us posted. Just as you are asking these questions, there will be someone else asking the same questions and you'll be able to help others.

ps: I just moved from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (Van Buren Street) last year. I miss swimming in the ocean by moonlight:-)

[Dreamy]

Wow! Small world my son went to the elementry school there for 6 years we lived over there as well untill 2 years ago. Yes I have been keeping a list with all my questions. The Dr. & his staff have been super helpful, thank god! As far as whic disk it is I am not sure because I am doing this as a part of a study I wont know but it will either be the Charite or the Activ-L. LikeI said I am excited yet scared to death!

[Firerescuefin]

Hey Dreamy,

I have recently gone through this surgery at 2 levels (see surgery blogs). I would be happy to answer any questions that I could. You have come to a place where plenty of people have gone down this road. I have 2 activ ls and there are plenty of Charites as well. You can go back and forth about which is better, but the surgeon/placement is the most important part of the equation. Feel free to contact me via private message. I hope this is the answer to your problems.

[racergaldar]

Sounds like the same clinical study I applied for, except recipients didn't know until the day of the surgery whether it would be disc or a new rod; I didn't want the rod (ie fusion) and was hoping for the ADR, but since they only wanted people who only had one disc problem, then I wasn't a candidate. I'm glad I wasn't because I felt for me I didn't want to risk such a major decision testing a new product that wasn't approved by the FDA. However, I am involved in another clinicial study with an fMRI where they teach me how to mentally manage my pain and take fMRI images. No risk and maybe it may work and I can control the pain mentally instead of narcotics.

[mmglobal]

Jamie, welcome to the forum!

I look forward to hearing about your successful surgery. I'm 6+ years post-op from a 2-level Charite. My wife is 7 months post-op from her 2-level ProDisc.

You can read about my wife's experience here:

http://www.ispine.org/forum/surgery-...gery-blog.html

You might want to create your own surgery blog for the benefit of others who'll follow you.

My early experience is on a website that is very dated...

Life After Surgery

By the way, yesterday, I spoke to Gary... the other guy in the tennis picture who was wondering why Maureen and I were playing tennis while he as still moving so slowly 6 years ago. He is now in a bowling league and is 100% with his lumbar spine and has been for many years. His recovery was much slower than mine, but his his recovery has been just as wonderful.

The photo below was from May of this year. Diane and I were in Miami for the Spine Arthroplasty Society's annual meeting. We got to spend some time with Dr. Garcia and his wife. Next to Diane is John Viscogliosi of Viscogliosi Brothers. They are responsible for rescuing ProDisc from a store room at Aesculap.



Note the time on the clock tower in the distance. We were at the conference at 8am that day. Not bad for 5 weeks post-op for Diane.

Dr. Garcia has some interesting experience. He's made a hobby of studying ADR history and has some amazing stories to tell. Next time you see him, ask him if the rumors that JFK had fernstrom balls implanted in his spine are true. (They were the first real attempt at ADR. I'll put a picture below.)



Yes, these are really just big ball bearings that were popped into the disc space.

One more bit of encouragement... go to the GPN website linked in my signature below and see the tennis video. 24 years post-op!

All the best.

Mark

PS... please keep us posted!

[dshobbies]

Hey Jamie and welcome,

Been here, done that. Your fear is oh so normal. Your recovery period varies. I've noticed that those who seem to do very well initially, they seem to get most of their lives back at about 6 months. For those who have initial difficulties but who will also ultimately find success in their surgery, the recovery can take 2 years. There is absolutely no science behind this, only observation.

This surgery and your decision to move forward is huge. You'd be nervous and excited to get eyes fixed so when talking about your spine, of course you'd expect these feelings to be magnified. This is a life altering decision and surgery.

As for your pain, each person is different. My incision didn't hurt much at all but for other's it was a real problem. For me, nerve damage in my left leg overshadowed everything. So look at it this way, you'll deal with whatever you have to whenever you have to. All of us who walked in your shoes knows what you're feeling and yet, we have all survived it. Concentrate on the day after surgery when it's already behind you. Don't worry about jumping out of your skin, it stretches!

I wish you every good luck and please keep us posted.

Dale