The lesser of the 2 evils?

[guymontag]

Hi

Hi Marty. I've just read your history about your fusion. I just wanted to clarify something. with this CD HORIZON® LEGACY™ PEEK Rod System, is this a posterior operation? your discs ar l4-l5 and l5-s1 were not removed? if so, why did the surgeon opt to do a standard posterior lateral gutter fusion rather than an interbody fusion like a PLIF TLIF ALIF? Question now arises if the disc is leaking chemical proteins will it stop as the fusion progresses over time?

The reason why I ask is, my symptoms are so similar to yours. I haven't had a fusion but I have had a microdiscectomy(l5-s1) done on 1st july 2008. I was fine for 5 weeks, I had a very little stumble and felt a small surge of sciatica and now its been over3-4 months and I've been having to deal with a lot of nerve pain on both sides all down my leg + numbness in my feet which i never had pre-op. I did get an MRI done and everything checked out normal, doctor said don't worry.

I've researched this to death and I'm absolutely sure without being 100% postiive without a discograph that I have internal disc disruption/ annular tear such as Doug Gillard has described on his website ChiroGeek's Home Page, and I'm getting chemical irritation from a leaking disc.

Sorry, I'm not trying to hijack your thread but what you describe is uncannily what I've got. I've got a bunch of theories as well as a conservative remedy which I'm trying out and will save for a new thread....