2 discs bad and Osteoporosis

[oldtimegrrl]

Hi.
I've been lurking for a little while, this is my first post.

I'm a computer programmer & professional dancer & dance teacher. Or at least I was. March 2008: Ruptured L4-L5 disc while dancing & moving sound equipment. Severe sciatica, muscle atrophy in left calf. Microdiscectomy performed May 2008 relieved sciatic pain, but lower back pain remained. Many months of physical therapy, walking, etc. and I still can't walk or stand for longer than about a half hour without pain. An hour on my feet and it gets pretty severe.

Discograms, MRIs, CT scans confirm ruptures at L5-S1 (bone-on-bone), L4-L5, and possibly L3-L4. Insurance approved me for fusion at L5-S1 and ADR at L4-L5. But DEXA scan just came back at -2.5, which is borderline osteoporosis.

I go to see my surgeon tomorrow. He's one of the top people in the country for ADR. I suspect he will say no ADR due to the bone density issue, and will recommend 2 level fusion.

I'm reluctant to get the fusion just because I'm pretty certain it will mean no more dancing and/or certain problems at L3-L4 in the near future. I will probably go with whatever he recommends, I'm just wondering if anyone has any other bright ideas for suitable treatment?

thanks, and best wishes to all out there living with pain, and a big thank you to the care-givers.