10 years of suffering and only 23!

[on pause]

Hi
I will definitely be in contact with Mark. Thanks for giving me a place to start.

@Hooch, I saw my original surgeon after having the 24mm herniation (the one that crushed my nerve root) and he was I guess having a bad day. After 5 hours of waiting in his office after he was called to emergency surgery (which I understand) he looked at the wrong imaging on my MRI, the fat content not the water content, told me I had simply pulled a muscle and that I was getting fat and should loose weight! His words exactly, and after that, he left! I sent him a detailed image, measuring the herniation size and mailed it to him with a strongly worded letter. I haven't been back to see him since.

From your experience, is there one ADR that is superior to another? I just found out about this surgery option yesterday, and though I've been trying to learn as much as I can, there is a lot of brand marketing that is tricky to get past and get an unbiased opinion. Though ADR surgery is fairly new in Canada, the doctor I lucked into does them quite regularly. I'm not sure yet which type he uses. He has gotten excellent reviews on Rate Md's and was highly recommended by Best Doctors, which is a private organization that fit a patient with the most skilled and respected doctors in their area. For anyone American reading, I don't want to rub it in, but the entire procedure is financially covered here in Canada, so going overseas and paying thousands doesn't seem like an option when I believe my doctor is very skilled. His wait time is usually 2 years but I was able to get an urgent appointment.

On a sort of side note, does anyone have any thoughts on why this is happening to me? I know I'm really young to be having these problems. My most recent MRI shows bone deteriorating around the discs, is that degenerative disc disease? Also, my discs keep reherniating with no trauma at all. The first two happened while throwing a ball, which doesn't seem like much trauma to begin with. To date, none of the 15 or so "specialists" have been able to give me an answer on why this is happening at all, the only ever try to help the symptoms. I want to fix the cause! I'm hopeful for surgery because by my logic, if there isn't a disc, nothing can herniate again! I just hope all the other levels cooperate!

Christina

[Hooch]

Hi Christina,

It is very unusual to herniate discs at such a young age (early teens). Disc degeneration and the process by which it causes back pain in some and not others is still not entirely understood by medical science. Hopefully the early trauma was just some sort of fluke or due to an earlier injury which set the degeneration in process. If it is confined to only the two lower discs that is a good indication that it's isolated so be confident in the rest of your discs.

I still struggle to understand that you were left with a 24mm herniation that was causing severe nerve impingement and not offered surgery. Not good enough. Hopefully at least some of the nerve damage isn't permanent.

If you've got access to an experienced surgeon that's great news. Be aware that adr isn't always indicated and sometimes a fusion is more appropriate... a common issue is facet degeneration. There is plenty of info out there about this on various forums and sites.

There are many lumbar disc replacements available now. There isn't a standout prosthesis that dominates the market. There are pros and cons to each, but to understand the difference requires a fair bit of research. If you are interested in looking through that sort of stuff u can pm me and I can give u a bit of a headstart. Each surgeon you consult with will generally have a prosthesis that they prefer to use on you... feel free to quiz them about it and how many ops they've performed.

I'd only caution that u do your due diligence.

Good luck,
Chris.

[dshobbies]

Christina,

Great news about getting an ADR in Canada. Another Canadian wasn't so lucky in just the recent past. As Hooch stated, there may be contra-indications which your surgeon will (should) look for before recommending them. Don't worry about rubbing anything in - we're all very happy when whoever's system works to their advantage.

Degenerative disc disease, DDD, is basically - you have a degenerated disc (herniation, bulge, unhealthy, etc.) which cannot function properly. Adjacent segments must bear the burden of this disc and they too begin to degenerate. The process can crawl up or down your spine. Not everyone experiences this degeneration and certainly with differing severities.

Fusion can also promote DDD and though the motion preserving ADRs were thought to stop it, studies indicate perhaps not - though to my knowledge most ADR studies are questionable.

Perhaps a neurologist can determine why this is happening to you - just a thought.

Let us know what your new doctor says.

Dale

[jsewell]

Christina
I am so sorry to hear of this happening at such a young age. I am glad you have found a good doctor that you trust. I believe that is the first step. Maybe you can discuss with him/her the options that you have. I'm not sure with your health care system how easy it is to get apts once you are a patient of a certain doctor.
I have nothing to offer in advice except what everyone has said to contact Mark.
I , much older than you at 53 have had severe degeneration and wonder the same things as you, what is doing this?
I am here for support, keep us posted
judy