New kid on the block

[TiredofPain]

Maria,
Thank you for the response and recommendations. I certainly understand and do not expect the same outcome or recovery as my friend. It is just a positive re-inforcement for me as to my decision to move forward in a more aggressive manner. And a close personal friend of 10+ years sharing the experience of the process is comforting. Also, the unfortunate reality is that there are no gaurantee's as to what the outcome will be for myself.

You are 100% correct about getting 2nd and 3rd opinions. I have looked up some other spine specialists in the area and will be calling them tomorrow. I just wonder how willing they will be to see me if I tell them up-front that it's for the purpose of a 2nd opinion. I have the CD's with the results of my recent MRI and the CT-scan after the discogram. I would like to think that they would willingly review the material and give me their professional opinion. Thank you very much for bringing that to my attention, as I had tunnel vision of the light at the end of the road.

Sorry to hear that you had 2 surgery failures and continue to have flare ups that put you down. Hopefully, they are few and far between.

Thanks again.
J