operation on my neck

I have this only down in my lower back. My first back surgery they went in and tried to widen the spinal canals. Second surgery they had to fuse the L5-S1 and it's only a matter of time they say till I have to have the next vertebrate up fused as well. They said it could be anywhere from a couple years (it's been two and a half now) to 25 years, no way of knowing. I guess it all depends on how hard I am on my body. Anyhow, I'm hoping you get some good news from the doc you said just agreed to meet with you.

Thanks, Willie's successful result will give me the confidence I'll need if I do have to proceed.
I get really depressed hearing about so many spinal surgery bad outcomes, it seems everyone knows someone that never really did any better afterwards.

Board: What is causing all this damage in your neck??? I was having atrophy in my right arm, too. Scary. I was driving and went to shift up a gear, did all the footwork and didn't understand at first why I still seemed to be in third gear. Then I realized my right arm was just lying there and hadn't actually moved the shifter FREAKED me out. But at that time, all I had to do was shake my head and shoulder a little and "wake it back up". I was having numbness down to the fingertips and pain along the whole nerve channel. But not that bad, and I could always just kind of shake it out, or stretch a little and it'd be ok.

TJ: Blessing in disguise was the little massage that I think triggered the horrible pain, sending me at last to the hospital to get the OP done. It was a ticking time bomb anyway. My orthopedist said months ago that I'd need an OP. My reaction was, predictably, no way, not me, I'll lick this thing with P/T and exercise and healthy eating... well, now it's been licked

I'm in the process of editing it TJ. It's almost 5 pages long and I don't think anyone will stick around to read the whole thing at that length. As far as the I'm doing well, mine is a little different as it is in my lower back, his is in his neck, so higher up the chain of what get's affected. Mine when flared up mostly only affects my low back and my legs. His I believe can affect from the neck down. It's a very scary thing and I am hoping for the best for both Willie and Board.

All people undergo disc degeneration with age, it just doesn't lead to problems in each case.
I'm on the young side for this (59 in a few weeks), but it's just an early onset of age related osteoarthritis.
Not surprising, since the cartilage in some of the joints in my feet were totaly gone TEN years ago without any injury, just the repetitive stress of cycling in cleated clipless cycling shoes on a daily basis.
Some people are more prone than others to this type of osteoarthritis, I just hit the lottery.
Staying in shape may have contributed to the secondary bone growth in response to the disc degeneration, but it also masked the symptoms for years. My muscles were holding everything in place and doing their job as the discs slowly disintegrated, but at the same time the work they did in stabilization caused the spurring to occur.
My daily drive is a manual, have'nt missed a shift yet. If I do I know a good German doctor to call.
But for now I'm still counting on the Willie denial principle of healing.

LOL, well, I denied it till there was nothing left to deny. Then I got it fixed

Last Sunday's "Smile of Denial" documented and even for sale.
MRI and symptoms say "Dude.... under the knife ASAP"
Clinical exam says "what the he11 are you doing here? Get outside and play!"
I tried to explain to some curious runners at the finish, but I felt like Andy Kaufman
trying to convince folks that he really WAS dying.
http://www.runphotos.com/packages.cfm?file_name=finish/sd55_0926.JPG

I know TJ, but people don't believe me, and it's, you know.........frustrating.
Andy's friends laughed in his face when he looked very seriously at them and told them he was dying of lung cancer, and they thought he was joking almost right til the end!

HIS cervical discs actually look pretty good!
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-shot-fishing-spear-06092012,0,6300667.story

check this out, I have the DCI Implant shown on this page:

http://paradigm-spine.de/products/en/

"not available in the USA" .... why not????

Too easy a target in a U.S court.
ONE failure (which would be clinicaly acceptable as a % of the total) would bankrupt the company.

well that doesn't make sense. All their other products are available... but then the USA bans Kinder Surprise Eggs as well, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me.

I wrote to the company, to thank them and to inquire about the reasons for the non-USA deal. It also says "patent pending in the USA", so maybe it's a legal issue....

here's a Medtronic Cervical Disk:

http://www.medtronic.com/for-health...thopedics/cervical-artificial-discs/index.htm

big ol' clunky thing ... I feel like I got the Maserati of disk implants.

Here, the risks involved with the Medtronic Tin Lizzy:

"Risks

Along with the benefits of this technology, there also are potential risks. Risks associated with the Prestige Cervical Disc include, but are not limited to:

• Early or late loosening of the components
• Component sizing issues
• Anatomical or technical difficulties
• Possible tissue reaction
• Formation of bone that may reduce spinal motion or result in a fusion, either at the treated level or adjacent levels
• The development of new radiculopathy, myelopathy, or pain

In the US clinical study, there were a number of adverse events. Some of the most common were trauma, difficulty swallowing, impairment of speech, and infection. There may be other risks associated with treatment using the Prestige device. Although many of the major risks are listed on this website, a more comprehensive list is provided in the physician’s package insert for the product and the Indications, Safety, and Warnings link."

And looking through this website and the surgical therapies they describe:

http://www.necksurgery.com/index.html

kind of gave me the creeps

I always *knew* that carpal tunnel syndrome was a condition associated with repetitive motion.
Turns out that's only true in the U.S. where disability insurance/worker's comp is set up in a way that will provide benefits for life.
Throughout the rest of the world it is just looked at in the same way as ANY condition/syndrome is, and has nothing at all to do with repetative motion/on the job injury.......since there is no reason to blame it on an employer when no compensation would be available.
Medical science doesn't point a finger at the employer........but U.S. attorneys succesfully do!

Just followed the Medtronic link, feeling to up-beat today to read it, so bookmarked it instead.
I'll report back.
I still want to believe last Sunday's results and pro pic rather than the MRI, but.........

lol.... hmmm... not sure how to read that .... you likey?