3rd surgery this year?!

[grammy2008]

Had l4-l5 laminectomy and discectomy on March 23, 2009 and again same thing on June 1, 2009,  6 weeks ago I started having terrible pain in my lower back and left leg again, have to lay on the floor curl up in a ball to get pants and socks on cant hardly walk to pain Dr. sent me for MRI again last week well, low and behold the same level again, report reads l4-l5  large anterior  extradural defect caused by large recurrent disc reherniation with large extruded fragment on left measures 2cm in length by 10 mm and transeverse ( 10x10x20mm) in size moderate to severe foraminal narrowing on left. mild degenerative disc disease with buldge l5-S1.
So the doc is researching to see if I can have artificial disk replacement, because of my age 42 years he thinks it may be better than fusion that causes limited mobility, this is a comp case, but he said ADR is quite invasive so he wants to see if anyone can do it microscopic , has any heard of this ? I have tried to research and found nothing, and has anyone had ADR and any outcomes to report Please feeling pretty hopeless right now and tired of meds , and injections that are doing absolutely no good, any ideas?

[grammy2008]

Yes I have been doin PT land and pool for several months now and just added traction, I have had foot drop since February and it never has time to heal before it reherniates the doc said the hole is so big from past surgeries that it just keeps oozing out I cant walk sit sleep drive its KILLIN me, just hoping for relief. thanks for your reply! and good luck to you too!

[bigred527]

My case was similar in some ways and different in some. I found I was not eligable for the disc replacement (due to 2 surgeries) and did everything I could to put off the fusion b/c I was 28 at the timeand didn't want to be bolted together.  

I put it off for 3 years through pain managemnt, pain pills, care and hard core PT, until a car accident did me in.  This process was a chore in itself, it was alot of work and the pain was brutal. Over time it worker for me.

The one thing I can advise is to do everything you can to put off the fusion.  It is a ***** of surgery. The others were cake walks compared to this one.  The pain from recovery is a nightmare, so if there is anything that you can do at all to avoid it, please give it a try.

Best of luck with everything.