[steve55]

Well, I met with dr b for about an hour in the baggage claim area at dfw airport. It turns out he was at the tx back institute just 3 minutes from where I live and if he had known, I could have met him there. Oh well. The airport suited us fine. My main purpose in meeting with dr b was to get his opinion again regarding the c4/5 ADR, especially if dr Regan might recommend that I need 2 levels revised. I really wanted two opinions. But as it turns out, dr b said he recommends I hold off from surgery and give my body a chance to correct itself. He says the subsidence isn't that bad and now that he has a 2nd set of x rays to look at, he can confirm it is no longer subsiding. Needless to say I was shocked. Here I am looking forward to surgery in 5 days and even already paid dr Regan a $3500 deposit, all based on dr fenk meyer's email telling me to fuse NOW. And now the spine god is reversing directions and telling me to wait and see for 5 more months. So, what else am I to do but follow his advice? He wants to see if massage therapy and physical therapy and time can resolve this pain. He says I'm not in any danger of nerve damage and that the episodes of mild numbness in my hands is not something to worry about. He also suggests I get a MRI and CT scan to get a better view of everything. What's odd about all this is that the original email I got from dr fenk meyer said dr b had reviewed my x ray and reccommended immediate surgery due to risk to the middle ADR if I continue to subside, and risk of curvature of the spine called kiosis or something like that. I think his current thinking is that because the x rays show I'm not subsiding further, we can afford a wait and see approach. Meanwhile, he wants me to take ibuprofen, lyrica, and therapy to try to keep the pain at bay while we wait to see if the body somehow adapts and fixed itself.

And he recommends I see dr ziglar or guyer at the tx back institute. I told him that dr ziglar already turned me away with his secretary/receptionist remarking "he remembers you and he doesn't see other surgeons patients". Dr b said he would get me in to see dr guyer instead. My best friend came with me and we all three got a good chuckle at the idea of a resistant dr ziglar cutting on me, LOL. Not the ideal situation. LOL. So, of course I cancelled with dr Regan for now, but I emailed him explaining everthing and thanking him for all he did, and told him, I may yet still need him down the road, and that I still would love to have an opinion from him once I gathered a MRI and ct scan along with my x rays for him to look at. I really wonder if dr guyer and dr Regan will agree with the wait and see approach. I would have thought a fusion surgery 5 months from now would be more difficult than doing it now due to the ADR cementing in position even tighter. But dr b says it doesn't matter.

Oh well, I can agreed it's best to be sure before jumping into surgery. Dr b did say that as safe as most spine procedures are, such as fusion, you never know what might go wrong. He said surgery is always high risk and should always be considered a last resort. Dr guyer is top notch and I believe dr b and him together will guide me in the right direction. I'll try to wait this out as long as the pain is held at bay. So, my saga continues after all. (sigh)

Lastly, he did say my c4/5 is perfectly fine. He explained the obvious slant of the lower disc plate being due to my natuural vertebrae slant. Strange, but ok.