[Katie]

I think it was Liz who recommended that I get a blood test done for metal allergies before my ADR surgery. I've developed numerous allergies to common foods in the last year, and have always known that I've been very allergic to Nickel, through jewellery.

I just want to thank Liz for her help with this. I can't imagine the misery I would have had if I'd gone through with four level surgery and been allergic to all of the appliances.

My surgeon was quite alarmed when I mentioned the Nickel allergy a few months ago, so I promised that I would have the test done at Duke University. They test for about ten metal sensitivities, and I just got the results back today.

And no surprise to me, after all I've been through...I'm highly reactive to almost every metal, including all of the ones used in ADR surgery. The only relevant one that tested 'mild' was titanium.

The manufacturers of several discs refused to give me the exact breakdown of their discs, saying that only my doctor was privy to that information. I wasn't impressed, and wanted to save him all the time involved in getting those details.

I don't know what the fusion hardware is composed of, so don't know if I am a candidate for that either now. After four years of fighting with the insurance outfit and finally finding a great surgeon who has agreed to work on me as I hoped, it now looks like these allergies will do me in.

I'm just waiting to hear from the surgeon, and his take on this new twist in the story.

Has anyone else ever heard of someone being allergic to this list:

Aluminum, Cobalt, Chromium, Iron, Molybdenum and Nickel. I'm mildly reactive to Zirconium, Vanadium and Titanium