[Maria]

I have long believed that you can find people with terrible spinal films who feel great and people with not so bad spinal films/findings that feel horrible.

I think I was the latter for a while and now I'm the former or rather even tho my films show marked DDD, moderate facet arthopathy at several levels and endlplate changes that happen with increased degeneration I still feel better than I have in years.

Why? the only thing I can attribute it to is that over a long period of time and with some hastening of the process thru discectomies my L5S1 has autofused and is giving me far less pain/problems.

This level may look much more degenerative (L3 and L4 too) but I feel much better.

Waiting to have back surgery and not having it seems to have worked for me, at least thus far. This is the best I've felt and functioned in years.

And currently I'm taking one third the dose of Neurontin that I've been taking in the last 12 years and the same dose of pain medication (low) once daily that I started on 9 years ago.

Back in '06 there were at least 3 concurring opinions with regard to proceeding with a hybrid surgery at L4 and L5S1. Prior to that in early 2000 there was recommendation for a 3 level global fusion.

I am very glad about my decision to wait and not have more surgical intervention however I had a very mentally and physically traumatic 2nd spine surgery which failed and had I not gone thru this I'm quite sure I would have jumped at the chance to have multi level disc replacement.

I take no supplements. Have had 2 right knee surgeries and 2 spine surgeries and currently am warding off bilateral posterior tibial tendonitis which can be such a royal pain because my spine does so well with walking. Sitting is even improved.

My right knee is hanging in there and has not been a problem for a long time tho can exaccerbate every once in a while with either pain or weakness or both. Goes away with some rest, quad exercises and ice packs.

They used to scrape the underside of the patella back " in the day" and I had that done and was told I'd need it done every 5 years or so.. well my 2nd knee surgery (patella tendon release) took a lot of out me with a very prolonged recovery and I'd not consider letting anyone near my knees either without very extremely good reason/arguement or only if the pain was something I couldn't tolerate or limitations. No "preventative surgeries" for me on knees either. The surgeon who did the patella tendon release argued that I would have needed it when I was 50 (had it when I was 35) and here's a fact... medicine changes every so often and what is done one year may not be done the next 5 or 10 so I'm never falling for that one again!!!!!

Hanging in there with what I have ~ good bad and the ugly spine as long as things are doing OK.