I was definitely told to where one by Dr. B after my 3 levels. I believe I wore it for at least 3 months. One of the things I also remember the doctor saying was, it was important to have it on from the viewpoint of the people you come in contact with: grocery store, work, shopping, etc., so they would be more conscious of not "knocking" into you, because you had a big old obvious brace on. We all know how now-a-days folks just practically run you down out in public with not even so much as an "excuse me," anymore. Our manners have gone to the dogs. A big pet peeve of mine, but that's another story. Like Terry, the lidocaine patches were absolutely useless to me. Zip. Nada. But then like Dale said, everybody is different, so it's certainly worth a try. Nothing to lose, right?
Cindylou
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bicycle accident 6/01: 2 compression fractures @ T12-L1; vertibroplasty; 4/06: right hip labral tear & arthroscopic repair; 4/07: lumbar prodiscs @ 3 levels, L3-6 by Dr. Bertagnoli; 7/02/08: ALIF L6-S1; 7/30/08: reopened to remove bone cement, leaked onto S1 nerve root; 8/08: pulmonary embolism, double pneumonia, collapsed left lung, pleurisy, pleural effusion; ALIF fusion complete; 3/10/09: SI Joint Fusion by Dr. Stark; Jury still out.
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