Hi Liz,
Thanks for all that feedback. I'll try and fill in some gaps. I do have severe stenosis as well as herniation, spurs, etc., especially in the cervical area, although almost all of my pain is in the lumbar. I have had serious pain in my left leg and foot before, a few dozen times, but managed to get rid of it with conservative treatment.
Last summer I went numb from the lower waist down for quite awhile, sort of like coming out of the freezing you get at the dentist. Bladder & bowel problems, numbness on the left side when walking, etc. What would cause the nerve damage with the 3 level DIAM?
Unfortunately I haven't had a discogram or any other thing to tell me if it's my discs or facets that are giving me the most grief. Getting treatment here is almost impossible.
Yes the same doctor that is doing the DIAM wants to put a Medtronic disc in my neck, but refuses to put them in my lumbar. He thinks it will make the pain worse. That I can't imagine!
I am working on a third opinion in another province, but it will probably be a few months unfortunately, and I don't know if I (and my husband) can last that long. This has been going on for four years now, for the extreme pain, and over ten years from when I first had symptoms.
One of my thoughts would be to have the DIAMs and cervical ADR done, and if things failed in five or ten years, then at least the spacers are easy to remove and there should be lots of progress on other methods by then. Is that being too practical?
Thanks for that vote of youth
No, I definitely am not a walking, golfing sort of girl, more a competitive carriage racing with my horses kind of person
I've always had a farm, and don't shirk hard work, although I know to take it easy now when my body gives strong clues
PS: Do many people post images here, or does it take up too much room? Would that help explain things?