[treefrog]

Thanks CL. I hope that Dr. B. will be able to tell me whether or not my lstv will cause problems after the ADR, or if there is something that should be done to avoid that. According to the MRI report, mine is partially lumbarized, so an ADR could not go in there. But, I do wonder if it shouldn't be fused (if that is even possible) to avoid more problems.

I still haven't gotten the cost estimate, which I need to get before I can schedule surgery. I think I will send an email to ask about it, because I want to set the surgery date as soon as possible.

I know that sometimes people wonder why I would have surgery. My average pain level is 3-4, with meds. I know the surgeons are used to working on people with much higher pain levels, and telling them that success would be getting their pain level down to 3-4. But here is my reasoning.

First, the pain has taken away my normal life. I can't do lab work (which is my job), only sit at a desk and do administrative work. Occasionally I will have to do a little bit of work, and it usually leads to increased pain, sometimes it lasts a week or more (depending on how active I had to be). And I no longer have a social life.

So, even though I still get up every day and go to work, I find it difficult to do so. I don't sleep well because of the pain, so I have a hard time getting up in the morning.

I know that surgery may not decrease my pain, and there is a chance that it will increase it. But surgery is the only shot I have at decreasing the pain. Because I have DDD, it isn't going to get better on it's own. If I don't have surgery, there is the possibility that the pain will decrease on it's own, eventually (many years from now). But the likelihood of that happening is pretty slim, particularly anytime soon.

And from what I have seen, recovery can be influenced by the condition before surgery. So, I think that by having surgery before I have lost a lot of disc height, and let things degenerate so much, I will have a better chance at full recovery. And I am hoping that it will be an easier, quicker recovery.