Bad news update

[Blairsara]

As some of you know I have been having a lot of problems for almost three years because of facet joint pain caused by the Charite artificial disc. From the time I had the surgery in June 2004 to the present my joints have gone from completely healthy to completely degenerative. I have bone spurs, forming arthritus, and now a minimal bulging disc at L4/L5.

Since this past September things have gotten much worse. I was off pain meds for a long time, but since the end of September I have been back on them every day. My symptoms have gotten worse - my hands and feet go numb (which hasnt happened since before i had the Charite ADR) and I have tingling running up and down my back. The last time I went to see Dr. Regan he said to have a facet block on my right side, which I did and it didnt provide any relief. I had a rhizotomy in December which helped, but only lasted for a few months. I had another rhizotomy last week on my right side since the facet block didnt work, but it has yet to provide any relief. The doctor who did the rhizotomy said that it might not help because my pain is all "mechanical."

So now to the bad news update. I saw Dr. Lanman and Dr. Regan in the past two weeks. Both have said that there is really nothing left that I can do besides having the disc removed. Basically, I am going to have the disc removed and have a fusion. Dr. Lanman wanted to also go through my back and cut out the bad joints and put in a cage and screws. Dr. Regan didn't think that I should do that in addition to having the disc removed and a fusion. Instead, he recommeded a less invasive surgery that entails taking out the disc, fusing the spine, and drilling four holes in my back to put in the screws and the rods.

I am going to have the surgery at the end of May once finals are over with Dr. Regan. It's the least invasive and the most effective way of treating this problem. I've come to the point where I have to have it removed because I can't deal with being in this constant state of pain where every day I'm at an eight or nine out of a pain scale of 10. I think that if I waited until law school is over I'd probably have a break down, and that's the last thing that I want.

I never thought that I'd be back in this situation... that my back has completely taken control of my life, where I have no life except for dealing with my back and trying to do the best that I can in my classes. I never thought that almost three years after my surgery I'd have to have the disc removed. But life, as we all know, throws us many obstacles that we have to face head on and deal with. But overall, I'm glad that I'm going to have it taken out because this is really the only way that I wont be in this much pain.

Only three other patients out of around 108 from the study that I was in had to have revisions/removal. I guess I'm part of the lucky .04%!

I hope that my experience can be a learning experience for those who are thinking of having ADR, or are in a constant state of pain and have trouble remaining positive and not let frustration and anger consume them. It's all about never giving up - never give up on hope that there will be an answer, that there will be a solution, and that one day the pain will stop.

I hope that those who have had the Charite disc have not or will not have to deal with what I've gone through. i don't wish this upon my worst enemy. But it has made me have a clear and true perspective on life. I hope one day we will all be pain free!

[mmglobal]

Sara... I'm so sorry that you are having to go through this. What do your cervical / thoracic MRI's show?

Mark

[annapurna]

Blairsara,

I can't tell you how sorry I am that you are going through this. Living with an 8-10 pain every day and still taking law classes? You are an amazingly strong person and a wonderful example of human perseverence.

On the bright side, come next fall, your fusion revision should be well healed and you should be looking forward to a "low-pain" fall semester. If anything happens to your L4/L5 disc or facets in the future, there will be better technology by that time that will very likely address the problem.

Since I have similar (albeit MUCH less severe) facet symptoms behind my L5/S1 Charite, I would be interested to learn why your facet pain suddenly became so bad? I wonder if the facet degeneration got so bad that you are now dealing with some stenosis from the facet osteophytes?

Best of luck (you sure deserve it!) and thanks for keeping us posted on your situation and decisions. Our prayers and thoughts will be with you this spring.

Best,
Laura

[dshobbies]

Blairsara,

I am so sorry you are experiencing painful problems with something you hoped would have been your cure. I can only hope that your revision surgery brings you the relief you so desperately need and deserve.

To be going though law school while in this severe pain is a testament to your character. Many in your situation just give up.

I wish you every success in your upcoming surgery. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Dale

[Maria]

Sara,
I think you've reached the point where when someone asks him/herself "should I have surgery or not?" you know the answer...

While I'm really sorry to hear that you're in that much pain, and that you have to have another surgery, I do think that your decision is one that is made because of necessity, and that's the bottom line~

You're an extremely positive person and I look forward to your future posts~ and again, I'm real glad I got to meet you and your Mom in person as I feel that much closer to you and your situation~

take good care, Maria

[Blairsara]

Maria and Mark - quick correction, my name is Blair, Sara is my middle name.

Mark - the CT scans showed that my facet joints have greatly degenerated since my ADR and that it progressively had gotten worse to where I am now. It showed facet arthropathy, bone spurs, stages of arthritus, a bulging disc at L4/L5. Also, this is all at my L5/S1. I called you after I met with Dr. Lanmen to tell you what was going on (you sat in on my meeting with Dr. Regan when Maria came to see him and Dr. Apostle).


Laura – Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. It has definitely been very hard and frustrating these past 6 months, but I swore to myself that I would not let my back interfere with getting my law degree and doing well in my classes. Surprisingly, I can write well while on pain medication. Some of my professors and the person at the disability office told me that if I had not told them what was going on with my back and how bad it was, they would have no idea by just looking at me. That made me feel better, because the last thing that I wanted was for everyone to know how bad things were that didn’t need to know. I’m a private person, and I don’t like random people who might not have a clue about what living in this kind of pain is like.

Thank you for calling me a strong person and an example of perseverance. Every day I give myself a pep talk, telling myself that I won’t get upset, frustrated, sad, or angry because of what’s going on. Everyday I say to myself that I will never give up. If the pep talk doesn’t work, I just look in the mirror at my tattoo that’s about my ADR surgery and my recovery. That knocks some sense into me. :P

I know that I have done everything I could to try and alleviate the pain. I believe that since there is nothing else at this point that I can do, that to let it consume my mental state would mean that I let my crappy situation defeat me. We all go through hard times in our life, whether like us it’s pain, or being scarred from traumatic events, etc… I refuse to have it consume my life and destroy my ambition of doing very well in law school and becoming a successful attorney.

I am definitely happy about the fact that after the fusion and the recovery I won’t be in as much pain. That is the one thing that I hold on to, and even before I knew I was going to have the surgery I held onto that idea that one day I would have a revision procedure that would stop this pain. I think that looking at the bright side of this crappy situation has helped me not only for the present, but also for the future when I will be faced with difficult situations.

First, I am glad that your facet joints are not similar to mine. I hope that they never reach that stage. The reason why the pain has gotten so bad since September is that the degeneration is getting worse. The Charite disc put too much pressure on my joints, allowed them to extend too far, and didn’t move properly. I know that the bone spurs are sclereotic but I don’t know if I’m dealing with stenosis. What exactly is that? Again, thank you for your comments I truly appreciate them.


Dale and Maria -
Thank you so much for your kind words. Hearing these things from you guys helps reassuring myself that I'm handling this the best possible way that I can. Maria, I think you are exactly right in terms of a decision of necessity. There is really nothing else I can do in terms of outpatient procedures. The facet blocks stopped working, the rhizotomies didnt really help that much. The pain killers arent that effective, and physical therapy hasnt provided as much relief as it used to. I truly believe that I am making the right decision, that hopefully after I recover from the surgery I won't be in as much pain as I am now. Again, it was also a pleasure meeting you as well. By the way, how are things with your back? Do you have a date for your surgery?

As of today my surgery date is May 24th.

Again, thank you all for the kind words, I really appreciate it. I hope that my experience can be a learning one for others dealing with constant pain, or problems stemming from the Charite disc.

Thanks.

Blair