Success story for L4-5 ProDisc in USA

Michelle · #1 (**permalink**) 10-22-2006, 07:42 AM

Just wanted to add my 2 cents about the great care I got right here in the USA-Denver, CO. Dr. Michael Janssen did a one level ProDisc at L4-5 on Sept 19, 2006. I am now 4 1\2 weeks out from surgery and consider myself a great success. I struggled with back pain after a herniated disc in 1998. Two Lami's later, all my MRI's would always look slightly abnormal, but nothing to get excited about. Well, I was excited about my leg pain, and wanted it addressed!!!! I was lucky that my GP knew Dr Janssen personally and presented my case to him. A year and a half later of fighting workers comp, I was in his office. Months spent waiting on the FDA, and finally!! I feel great! I still have less stamina than a 27 year old should, but only occasionally feel any pain if I overdo it. ADR technology has given me my life back, and I'm barely a month out. YEAH!!

chasswen · #2 (**permalink**) 10-22-2006, 12:45 PM

GOOD DEAL
remember take it easy and most importantly is listen to your body.
chuck

dshobbies · #3 (**permalink**) 10-22-2006, 06:32 PM

Congratulations on the road traveled and your successful surgery. Be careful not to get ahead of yourself. Healing is a slow process and feeling great can tend to overdoing. Just take it nice and slow and pamper yourself when called for. I'm betting you'll do great.

Best wishes, Dale

Michelle · #4 (**permalink**) 10-22-2006, 08:29 PM

You know what the hardest part is-I've been in pain so long, that I actually have to consiously tell my brain-'hey, relax that muscle, it doesn't hurt there anymore'. I can actually reduce my pain a lot just by doing that, which gives me a lot of hope that all the structural probs are gone! You wouldn't think my brain would be my last obstacle to being pain-free, but I guess it adapts to anything! Muscle relaxants and the occasional pain med when I overdo something gets me down to almost no back pain, except for those occasional catches that only hurt for half a second. The leg pain diminishes every day, and is almost gone with the Neurontin. I'm taking it easy, trying not to run around like I feel like I should be able to do. I keep trying to remind myself that at this point post-op after my lami, I was only awake about 6 hours a day. I will return to work in just over a week, so that ain't bad! Thanks for all the well-wishes!

mmglobal · #5 (**permalink**) 10-22-2006, 08:31 PM

Michelle, it's great to (finally) hear stories about WC patients (finally) getting what they need. For too long, the battle has just been an exercise in tilting at windmills. It's a shame that it took so long... hopefully, those that follow will have access to the care they need without the long battles. Folks like you have led the way and your positive outcome will help so many others.

I also don't have the stamina a 27 year old should have! It'll come back... unless you aren't 27!

Mark

Michelle · #6 (**permalink**) 11-01-2006, 02:00 AM

Well, I just got home from my 6 week post-op appointment with Dr. Janssen. He was so thrilled with my recovery, he wouldn’t stop going on and on to the doctor from the UK that was there with him learning to do ADRs. He hugged me twice, and actually kissed my cheek once! He released me from all restrictions, aside from ‘if it hurts, don’t do it’, including the brace (oh, I can’t go bungee-jumping or skydiving for a year). He said I could ski, have a kid, go back to full days at work as of the 6th, whatever I wanted to do. I’m supposed to start PT with a Pilates or Yoga program, with no restriction on movements I can do. One thing I thought was interesting was something he said to his ‘student’ (and I’m paraphrasing) “The disc implant itself isn’t what restores movement in the area. That’s our job, during the surgery. We have to mobilize all the structures surrounding the disc or it won’t restore movement.” I thought that was quite interesting. He said I’d gained an inch of height. I was down to 4 mm of disc, and came out with 25mm (does that come out to an inch? I can’t remember the conversion). No wonder my legs hurt! He said the sharp pain I have at that level, near the skin, is the facet joints like I’d thought. They now have a lot more movement than they’ve had in 8 years. He said they’ll get used to it and the pain should pass. Oddly, they said there was no problem using my TENS unit, which is something that I’d heard was definitely off-limits, and that no antibiotics were necessary before dental procedures. He did give me a card to carry in my wallet about the implant, the nurse said it was for the airport. I asked if it would set off the metal-detectors, but was told probably not. It was really just for records, and in case of an accident or something. But I had to give it back, as they’d put the wrong level on it. Needless to say, despite the 4 hour drive to get there, I feel great after such a glowing report!! Now to figure out how not to go from 0 to 10 hour days in one shot. 4 hour days anyone??

chasswen · #7 (**permalink**) 11-01-2006, 08:47 PM

good deal michelle
please remember slow and steady.
chuck

Maria · #8 (**permalink**) 11-01-2006, 11:19 PM

Michelle,
It must feel so wonderful to feel so good and have it all validated by your doctor~ even tho you could feel good w/o his/her validation but it's just that little icing on the cake.. that person who is a doctor agreeing w/you that all is well in your universe because of the surgery~ so great!!!!!
Don't ask me how to slow your jets since whenever I get an ESI and think my back is normal again I act it... never learn..
Best wishes with your new spine, cherish and enjoy your new life~ may it always be so~

Michelle · #9 (**permalink**) 11-08-2006, 05:15 PM

Monday was my first day back to work, for a 4 hour day. And it was pretty good. It was the first time I'd really noticed how much more movement I have in my lower back. It was kind of disconcerting, and a little painful, but it seems to be getting better already. I'm glad I'm only doing 4 hour days for the first 2 weeks, because it's very tiring. My workmates are very good about telling me to sit down when I get too ambitious. I draw blood at a hospital lab, and then sit down and do computer work for a few minutes, so it's a perfect mix of position changes. The pain I feel is definately different from before surgery, and slowly decreasing. I think the PT I started Monday too was rough to do the same day. It made my SI joints hurt for a while. I haven't been as diligent about doing the exercises as I should be, but it's hard to convince myself that it won't make my pain continually worse as it did before. I'm giving myself a few days to get used to work, then I'll get after the exercises again. One of these first days, we'd like to celebrate our 8 year wedding anniversary that passed yesterday with barely a mention. Besides all this happening with me, my hubby split his finger open at work (11 stitches), so it's been a great week!

I'm just glad returning to work wasn't as hard as I'd expected, despite having a cold.

dshobbies · #10 (**permalink**) 11-10-2006, 06:50 PM

Michelle,

You're less than 2 months post-op and need to listen to everything your body is telling you and act accordingly. Returning to work this early is miraculous but to continue on this path, you must heed your own body's warnings.

I'm thrilled for you and pray you stay this course, Dale

letteski · #11 (**permalink**) 11-11-2006, 07:42 AM

Michelle

I am so glad you are doing well and taking the time to share it with us here. I went snorkeling in Hawaii at 7 weeks, snow skied at 3.5 months and went back to work as a PE teacher for children with disabilities at 5 months, all while doing PT. I am now 14+ months post op and doing ski conditioning classes that consist of impact anaerobic exercises like jumping, running and agility movements as well as balance drills and core strengthening exercises. I mountain biked all summer and will be making my big come back on the slopes this winter. So you have a lot to look forward to. I worked my way into all of this and I know you will too. Enjoy your new life you deserve it.

Michelle · #12 (**permalink**) 11-15-2006, 12:20 AM

Well, tomorrow is 8 weeks! I'm tired and sore after a long pilates PT session yesterday. I'm trying again to not take the last 30 mg of Avinza (long-acting morphine). It only lasted 2 1\2 days last time I tried. With a couple extra breakthrough meds, I'm hoping to be done with the Avinza. We'll see! My goal is to have another kid by 2008, so getting off these meds are important to me! I also hope to teach my 3 (almost 4) year old son to ski soon! So, I have a lot of incentive to get moving! Work is getting easier, and I'll got up to 6-8 hour days next week, then back to 10's the week after. I found it still hurts when I have to bend down to draw a patient's blood, like it did before surgery, but hopefully that'll get better. Anyway, I'm very glad I did the surgery, and every day gets a little better!

dshobbies · #13 (**permalink**) 11-15-2006, 01:55 AM

Everyone is different and you may find no difficulties as you heal, but after 1 year post-op, leaning forward is still difficult. For instance, I find making the bed in the morning exhausting. I'm not expecting this to get much better either, but we'll see.

Dale

Michelle · #14 (**permalink**) 12-12-2006, 03:26 AM

Today I drove through a snowstorm to Denver for my 12 week post-op follow-up. X-rays (flexion/extension/lateral bending) were all good. They even gave me a few of the films (they couldn't put them on disc) so I could show my hubby-he's never seen anything but pics of the implant. We talked about my small amount of continued pain and agreed it seems to be the facets. I remember a few years ago a trial facet block was done and I was supposed to be scheduled for a Rhizo, but ended up getting pregnant. It was such a small part of the problem then that I didn't pursue it after my son's birth. Now it seems to be the only problem!! I'm very hopeful that they can take away or greatly help this last bit of pain, but even if not I'm happy. We talked about the constrained vs unconstrained designs of discs, and I learned a lot. She (the PA) said that the ProDisc does not restore full natural range of motion, only close, which I didn't know. That's okay, I have more movement now than I did with 4 mm of disc, and a lot more than with my other option--fusion. She said that I didn't have to worry about the implant slipping apart or breaking even with a large impact like a ski crash. They can't even hardly get them apart outside of someones body with a pry bar apparently. Anyway, it's always nice to see that metal in the right spot on the films, and see how happy they are with my recovery. It's a slow proccess to me, but for them it seems great.

Michelle · #15 (**permalink**) 01-09-2007, 05:19 PM

3 1\2 months post op and had my facets injected today. I feel great right now, though the doc warned me that would only last most of today as the local anesthetic is still around. The next week will probably be bad, then hopefully the steroid will help after that. It's a good sign that I have -0- pain right now, isn't it? I'm hoping so. I would love to get rid of this last 2 of 10 pain. Tolerable if they can't, but boy, wouldn't it be great?? I don't expect to have no back pain the rest of my life, but I'd settle for getting off the rest of these meds! The doc did say that it appeared that the facets were 'off' a little bit in relation to each other (don't remember the exact words he used). He said my spinal column is lined up properly, but the facets don't seem to be. I wondered if that was due to having years of very little disc height, now restored to normal. They've been jammed together on each other a while. He did say no wonder they hurt. I still have some upper back pain/spasms, but I've found they immediately decrease when I extend my back to the normal lumbar lordosis. I've found it's less painful when I flex my back a bit (extension often hurts the facets!) so I often flatten the lordosis. Am I getting flexion/extension mixed up? Bending back hurts the facets, and so I flatten the lordosis, causing my upper back to slump forward. I'm hoping that if we can control the facet pain, I'll be able to return to the normal posture more easily. I'm still thrilled with the relief I've gotten so far, and I'm just hoping for a little more!

mmglobal · #16 (**permalink**) 01-09-2007, 07:18 PM

Michelle, thanks for the update.

Flex forward, extend back. For me, right is towards the shoe with the big R on the toe.

It's good news / bad news that your facet injection relieved your pain. The good news is that you have high confidence that you know where the pain generator is. The bad news is that your facets are painful.

Since you are so newly post-op, you may be looking forward to your facets recovering as the disc height has been restored, hopefully re-aligning the facets. I'll be very interested to discover how you do with theraputic facet injections and possibly rhizotomy. (Hopefully you can avoid the rhizo, but if you need one, it may be an option.)

All the best,

Mark

Michelle · #17 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 08:29 PM

I'm just past 6 months post-op, and doing pretty well. I had a facet rhizo just under a month ago. It seems to have reduced the sharp pain I had near the surface of my back. The day after the rhizo I was really excited as I didn't have any pain at all. I can't say that now, unfortunately. My husband had a major stroke last month, and I now have to help him with a lot of movements. I gotta say that I'm still happy with my ADR, because I don't think that without it and the rhizo, I would be able to help him like I am. If the cost of doing that is not getting down to no pain, and still being on some pain meds, I guess I can live with that. He's improving, and can almost transfer himself from bed to chair by himself, so I'm hopeful that this is not a permanent pain level for me. I still get some radiating pain in my hips and legs, and some SI pain with all the sitting and bending. The very localized pain around my implant is pretty well gone, so I'm happy about that. If it weren't for all the bending, and awkward positions I have to get into to help hubby, I think I would have very little pain. I got down to about a 2 most days before the stroke, and now only get up to 4-5 when I've done something I really shouldn't have. Thankfully my pain management doc is great, and really working with me. Hubby will come home from rehab hosp. sometime around May 3. Wish us luck!!

Maria · #18 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 10:52 PM

Michelle,
You've been so good about keeping us updated, thank you very much for this~

Having worked in nursing for years (injuring my low back w/lifting/moving patients) I really feel for your spine in terms of helping your husband. I know you're doing what is needed and hopefully good body mechanics and a partially new spine will help~ and my thoughts and prayers for your hub's recovery~

take good care and once again much thanks for keeping us udated!

dshobbies · #19 (**permalink**) 04-14-2007, 04:05 AM

Michelle,

I am so sorry for your circumstances. While you must rise to the occasion, I can only hope that new back rises with you. I also wish your husband as speedy a recovery as possible. Our worlds take many turns in life which only serve to make us stronger. My thoughts are with both of you.

Please take care, Dale

chasswen · #20 (**permalink**) 04-14-2007, 01:01 PM

michelle
very pleased to hear of good recovery. and i am very sorry to hear of your ongoing family problems. wishing and praying for your wade to make a full recovery. please remember all those positive thoughts you needed for a good recovery are still now needed more so than ever before, as now you are baring the weight of the world on your shoulders.
best wishes
chuck and bev

Michelle · #21 (**permalink**) 10-03-2007, 07:21 PM

The one year anniversary of my surgery came and went with nary a thought. I'm still on some painkillers, but much happier with the pain levels than before surgery. At least the painkillers work. I'm working full-time, doing pilates, riding my stationary bike, and keeping up with my husband's therapies and doctors since his stroke in March. We're both hanging in there well. He's home, and doing everything himself now except things that require two hands (buttoning, laces, etc) so at least I don't have to physically help him much anymore. The worst taking care of everything does to me is stress, which may be part of the pain as well. But I'm still very happy with my decision! The facet rhizo still seems to help the local pain as well. Now my back pain is just a minor annoyance, not a major thing, so I'm thrilled!

dshobbies · #22 (**permalink**) 10-04-2007, 12:27 AM

Michelle,

Though your circumstances still aren't optimal for your own well being, it appears that you're handling all as best you can and your back is bahaving itself. I commend you and your doctors.

You said that stress is a major factor in your daily life. While this is more than understandable, stress does take its toll. I find that meditation or deep relaxation techniques can be quite beneficial. I'm not a guru or anything close but find that I carry too much inside which I'm able to release through this practice.

I wish you and your husband continued success in your recoveries. All my best, Dale

Michelle · #23 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 02:22 AM

Just found out we're expecting baby #2! This may be an interesting challenge as I was still on some opiates until yesterday when the second line appeared! My surgeon cleared me to carry a baby as of my 6 WEEK post op appointment, so I'm mostly worried about the pain. Opinions are so mixed about what is safe, and there is a lot of guilt to go along with the decision.

Regardless, I'm thrilled, and hoping for the best. Please, anyone who's been through this- I need your stories!!!

dshobbies · #24 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 05:41 AM

Congratulations!!!!!!

How wonderful for you. I have read about a successful post adr pregnancy but Mark would be your goto person. I know it's a concern considering delivery, etc., but I'd be more concerned about lugging a 20+lb baby on your hip. Those are the muscles I'd be strengthening. I can only hold my grandson(s) for so long.

I wish you all the best with this new miracle. Dale

Cheryl · #25 (**permalink**) 03-31-2008, 02:51 PM

Congrats!!!! Wishing you a pain free pregnancy. That is fabulous news.

Michelle · #26 (**permalink**) 04-09-2008, 08:25 AM

So, minor milestone, my first 24 hours without even tylenol for pain! It only took a week and a half to get off the opiates, and amazingly I don't feel like I drank 14 pots of coffee in withdrawl! I can't sleep, but... I'm hoping the nighttime pain will stay at bay, and I'll be able to keep this up.
Anybody know if the disc is a concern with delivery? I know the curled up and pushing part of labor isn't ideal on a bad back, disc or not, but I don't think there are structrual concerns are there? I have a ProDisc-no core to slip. I'll be sure to ask my doc, but I'm a bit of an insomniac now, and the things I worry about when I can't call at 2 am!!

Maria · #27 (**permalink**) 04-09-2008, 04:55 PM

Michelle,
I've read about a few other women that have delivered and had ADR (not sure if Prodisc or Charite) tho as I recall there were no untoward events re delivery and disc prob. And I believe upon questioning Dr.Bertagnoli he thought they'd be Ok (so must have been prodisc patients)..

I'd have to go back and see when you had your first baby and if that was recent and/or vaginal delivery tho if in the last several years, your delivery unless otherwise problematic would likely be easier on you, than more difficult.

I have a friend whose daughter had 2 children after her 2 level lumbar fusion at L4 and L5S1 and believe it or not (I found it difficult to believe) she's fine. No further back probs. Vaginal deliveries both.

Glad to hear the pain med weaning/cessation went well and hope soon you'll be able to sleep. Sounds like you're doing good so far! Keep us posted