EllecincoS1 AlphaKlinik Activ-L Dr. Zeegers

[ellecincos1]

Well, I'm finally on the other side. I had surgery on Friday with Dr. Zeegers. L5-S1 Activ-L. I'm glad I finally got it over with and now I'm on the long road to recovery. So far, so good. The incision is still very incomfortable. Stiff back. I've been walking 3 to 4 times a day and even did a flight of stairs today (for the x-ray). The whole process here is A+. The time we got with Dr. Zeegers, Dr. Baumbach and Dr. Blome was so much more than we expected. I'm having my first real meal, chicken fettucccini (lunch Monday). Mark has been a tremendous help since day 1. It was great to meet Diane and other spineys.

I'll post more later when I have more energy.

[Cheryl]

Congrats! You look awesome!

Cheryl

[Maria]

It's nice to see what people really look like and you are looking wonderful! Happy to hear that you're doing as well as you are post op and hope you continue to improve each day as the pain resolves.

Brave new world.. I think when someone takes that leap of faith they start on that path~ good luck on your new path and stay well

[dshobbies]

Congratulations on making it to the other side. Even though uncomfortable and in some pain, it's much easier than the waiting. You look great and it appears that your recoop is going well. I'm sure Mark has told you to take it slow but it doesn't hurt to hear it again!!!!

I agree about Mark. He was my ADR gift. Take care, Dale

[sahuaro]

Adding my congratulations and best wishes for an uneventful recovery!
You do look fantastic!

[ellecincos1]

I got discharged today...Doing good...Taking some anti-inflammatories for my left leg as I over did it with the walking ....PT recommends I slow down for a while...Got started on Rehab today..Had massage and it was great...

There were 4 of us that had ADR's with Dr. Z this past Friday...We constantly encouraged each other when we crossed paths during our walks.

Mark was a great resource for all the spineys during the stay..


Back on normal diet...Love the yogurt here...Weather is tough 32-42...

Bye

[ellecincos1]

One week after ADR:

Getting better slowly..Walking 3-4 times a day, 20-30 minutes..Left leg needs a lot of work-- Physical Therapy( it was a mess before the op , i was a 80/20 leg /back pain level)..Taking a few meds...Anti-Inflammatories, Tylenol-Codeine, Nexium to help the stomach with the pain meds...

[dshobbies]

It sounds like you're doing great and taking it slow which is the name of this game. It does take some time but the benefits are so worth it. Here's hoping that your uphill journey keeps going.

Dale

[sahuaro]

How wonderful that you have a small group of cohorts for support! The nice part of PT now is that it will lead to improvement and not be just palliative. Keep up the good work!

[mmglobal]

3+ weeks out... time for an update??? We want to hear good and bad so others have a realistic view... I hope the news is good.

Mark

[ellecincos1]

First, I want to thank all of you who support and cheer me on to stay focused, this whole experience has been amazing. I'm a little over three weeks now post-op and I'm finally starting to feel better mentally and physically. I've had some very painfull moments with leg and buttock pain but its getting better. I've changed my walking routine to 3 to 4 ,20-30 minutes outings every other day and rest in between a day, and my body is appreciating it. I have no back pain just sore and tight after a long walk I can tell the back muscles are getting stronger. At this point I know its going to be lots of work to get back into shape its a everday process. Generaly I feel good just get tired easy.

[dshobbies]

Good for you... and great news about finding a routine that works for you so quickly. You've already discovered that 'slow and steady wins the race'.

Wishing you continued success but don't let a setback now and then get to you. Dale

[ellecincos1]

Hello everyone,

Before my surgery this discusion board was very helpful to me . The people here have provided me with all sorts of information that I would of never had gotten out of a 10 minute consultation with all the many spine doctors that I met with. Also Mark's experience and knowlege has helped me in figuring out what I wanted to do with my spinal condition . I personally chose Dr. Zeegers to perform the surgery for several reasons one of them was experience and the other because of the active -L design. I'm very happy with my decision even though I wish I would of had this surgery alot sooner. I'm still not painfree, it has not been easy trying to figure out what my limitations still are, sometimes the pain medication can mask the pain and I get carried away with my new profound energy then the nerve pain , distraction pain kicks in. The good news is that in the past week I have noticed an improvement, I know this is going to take some time, the damage has been going on for several years, now its time for me to heal

Thankyou everyone!
Myriam

[Diane]

Hi Myriam,

Glad to hear your improving. I know exactly what you mean by trying to stay within your limitations. It's difficult when your feeling good not to try and do everything like normal. I found myself bounding up and down the stairs too many times and paying for it later in the evening. I still have some left sided sciatica with activity.

As you know, I attended the Spine Arthroplasty meeting earlier this month in Miami with Mark. One of the most interesting things was when Dr. Marnay spoke about the post-op leg pain. He said the best thing is to not do anything about it. It's perfectly normal and can take 6 months or longer to go away. But it almost always goes away. Other spine surgeons there... upon meeting them told me I should feel much better after 3 months.

I hope for your continued improvement. I'll call you tomorrow...

Love, Diane

[dshobbies]

Myriam,

Been there, done that. I think each and every one of us can relate. For me, it took the better part of two years before reaching this level of activity and even now, I still have to remember my limitations, somedays a very difficult thing to do, especially with my grandchildren.

You're still in the healing stage and taking is slow is the name of your game. You'll get there eventually!

Keep us posted...
Dale

[Karger]

Myriam,

I know this thread has been dead for awhile, but I wanted to know how you are doing? I am considering going to Dr. Zeeger for an ADR for my L5. I have seen nothing but glowing reviews from him. I was going to go to DR Ritter Lang at Steum hospital, but I read a few reviews that scared the shit out of me and decided to look else where.

From what I can Dr. Zeegar seems to look at people themselfs and not just the images etc.

Can you explain the whole process you went though with him? Did you have to book everything your self? Also, can you give a rough estimate on how much it will cost?

Thanks,

Karger

[mmglobal]

Karger,

Sorry it took so long, but I'd been playing phone tag with Myriam since you posted to her thread. We finally connected a few days ago.

Myriam says she's doing well. Living a relatively normal life but at a lower activity level than if she was pain free.

For your research purposes, Myriam is something of an outlier. The surgery with Dr. Zeegers did a good job at dealing with the back pain, but she still had radiating pain through her hips. She ultimately went to Dr. Filler who diagnosed piriformis syndrome and performed a bilateral piriformis release surgery. Per Myriam, she experienced an 80% reduction in her hip pain. (Aaron Filler is aLos Angeles neurosurgeon who developed MRN technology and has some interesting ideas and unique procedures.)

If you still wish to get in touch with Myriam, contact me off the forum and I'll put you in touch with her.

Good luck!


Mark

[mmglobal]

FYI, Diane is my wife. She had a 2-level ProDisc done a week before Myriam's surgery. We were all together in Munich for about a week.

Diane will be six years post-op next month. Since shortly after her ADR surgery, she's back to work full time as an RN. While she continues to do very well, she no longer works in a hospital because caching falling patients is too dangerous for a spiney. She takes no pain meds except anti-inflammatories (mainly for arthritis but it does help with the small amount of remnant pain she has.) Both of us have occasional leg pain but it's relatively minor and NOTHING like our pre-op leg pain.

Mark

PS... like so many of us lumbar spineys, Diane too has advancing cervical issues. So far, it does not rise to the level of seeking surgery.

[Karger]

Thanks I appreciate the follow up

Karger

Originally Posted by mmglobal

FYI, Diane is my wife. She had a 2-level ProDisc done a week before Myriam's surgery. We were all together in Munich for about a week.

Diane will be six years post-op next month. Since shortly after her ADR surgery, she's back to work full time as an RN. While she continues to do very well, she no longer works in a hospital because caching falling patients is too dangerous for a spiney. She takes no pain meds except anti-inflammatories (mainly for arthritis but it does help with the small amount of remnant pain she has.) Both of us have occasional leg pain but it's relatively minor and NOTHING like our pre-op leg pain.

Mark

PS... like so many of us lumbar spineys, Diane too has advancing cervical issues. So far, it does not rise to the level of seeking surgery.

[vnf]

I wish people would keep their thread updated so the newbies can read through the whole process.
Its very important and only takes a few minutes to give a quick update.