[adrigail]

Hi all.

Name's Mike.
Been living with small annular tear at L4-5 for about 10 years. Have done: Chiro, PT, nsaids, meds, stretching, accupuncture and so many epidurals I can't even count anymore. Paid is mostly in sciatic and left heel. Took 5 years to figure out it wasn't my feet, it was my back.
Fast forward to April 25th of this year, I was lucky (sarcasm) enough to be rear ended by a distracted 19 year old who thought it would be better to drive through me and my car at 35 MPH instead of stopping. Needless to say, this blew out the L4-5 tear and ADDED a new tear at C4-5.
I am currently scheduled for an ADR Nov. 26th at L4-5 and at some point in the future, will have the c4-5 replaced as well (depends on when/how I heal from surgery #1)

I found this site looking for info/support. My surgeon seems to be quality, has been managing my back care for 7 years. He has helped me put off any surgery and has been against doing anything other than conservative treatment....right up until the accident exasperated the damage.

Basically, I'm here to get as much additional information that I can. As noted by others, it's easy to find negative info/results, but harder to find success stories. I get that it's no different than anything else....people are far more inclined to talk about bad experiences than good ones. Also, I can see how someone would want to shut this chapter of their life quickly if they have successful surgery that helps their quality of life.

Believe it or not, my personal health insurance approved the lumbar ADR on the first submission, which I requested when I just couldn't deal with the pain/meds any longer.

As far as the neck ADR, we have no reason to believe they won't approve it as well, and there is also an "AT FAULT" insurance company on the hook based on the car accident.

My questions are:
Any success stories to share? Would you do it again? Am I right to be scared half out of my mind?
How do you answer the question "am I bad enough to need this radical invasive surgery?"

I would appreciate an ear, some detailed info and basically anything you would be willing to share.

Thanks in advance.