[Buckeyeback]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your kind words about the forum. It's a wonderful resource and everyone is very helpful. As to your question, pain tolerance is a very personal thing. What may be only bothersome to you may be intolerable to someone else. Technically speaking, you have been through the conservative route for quite some time now and someone (local surgeon) is telling you that fusion is the next option surgically, so it sounds like it is just a matter of when. I saw Dr. Delamarter and his opinion was instrumental in my decision to go with ADR over fusion. Dr. Clavel echoed Dr. Delamarter's opinion also. For me, the decision between devices was as important as the surgeon. I realize that you are WC and that presents a problem for you financially. I believe your lawyer could completely close the case with a full settlement. That settlement would/should include the cost of whatever treatment "they" (company(self insured) or state) will be paying for fusion or ADR surgery out of their pockets and temp total payments for estimated length of recovery. Make sense? The drawback is that the claim is then closed forever, so you are on your own thereafter. Recovery takes awhile. In my case I am still working on it. Good Luck with your decision

~Buckeyeback