[cpoulsen1]

Hello All,

First, I'd like to say thank you to all the people whose postings I read (usually late into the night) before I decided to have my ADR surgery in October of 2014. This forum is an incredible resource and all your stories gave me the confidence to move forward.

Long story, short - I had a discectomy in 2007/2008 at L5-S1 after a major herniation. I struggled mightily for the next 6 or 7 years with all the usual suspects, e.g. nerve pain in legs and buttocks, facet pain, general diseased disc pain, muscle spasm etc.

I decided to take the plunge and have a ProDisc inserted at the same level at TBI by one of the top dogs. My surgeon was/is great and the actual recovery was not very difficult (compared to the daily pain of the previous 7 years). By the two month mark I was at least 70-80% better and continued to improve.

I operated more or less without pain (including no pain when sitting, which had always been the hardest part) for the next year or so. The dark cloud had been lifted and it was a wonderful time getting back to life without thinking about my pain on a minute to minute basis.

Roughly 8 - 10 months ago I was sitting at my desk and had a significant flash of pain like a lighting bolt and my back spasmed shortly thereafter. I followed up with my surgeon and he did several x-rays. He said it was very difficult to tell but the disc may have moved a small amount, maybe 1 to 2 millimeters at most and that it shouldn't cause any problems. I recovered more or less but as time went on I started have pain when sitting. It started oddly enough as a pressure like pain in my tailbone. After sitting I could reach around and touch my tailbone and it would be extremely sensitive. After awhile I noticed that the pain was also encroaching on my left butt cheek. This pain felt more like nerve pain in that is was a change in sensation and a burning on the inside of the one cheek only. So I made a follow up with my surgeon and described my symptoms. He took some more x-rays and concluded it was coccyx pain and not related to possible shift in my ADR. He referred me to a pain management Dr.

At this point I can't really sit at all without one of the coccyx pillows with the cut-out. I seem to be getting worse and it is taking a toll on me. Also, the funny part is I don't really have any back pain at all. The terrible facet and ddd pain are mostly gone. But as soon as I put a load on my spine (i.e. sitting) the pain becomes intense in my butt and tailbone area.

I trust my surgeon and don't think he would just "punt" the issue but at the same time I would like to know if the device has migrated or subsided and is causing this pain. Also, I didn't have a great bone density report pre-op. It does seem odd that even if the implant had shifted a little, it would manifest itself as tailbone pain (bypassing the sacrum). The possible referred pain in my butt I could understand, but my surgeon said that there was plenty of room for the nerve roots on both sides on the ADR (per the x-ray).

Does anyone have any thoughts on what do, similar pain post op or advice to give. Thank you so much!

Also, if I posted this in the wrong place, please let me know. I've never posted on a forum site before, only lurked.
Chris