[Antifragile]

Hello all,

Just an update: I have not had my surgery yet. I had planned on having it done with Dr. Bierstedt, but due to a serious family situation, had to cancel it. I was getting ready to reschedule, but I recently heard about a blood spinning procedure called Regenokine (used to be called orthokine). Dr. Peter Wehling in Germany invented it, and many professional athletes have had it done like Kobe Bryant, etc. it's suppsed to be 150-300x more powerful than PRP. They take your blood, spin it, hear it, and inject it back in. Your blood then becomes a powerful anti inflammatory that blocks interleukin 1. It can heal herniated discs.

Two doctors now offer it here in the US, one in NYC and one in LA. I spoke with Dr. Wehling in Germany, as well as the guys who offer it here in Ny and LA and opinions were slightly different. Dr. Wehling suggested I do ADR surgery because my spinal cord is compressed. He said there was a 60% chance that Regenokine could heal me without surgery and resorb my disc extrusions at c5/6 and c6/7. The Dr in Ny suggested trying Regenokine first, but didn't give me details as of how successful it might be, but said it could take a year to heal fully. The Dr in La though I should try Regenokine first - he was very helpful and answers lots of email questions. He said I may see resorption in only 6-8 weeks and it would be ok to give the Regenokine 3 months to work. If not, I could have the ADR surgery after if o wanted and that I would heal faster if I did the Regenokine first. Regenokine costs $15,000 and is not covered by insurance. The doctors in here use fluoroscope guidance, and the doctor in Germany does not, hence why their opinions may be different.

Here are the options:

Regenokine first in LA: (I'm in Ny, but I liked the doctor there better).
Im told it may have a positive effect on my autoimmune disease as its a powerful anti inflammatory. The effects last 2-7 years. It will have a positive effect on all levels of my neck, but IF the disc resorbs (60% chance) it will not be as strong as a healthy disc or the M6. It could also help my headaches which no one is sure is ring caused by the cord compression (some doctors say the headaches are unrelated, Dr. Bierstwdt and clavel say the headaches ARE related to the cord compression as its a common occurrence) If it doesn't work, I'm out $15,000, and my life is on hold longer. I need to get back to teaching and training Jiu-Jitsu 100%. If I wind up needing both Regenokine and adr, I'll have a healthy neck, but will be close to $70,000 in debt after costs of procedures and travel. This will affect my business and other areas of my life. The positives are that it may help me avoid surgery (although I'm not so sure) and I will know I tried something less invasive first and am told I will heal faster from surgery should I get it months later.

Surgery first in Germany: $40,000. Higher chance of success and stronger end result, but more invasive. Will decompress my cord and get me back to training in 3-6 months. Downside is that I'm worried it may not help headaches, it won't address the small hernias on higher levels (c2/3 and c3/4 which I dont know if they're related to headaches). It's also a permanent option and it doesn't sit well with me if I didn't try the less invasive thing first, especially if it doesn't go well. My rheumatologist doesn't like the idea of getting Regenokine injections in the neck after ADR as he says it may introduce bacteria near the implants. The Regenokine dr in las says it's not an issue.

I'm in confusion limbo and hell. The whole decision is giving me lots of stress. Meanwhile I can't train and need to get on with my life.

What do you all think?

Thanks,

-Carl