More MRIs, Looking Like Surgery Is On The Dockett...
 

Here are the MRIs of my back and neck. The neck MRI was taken today - this is what gives a nice shooting tingling / numbness down my left arm constantly. The lower back is responsible for the sweet pain from my butt cheeks to my ankles while standing or walking - only relief is when I sit. Lying down doesn't help. The doc says that for the L vertebrae can be dealt with minimal invasive out patient with a clip of disk to relieve the spinal cord but the C will require going through the front of the neck and looking to fuse the two after cutting some of the disk free from the spinal cord.

What do you think?http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279941010.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279941140.jpg

I think we need to re-name you "Job"...

How the heck did this happen?

While my previous remarks re: reading on a computer and diagnosing on a single image remain, the cervical spine is not nice. At all.

Good luck mate. :)

I hope it works out for the best.

How did it happen? Hmmm...well if you ask my Wife she will tell you it is because I am fat and do not exercise. Truth be known, even when I played college soccer I had neck and back problems. Genetics I guess.

Big plus one!

Best of luck sir. A co-worker just had back surgery, he was out for nearly three months but said it was totally worth it. Prior to the surgery he could barely walk.

One of my Linemen at work had a similar procedure, for a similar diagnosis, 7-8-10. Going through the front to get to the back. Will be in a neck brace for 6 weeks, but after 2 weeks he really started to feel better. Numbness and pain were going away in his arms. At the end of last week he was wanting to know when he could come back to work! I know his Dr. won't even think of him coming back to full duty for 8-10 weeks.

Listen to the Dr. LM.

Seems like my friends biggest issues were the pain pills that made him nauseous.

Good thoughts and prayers sent

Karl
88 Targa

Good Luck!

If your insurance isn't going to pay for it, I'd recommend looking at options in Germany. They are a few generations ahead of the US in terms of artificial discs that are approved for use. If it is being covered, and they want to replace the disc, might want to discuss the options about your bone vs. donor (cadaver). Everyone I know (four people, myself included) who have replacements have had issues with non-union. I even had to have a second surgery to replace the donor bone with my own, clear some nerves that had gone awry and repair the next level down.

That's not saying that it's a widespread issue, but it has been in my realm.