Degenerative Disc Disease

Hi R.,
I have had 2 discectomies in my lumbar area. Fortunately, everything has been fine. I truly understand your concerns. If you would like another opinion, I would strongly reccomend Dr. Rick Delamarter located at the Spine Institute at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, CA. Do a little research and best of luck to you!
A.

We've seen positive results with degenerative disc disease using with the technology that I work with. See our website at www.thorpinstitute.com. At the very least it will help with the pain and increase range of motion.

I'm a mom of a 1 year old girl. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. You can call or email. cell is ###-###-#### and my email is ____@____.com of luck. Sincerely, L. Thorp

hi...i don't have the same thing - i've got spandylolisthesis. i'm scheduled for surgery in july and have never done this before. i'm terrified to leave my family and terrified of the pain. i'll be doing a fusion also among other things! just thought i'd put some sympathy in there with you : ) good luck with it!!! try webmd boards...lots of people there have been thru these surgeries and give great feedback!

Hi R.:
My husband has degenerative disc disease.He was about a week away from having the major surgery,when a fantastic ortho Dr. recomended holding off and going through some (special) therapy. He thought...Please...Thats not going to help the (PAIN i'm experiencing!! Well, he thought why not give it a try."I don't want to go through A surgery,if I don't have to yet" He went through the therapy,and I'll be darned if it didn't work. He has gone about 10 years now,and not had to have the surgery yet!I'm sure eventually he probably will,but at least he was able to hold it off for a little while longer.We have a good friend in florida, that had disc replacement,I guess she is glad she had it done,but she still has her (bad days) You know...your back is like a dogon car! Once its been in a wreck,it never is the same.If I can get more info from my friend I will e-mail you. I wish you the very best R.

I work in orthopaedic biomechanics research. I have never had any spine surgeries myself, but as I rule, I can say that you do not want to have any sort of disc replacement surgery unless you are in tons of pain and your quality of life is severely compromised. These surgeries have a shelf life and chances are you will have to have more surgeries down the road. I'd make sure you consult more than one spine surgeon before your proceed. Also, you should get as much information as possible about the particular implant the surgeon plans to use. Disc replacements are still relatively new to the market in the US and there are very few with full FDA approval (not that FDA approval necessarily means they are safe). Chances are you would be part of a clinical trial. Consequently, you might be one of the great success stories for a new device or you could easily get a device that ends up being recalled in a few years, since there isn't a whole lot clinical data for many of these devices right now.

My advice is to wait as long as you can and get as many professional (orthopaedic surgeons specializing in spine or neurosurgeons) opinions as possible in the meantime.

Good luck!

I would strongly urge you to check out cold laser therapy before you think about surgery. I first heard about it from a friend of mine in Tucson who was facing double knee replacement. That was two years ago. She is pain free.

Google "cold laser chiropractic your city" for a practitioner near you.

Good luck.

I haven't had this but have heard that it's pretty successful and easier recovery than a fusion.

As a nurse, I'd highly recommend getting multiple opinions.
A good doctor to start out with is Rick Delamarter in Santa Monica (I haven't met him, but some family members have gone to him and love him)>

Hello, R.,

If you are in the Pasadena area, I have a Ceragem which would be very useful for you to help you regenerate your discs. You are welcome to come and use it. If you are not in the area, perhaps I can help you locate one to use near you. My phone is ###-###-####. My cell is ###-###-####. There are regenerative foods you can use that can help as well.

My very best,

T.

Hi R.,

Before you go under the knife again, consider non-surgical spinal decompression. I work for Dr. Dave Vigil in Seal Beach and we offer this type of treatment in our office. It has been very successful in treating disc degeneration and we have been getting great results with our patients. It's a very gentle procedure that's highly effective in relieving the pressures on the nerves that cause pain. It also helps bring back nutrients, oxygen and water into the disc so that it can heal itself.

I can schedule a complimentary consultation for you with the Dr. so you can learn about this procedure. Feel free to call us at ###-###-#### and tell them you heard about this from me. I hope you'll consider this before you make your final decision.

To your health,

C. Spinosa

I would recommend seeing a reputable chiropractor prior to making any further decisions, even though the cost will most likely come out of pocket (unless somehow you can convince your health insurance that this is necessary). At least you will get another opinion on your options, as the health care industry's outlook is very different from theirs. AM

Have you met with a neurosurgeon along with an orthopedic surgeon? I was told by an ortho that I was a great candidate for fusion surgery, but was told by one of my brothers (a pediatric surgeon) that I should also meet with a neurosurgeon.

My husband, who is 65 years old, has degenerative disc disease. He was in constant serious pain and often could not function well. He went on a MAJOR exercise kick. He is in the gym and swimming pool over two hours a day. He walks the treadmill, does weights, swims laps etc. Muscles have developed in the back that now "hold his back in place". The exercise took about 15 pounds off of him which also helped his back. He know longer talks about surgery. His pain level is now at a 2 or 3 rather than seriously high. Find out what back exercises would help you and what you should avoid. Then try it. It certainly can't hurt. Oh, he goes to the gym at 6 a.m. so that he can still do all of his daily activities.

Hi. My husband had DDD. He had three disks replaced, the first patient in the States to have three done as once. He used to be in lots of pain every day, tried everything else first: Therapy, injections, exercising, meds, etc. There were days he couldn't even get out of bed. He had the surgery about four years ago now and has NEVER been better. The best thing he has done. He doesn't have the pain he used to, gets out of bed and can stand up straaight. It worked great for him.
If you want more info on his doc, email me. His name is John Regan out of Beverly Hills. He is the doc who teaches others all around the world how to do this procedure.
Also, my brother had a disk replaced about a year ago and a fusion at the same time. He doesn't have any problem with the disk replaced, but he does still have lots of pain where it was fused as his bones are not fusing together properly.
Good luck. Let me know if you want to talk to my husband about his experience or get any more info.
V.

Dear R.,

I am so sad to hear of your back troubles. I had a microdiscectomy two years ago, and it has been a long painful recovery. I am very afraid of ever having to have another back surgery. I just read of an alternative to disc replacement in which a tiny ballon is inflated to cushion the disk. Thr procedure is called DASCOR Disc Arthroplasty System. I read about it in Womens World 5/26/08 issue. The lady that had it done is from Long Beach. She is the first person in the US to have the Procedure, and apparently it was a success for her. The Dr's. name is John Regan M.D. It wouldn't hurt to investigate. Have you tried swimming? I joined a Masters program (swimming for adults) and in the 3 months since I have gained flexibility and strength. You don't need to have any swimming experince, as a coach is on duty to help you. I highly recommend it.Good luck, I hope you are healed soon.

P.

P.S. I could fax the article or mail it to you if you like.

You're wise, R., to put this question out there, especially since you've already gone through the highly invasive surgery once. Keep in mind, "degenerative disc disease" is NOT a death sentence. And it certainly does NOT always lead to surgery. There are people in their 20s and people in their 80s who walk around with it everyday and don't have a problem with it. It depends on your severity and your body's particular response to it. And, if you go to a surgeon (neuro/orhto), they are in the business of recommending surgery. If you go to a pharmacist, they give you a medication. It takes going to a well-educated, well-experienced, doctor of integrity that will do what she/he is sworn to do = act and advise in the patient's best interests, not for personal gain.

And, I know you're doing your homework on this...you'll also find that the percentages of successful back surgeries are now around 48%. That means the chances are greater that you'll come out of there (and after the 6 months re-hab) just the same or worse than when you went in. Now, this also means that some people benefit. When surgery is absolutely indicated, I'll refer patients for it, no question. It is not about my ego, it's about their needs. I just encourage you to seek other options (if your case is non-emergent of course) available to you, particularly since you've already been through this before (i.e. Spinal Decompression specifically designed to treat DDD, not just the symptoms of it).
My 2.5 cents :)