Quote Originally Posted by petrkr View Post
Good for you. So your DDD is gone but you now feel different pains? Are they more or less uncomfortable than before the surgery?
DDD is unfortunately a disease. So, that has not been removed. The disc that had been diseased to a point that I needed surgery is gone. So, the discogenic pain associated with that bad disc is completely gone, including the radiculopathy. The pain I currently have is all associated with the invasive surgery I just had. Stomach muscles are all shot to heck, hip joints hurt, etc. However, I can live with those pains simply because they are going to heal; that and I'm constantly high from the narcotics...You have to stay on top of the pain and do not let it get bad.

Quote Originally Posted by petrkr View Post
How bad was your MRI before the procedure?
If I understand the question correctly, my disc was diagnosed as a level 4/5 annular tear. Essentially I had a flat tire. The surgeon told me the disc space was far more collapsed then what the MRI and XRAYs where showing. That tells me that imaging studies still have a small amount of error. We need to push medical science to try and come up with some solid analysis of DDD and discogenic pain. The discogram and MRI are good methods for showing concurrent findings on a bad disc. I just believe we need a bit more so the patient has all the information that he/she needs to make an informed decision before surgery.