L4-5 disc bulge & L5-S1 moderate paracentral disc extrusion

[cmak]

Hello,
Wanted to introduce myself. Had an accident on 2/10 that left me with a disc bulge L4-5 and an extruded disk on L5-S1. Couldn't sit if my life depended on it and had constant sciatic pains. (8-9/10 pain rating) Started physical therapy as recommended by a non-surgical treatment center in Hawaii. During this time I had 10 PT sessions which included exercise and traction sessions. It did nothing to help me.
Around 4/10 got my first set of cortizone shots (3x in the different lumbar sections.) Significantly lowered the swelling thus killing >50% of my pain. However I still could not sit. After much research I found something called Spinal Axial Decompression. Started my treatments at the VAX-D institute of the Pacific on 5/10 for 30 treatments. This got me to about 60-70% back to normal, as opposed to 15-30%. (2-3/10 pain rate) During this time I became able to sit a little bit longer and reduced some of the pain. Unfortunately my progress has plateaued as Vax-D's effectiveness of disk extrusions are 50/50. I've heard a lot of skepticism towards Vax-D but found it very beneficial in my case.
Now, I'm here dwelling on the fact that surgery seems inevitable. Researching possible side-effects/drawbacks of traditional open/minimally invasive procedures, I found something called Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression (PLDD) done by Dr. Daniel Choy. My research also led me to find postings on PLDD in your forum, thus discovering SPS . If any of you have done PLDD surgery from Dr. Choy or any other surgeon across the globe I would love to hear your input. I'm in the initial stages of sending my MRI's to him as I'm too far from New York to set up an appointment. Living in Hawaii has its drawbacks...sometimes. Thanks for letting me into your community hope to hear from you all.
Cmak

[sportsnut3007]

There is something called accura scope in texas and ohio, they go up from bottom of spinal canal and laser the stuff pressing on nerves with a little laser thing. Is this better than traditional micro discectomy? Who knows, not been around along enough. Justin, the site founder, had posted a good article stating that minimally invasive is not always truly "best". It is a tough call if these new minimially invasive surgeries are better or just hype. The question is it worth minimially invasive if it doesnt last and a second surgery is required? Or, is one better to have a bigger decompression first time. Idk the answer, it's a tough call. If you do tradittionaly micro discectomy look into anulex, with their x close/inclose. If its a small hole I would personally shoot for inclose as it has a little net, but this isnt as commonly used yet. If massive hole, then xclose or there is another one called barricaid that plugs up the hole in theory. I had talked to a dr here about it the Xclose thing and he said he had seen some disasters with it, but he didnt seem to know about the current one and just was saying in general. He isnt a "research" type guy just avg ortho spine guy. Research spine guys always not the best either, they may mean well by trying new things, but is this always best? Also, if you do get the inclose/xclose just beware that u wont be able to get stem cells in the future to regenerate disc probbably. It is a tough call bc it may be 7-10 years before the fda gets around to approving mesoblast stem cells to regenerate the disc entirely!! But again, who knows if it gets approved or may cause cancer. Fda will lolligag around im sure with this as usual. But just be careful in any decision as there is not black and white answers unfortunately. Again do your own research though, dont just trust a dr. They may mean well, but its your spine. NO spine surgery is "minor". Also if you do get surgery, I would recommend being happy to walk,eat,sit, work, sleep pain free. Some think its ok bc dr says u can return to normal activities. I say hogwash lol, but thats a personal decision. I personally have not had surgery yet but somehow have back of a 70 year old man at 28 lol. So, I choose to act like one in terms of exercise and stuff and will soon work on core but will not jump or do high impact activities. Sorry for the long winded answer, but just wanted to cover everything I could think of. Take care, and really try to avoid surgery if possible.

[sportsnut3007]

Oh after that looong winded thing i did forget one thing. Regenexx ( The Regenexx? Procedure) may be helpful if its a contained herniation. But again, who knows if cancer is risk. So far doesnt seem to be a risk as no cases yet of problems with that. Also, take glucosamine/chondrotin/msm if not allergic to fish. Supposedly can rehydrate discs some and reduces bulge, quackery or not, who knows but im trying.

[KBear]

cmak- You are still early in your injury, which in my opinion gives you a better shot at a quick recovery than those who have been in pain for years. From what I have seen, people who have surgery early on, usually end up with a fast recovery and are completely pain free. Took almost 3 years for a doctor to ell me a correct diagnosis and offer a solution.
I completely agree with Sportsnut, research, research and more research. Do not just trust a doctor, regardless of their credentials. I made this mistake more than once and it made me worse in one situation and delayed treatment in another. Get multiple opinions and ask why the suggest what they do and why not the other treatments (this will give you tons of information).
Good luck and ask any questions you may have, this site has many members with a wealth of knowledge.
Kathy

[ajj1001]

Welcome to the forum.

alison x

[linda]

CMAK,
Welcome to the site and I am glad you found it. I know nothing about the procedure but I would keep on researching. I'm glad the treatment you had seemed to help. best of luck on your journey.
Linda

[Justin]

Hi Cmak,

Welcome to the Spine Patient Society. I'm sorry that you are dealing with spine issues, but we are here to support you.

I would look into surgical consults in California. There are countless spine surgeons in CA that would be much closer to you in Hawaii.

[cmak]

thanks all for your input. after much research and agony (as most of you can relate to), I'm 80% sure I will do the minimally invasive PLDD. I will make sure to keep you all informed, as I hope to be a guinea pig for R&D lol. Don't know any of my dates yet, but once I get the ok I'm hoping for a smooth journey to NY.

[cmak]

Justin,
Thanks for your advice. After looking through your domestic travels postings, I found that California consists of mostly surgeons who practice standard/traditional surgery with extremely high tech equipment such as UCSD, but none that do the PLDD procedure. Google searches only give me those "laser" centers which look incredibly unreliable. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also, much respect to you for founding such a great forum :thumpup:. Thanks

[Cindylou]

Welcome to the forum cmak. Glad you found us. We're here to help.