It's been awhile

Yes, it's been awhile since I've been back to this board. I've been busy on the ADR boards trying to offer any feedback or support I can give, and have seriously neglected my own site.

The last few months have been a roller coaster ride. As mentioned before, my ADR surgery was May 11. I was way ahead of schedule in terms of recovery and was back at work in less than three weeks. Things were looking good.

June was a great month. Granted, I was still on antibiotics for most of it for an incision infection/possible suture allergic reaction, so that wasn't pleasant. But pain wise I felt great. The leg/nerve pain was minimal, and I had no pain in my low back. Brad and I went to Indy for the U.S. Grand Prix, and for two days straight I did nothing but walk (a LOT) and sit on bleachers, and felt great. It's something I never could have done before the surgery.

Then July came. For some reason, the nerve pain came back in my legs and feet. I'm still having problems to this day. I started physical therapy three weeks ago, and have noticed little change. It seems the pain gets worse the more I sit in a day. Since my job has been very demanding lately, I have been putting in a lot of hours in the office, most of them sitting in front of a computer or in a meeting, so that's part of the cause right there. It just isn't helping the situation, but what can I do at this point?

So, what's my status now? I won't begin to discuss the amount we've had to pay out-of-pocket (and are still paying off) for my surgery. Think over $20k, and that was with some negotiating power. With the exception of June, the leg pain is the same, and at times worse, than what is was before the surgery. The good news is that low back pain is very minimal. The only time it bothers me is after a long work day and during major changes in weather. (Between my back pain and headaches I can predict a storm an hour before it happens.)

I had my three month visit with my surgeon on Thursday. Took another x-ray, and the disc is still in place. I hadn't seen my surgeon since the hospital, so I definitely took the time to thank him. Seems my surgery was a bit difficult because my spine was kind of curved at the bottom and it was hard to center the artificial disc. However, looking at the x-ray, he got it 100% in the right spot. The one thing "boggling" the minds of surgeons is the nerve pain that many suffer from after ADR. The decision was made that I would wait and see him in three months (Nov.), and if the pain was not better I would start having tests run, such as a mylogram. Obviously if I can't handle it I can always go in sooner. But I'm a stubborn German, and I knew the risks going into this, so I will really try and give it some more time before I start panicking and weighing my options.

At this point I'm still glad I had the surgery. Even though I'm still dealing with pain, I'm still better off. I know recovering from major surgery takes time, so that's what I'll give it. If I'm not better in three months, then I might start changing my tune.