Four Years Post-Lumbar ADR Surgery
April 4th, 2018, I took a giant leap of faith by having lumbar artificial disk replacement surgery in Germany, with a surgeon I only met the day before in person, receiving a device that is not available in the US. Oh, and I paid out-of-pocket, since my health insurance denied all my claims (in the US and overseas). How do I feel? Grateful. Grateful for having an amazing outcome, grateful that the cruel and disabling pain I experienced prior to surgery is gone and never returned. Grateful that, in the end, I won the external appeal and got reimbursed for my out-of-pocket expenses.
I am mostly grateful that I was able to be there for my family when they needed me most – something I wouldn’t have been able to do if ADR hadn’t worked out. This includes flying back and forth to Germany to take care of my mom and Karl-Heinz and supporting Ralf in his multi-day bikepacking events. I couldn’t have done any of that if I was still crippled the way I was pre-op.
I haven’t been very active in the Facebook ADR forums anymore, partially because they have become a tad convoluted and complicated. I still get contacted by people who are either considering ADR or just had ADR surgery and are looking for some guidance. I don’t give out medical advice or advertise even my own surgeon. I only share what I came to realize over the past couple years: ADR is a wonderful intervention but only if you are a good candidate and find the right surgeon. In fact, I strongly recommend getting at least three evaluations from experienced ADR surgeons to determine if you are a candidate and then picking the surgeon you feel most comfortable with.
I firmly believe that my good outcome is due to the fact that I “only” had one degenerated disc that was my pain-generator, which needed to be taken care of. Even though I really didn’t want to have ANY spinal surgery, I knew that it was just a question of time until more extensive, permanent (nerve and structural) damage would occur to my body, reducing the chances of having successful surgical intervention to fix the underlying issue and get rid of the pain. As I mentioned many times before, surgery was the last thing I wanted, but I also realized that it was inevitable. I am glad I acted fast, and as I said, I have no regrets and would do the exact same thing if I were faced with the decision today.
I stopped getting yearly x-rays because I decided to move on with my life without obsessing about potential issues. I don’t think very often about the fact that I had spinal surgery, and as long as I can live a normal life, I’ll take it. I more aware of the residual soreness in my thigh from the labral tear repair surgery I had ten months ago than I am aware of my back. Of course, I am also no spring chicken anymore, and things need time to heal and fall into place. My hip is much better than before, so I would count this as a success as well.