so, I know JVL has had a back problem or 2....who else and what have you done for it?


I was diagnosed last year with DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease) although I already knew I had a messed up back.

Took it easy all this year, but even with that, its gotten pretty bad. I went skiing over X-mas and about 30 seconds into my first run I had pain running down my pelvis and into my left leg.

Back to the Dr's....another MRI....he's sending me to a surgeon to discuss options now. I'm thinking fuck it....pull out my L4/L5 (which are practically gone anyways) and lets get some titanium and UHMW in there and replace those fuckers!

has anyone on here done this? or know anyone that has?

---

Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

My wife's got the same problem, earlier this year she had her thyroid removed due to cancer, last year she had her left hip replaced. Shows she's a hell of alot tougher than me!

Brian
III

^^wow, that's rough....yeah, tough girl.

Is she considering disc replacement? My thing is, I'm only fawking 35yrs old...and this is holding me back, a LOT. I've given up on running, but still still bugs me even when I rock climb (low impact) or try to just hit the gym.

Whatever they do, it needs to be able to take some abuse, I want to get better, not just 'relieve the pain'.


ergh.

---

Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

Jon it's rough. Trust me, if has been smooshed from absue then it hain't going to get better by itself.
I did what in retrospect was a lot of extremely high impacts and trillions of lower but maybe more than normal people might tolerate....
I always say if the average person were to JUMP out of the back of a pickup going 50mph, they'd probably whine and snivel some.
we'd jump up and chase the bike down---many times.

They say falling from 10 feet is 'spossed to be a big deal---again routine.
Then somebody runs over you or the most hilarious is when your own bike runs you over.

But seems I crushed the fuck outta L6 and C5-C6.
Breathing, vision, manual dexterity, memory, nearly everything useless from the pain on essetially the whole left side. (well some things obviously worked OK, Anna and Natasha my beautiful daughters are proof of that!!)
Ask Andre Steere "Fiasco", he saw it what was that Andrew? 98-99?

The neurologist said one key thing was I said I had lost 40mm in height, hard to do that at my tender young age without either curvature or crush, in my case very bad crush---enough for them to be worried I may had severed nerves..

Got a nice titanium H and some chuck of grisle growing tween the two joints up top and they "ported" the area where the nerves exit to make more room at the lumbar deal.

All better.
I can work 8-12 hours, feel 1000 times better.
Lonng term pain becomes STRESS and that affects nutrition, mood and everything else..

Get it fixed, I was jumping up and down 2 days after.
Nobody here could believe it.

You might just feel so good you'll sell the Sub-a-rat and get a nicer car like a 240 Volvo or an Xratty!

(DI shit you not I gave Sean M "Phlat" a bunch of grief for posting Helmet Cam vids of riding some nice trails on his RM125...he sillily asks "Thinking of riding again?" FAWK YEAH!!!!
But maybe I should ask the doctors,, I am getting on in years---39 and all!

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Yeah, poor John was seeing stars whenever he moved something a little bit the wrong way, no real rhyme or reason to when the pain would come or go, but it kinda looked like the horns from the Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch had been injected into his nervous system.

I think the Masshole docs he was seeing were just giving him whatever designer pain pills and anti-inflammatories were in vogue at the time (didn't most of them get banned for blowing up hearts?) and not trying to figure out what was causing him so much pain.

When I saw him last (five years ago next week) in Sleazzzaattle, he seemed worlds better than when I had seen him in 99 or 2000. So if he feels 1000 times better than that, it's a freakin' Festivus miracle!!!

---

Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

Jon,

I had truely bad lower back about 15 years ago, bad like I couldn't walk for more than ten feet without totally locking up, SEVERE pain. I had the fire running through the hip and down the leg, too. That is sciatica, the big nerve for your leg runs through the hip joint, your hip gets inflamed, pinches the nerve, it can get really bad.

It got better, now I bust wheelies and split firewood with no problem. I never had surgery, If it gets bad again I might, someday...

But here is the deal: (IMHO) surgery is the last option you should take, you should wait until there is no other option. Two reasons. 1.They are constantly improving the techniques, you think Subies got better in the last 15 years? Orthopaedic surgery REALLY got better, and 5 years from now it will be way beter still. 2. Once you get it done, there is no going back, they don't give you a box with of stock parts to take home. Brother Vanlandingham had great sucess, but he really needed it, and he is stoked he waited until now for the modern methods.

If you ask the surgeon, he will tell you that you need it. Those guys have boat payments.

If you really need it, shop around.

Until then, try these: Swimming, yoga, (Tai Chi is what fixed me) Pilates is really good, chiropractor,a good physical therapy person, LOTS of vitimin C. It helps your cartilige regenerate. Go for 2-3 grams a day. Those "Emergen-C" are easy, 3 of those a day. Good luck!

-

Comrade Vanlanddamnyoursoulsonofabitchski is NOT glad that he was blown off for 10 years. It cost me 10 years of blinding, grit-your-teeth-till-you-crack-the-enamal, make you forget important things---that cost money and time to redo, or years of hate talk and the loss of more than half of what little I earned, the loss of the labor component in the business, no rally----I didn't snivell TOOOOOOOO much but I did in person say to people "No point in thinking about doing events if I can't SEE, much less BREATH, and less even concentrate---to the little degree I traditionally did---on stages.

On the other hand, had I been able to sleep before 2Am then i would have never been awake a beautiful summer night back 31July 02-----and I'd never had had a family that I have now.

Always hard to say the ultimate good, or bad of a development in life.

As some of our friends say En shala

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Do some research, 6-7 years ago I was looking into it (will not help me), everyone thought it was great. However those that had parts of the spine fused said good for 10 years then hurt like hell, far worse then before the fusion. These same folks recommended avoiding at all costs ... Of course technic's are better now and there are more options then 15 - 20 years ago, asking around won't hurt!

Your call, me I'm still suffering and looking for options.

---

As always IMHO

SEAN TENNIS KF7JJR
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
SAAB 99, SAAB 850
SAAB V4, SAAB 99T

Well, I want to avoid the 'fusion' surgery...I've heard the same thing.

JVL, that's not what you did, right? what's your titanium 'H'?

I've heard about the 'porting' too....not sure if that's an option for me, I'm all L4/L5/S1. (thank god nothing above midback/neck area)

I've lost about .75" of height as well. I wish I knew a way to scan my MRI's...they're cool to look at.


I'm hoping for the RS&SP version of this:





which technically are approved by the FDA....
http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1671.html

---

Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

Like Al wrote the technology gets better every year...you might want to wait until this is approves in the US or go to Europe and get the implant http://www.benvenuemedical.com/news022309.html It's like an arthroscopic car jack for collapsed vertebra. Seriously, cool shit. A friend of mine designed the implant and watched the first recipient walk out of the hospital 2 hours after they put it in.

-Tim

^^oh really? that's cool.

Although, I'm pretty sure this is approved in the US, yes? but you're right, technology is always getting better.


I have a referral to see the top spinal surgeon at USF, and thank god she's covered under my HMO. So I'll know more in a week.

---

Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

For reference, the guy who invented the artificial hip: it was revolutionary, but they used the wrong kind of plastic, huge inflamation (like nearly have to cut your leg off), he had to go back and redo the first 250 surgeries. Now people get that operation and play tennis 10 days later.

Even though the FDA approves it, if you go, you are still part of a test group for the first 5 years or so.

They also invented artificail jaw joints for people with TMJ. It was such a bad idea they don't even talk about it any more. Facial paralysis; lots of people in the test group wanted to off themselves...

You can most likely get the mri's on a cd, my wife got he x-rays from her hip replacement that way. Since the mri is computer driven that should be an option. My wife's having phys. therapy and splnal blocks, getting one this Friday. I don't think it's going to help in the long run.

Brian
III

got appt. w/Surgeon on Feb 8th...will know more then.

---

Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

Jon Burke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> got appt. w/Surgeon on Feb 8th...will know more
> then.
>
> Jon Burke - KI6LSW
> Blog:
> 'Holy Shit!' @ 4:10


Probably getting a new knee on Tuesday about then.....

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.