The unfortunate truth about back surgery that you never hear about is that about 70% of all surgeries does not resolve pain or increase mobility generally you are the exception and not the rule if you have good results.
Among the huge list of crap wrong with me is Degenerative Disc & joint as well as my C5-C6 is bulging on my central cord I am one small fall or case of whiplash away from low function quad. I still would not let someone go samurai on my innards, other things are doing there thing on me ( as in killing me ), and I have a great pain management doc doing my care and unfortunately out of the specialists I have only 2 of them are people who I would follow into he'll or heaven, I tell my friends I am collecting " ISTS" , you could take a sticker and place it on the cover of the Mercury manual and find me somewhere in just about every section except maybe oncology and poisining. If you contemplate surgery just prepare yourself for the potential of more damage and disability then you started with, if you can stare down that beast now you are better off, you are a survivor only once , like carpenters say "measure twice cut once" at 24 you may feel bad but what's it going to be like when you are 44, after 12 years on the fire department I ended up on compassionate disability, I'm 47 and have been roached out for two long.

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