Medical Endeavors w/ my Herniated and Degenerative Lumbar Disc

I consider myself pretty literate on the spine. I've read over a thousand articles, forums, posts, testimonials, success and tragic stories, etc... I've also visited a bunch of doctors, all of which have completely different views on the subject.  In new york, one of the top doctors in the US on the field, Dr. Frank Cammissa, recommended ALEVE and physical therapy. If that didn't work within 6 months, he wanted to cut me open for a micro-discectomy. In costa rica, a well-known orthopedic surgeon recommended spinal decompression. I tried the DRX-9000 machine, which they had, with absolutely no change in pain levels or even MRI results. In other countries, they recommended massages. They got rid of a few knots on my upper back. That's it. Other people recommended that I just pray. Sure, this is a good idea, but I can't JUST pray. I have to pray AND try to do something about the problem and hope it works. (Recommendation for believers in miracles: stop telling peop...

Alright guys! I'm back from the Stem Cell Re-Injection! Boy has it been a busy and eventful day. Let me guide you through the details: I traveled alone and arrived in Denver at 11:00 AM on March 21st. I went to pick up my car rental and drove to the mall near the clinic to get some food before the 3:00pm appointment (I got some sushi because I heard fish oil is good for joints!). I arrived at the clinic at 2:00pm only to be greeted by the $3000 for the stem cell re-injection.  Anyways, they took me inside at 2:45pm, took my blood pressure, and injected me with an antibiotic. They say the antibiotic was necessary to prevent infections, given the size of the stem cell needle. Finally Dr. Schultz walks in and guides me through the process. We go over the MRI's and he develops an injection strategy (I guess it depends on where the herniation is and where you pain travels to). He decided to go with a LEFT approach. Also, he decided to do only ONE (1) stem cell re-injection for t...

It's been 18 days since my first appointment. Pain levels are steady, peaking at 7-10 out of 10 when I'm sitting down or when the day has been very stressful. I am going to the gym and doing very moderate exercises. I've also been doing the Inversion Table about once a day for 10 minutes. I've also been taking my supplements with one little side effect: a little light-headedness. Oh and I found the nimodipine medicine at 1/10th of the cost in my country! YAY! I got a call from Regenexx yesterday and they wanted to know how I was doing. I asked them when I would be coming back and they said they will call in a week or two regarding my appointment status. They said they're still waiting for lab results. To answer a few questions I've been getting: -They said I was a FAIR candidate, which meant it could work, or it couldn't. What I have going for me is that the herniation is CONTAINED and is still only a bulge at this point. He also said the DDD is not s...

Hey guys! I'm back at the hotel! The staff was wonderful! Very professional and caring. Dr. Schultz did the whole process, VERY THOROUGH. He answered all my questions and reiterated that I was a FAIR candidate and that there is a possibility that the treatment will not work. They took a whole bunch of blood from my arm and immediately sent it to the lab. After that I went into an operating-style-room with a fluoroscopy machine. They started with local anesthetics and started with the bone marrow draw. Now, I know this will vary from person to person, but my experience was absolutely painful  . It is bearable because you know it's not a damaging kind of pain, but a necessary one. I got a little nauseous but it went away after they opened the windows for me. I was in the clinic for 3 hours before I was dispatched. Again, the staff was absolutely wonderful and I got to meet both doctors. The doctor recommended a platelet re-injection later in the day (he said: to get the blood...

I have my appointment scheduled for February 1st! I also got a discount worth $500, bringing down the cost to $8500. As for travel plans, flights are expensive as hell coming from my country! $700 roundtrip. I'll be doing a priceline bid for hotels around Broomsfield, CO.

My impressions of a bogus treatment were pretty much put to rest today with the welcome packet they sent me by e-mail. Boy it's exhaustive and thorough! I have read many things on the treatment online, but they're not reviews, they are just skeptics writing blogs. They were never patients so they will never know. I know I am taking a risk here, but given my condition anything is worth a try. I have the financial fitness to do it and the mental maturity to realize whether this is a scam or not, and form what I've read and heard, it's a legitimate procedure that doesn't involve a simple injection. I'll show you why. This comes from the pre-op packet they sent me: Bone Marrow Draw During the marrow draw, the medical provider places a needle in the back of the hip area to obtain what is called whole marrow (looks like thick blood). The procedure can cause soreness in the low back for several days to a week. The amount of soreness will vary, but will usually ...

Greetings everyone. I had a terrific phone conversation with Dr. Schultz on Wednesday January 13th. First he gave me his diagnosis, which was professionally done. He told me I lost some height on my disc and that the left-leaning bulge (note that it hasn't yet leaked out) he diagnosed was consistent with my intense left-side pain. He then went into explaining how candidacy for this type of treatment works: **Good Candidate** MRI imaging that shows single level disc degeneration with disc height maintained at greater than 50%. Disc protrusions and posterior longitudinal ligament are intact. No previous lumbar spine surgery. Patient age is less than 50 years with radicular symptoms that correspond anatomically with disc pathology. Transforaminal injections eliminated radicular pain. These patients are in the same general category of patients who have shown consistent pain/functional changes with the Regenexx procedure. **Fair Candidate** MRI imaging shows one or mo...