[cmullen]

I am currently seeing a spine surgeon for back pain involving the L4-5 and L3-4 areas of my spine. In the past 2 months I have had 2 epidural injections to this area of my spine to obtain relief from my chronic pain (on a scale of 1-10 my pain is 7 - 10) making it difficult to walk any lengths. After being on my feet for an hour I must sit down to lessen my pain and continue my activities (i.e. cooking in the kitchen or light cleaning). Throughout the years my chronic pain has worsened to the point where I am seeking surgery as an option to lessening my chronic pain. I mentioned to my surgeon, how to tell if I am a candidate for the X-stop procedure. After discussing what movements decrease my level of pain i.e. bending over forwards, sitting, and lying down) he replied placing this device at L4-5 level would be worth considering. He also said that it's a 50/50 chance of success for some patients, but no guarantee. Over the past decade, I have had many types of injections and other outpatient procedures (to widen the spinal canal) with little relief. I would appreciate hearing from others regarding success/failure of X-stop placement.