Hi Lilygirl,

Sorry I'm not familiar with the German procedure - I have heard that replacement discs made from stem cells of you own tissue are being researched but that even the trial stage is at least 5 years away - and I imagine the cost would be sky high.

I'm down in NZ so am very familiar with slow health systems - we have a public health system here. I don't have degenerative disc disease as such, but have osteoarthritis in back, neck, shoulders, hips, knees as well as an auto-immune condition and peripheral neuropathy. That's why I ended up on Neurotalk - trying to figure out how to manage it all.

Like you I'm a bit anti-pill - or at least not without thoroughly researching the possible side-effects - had too many bad reactions. Also I can't take many pain relief medications as they counteract the steroids I'm on to manage the auto-immune condition. The only thing I can take at present is paracetamol but fortunately the steroids have a bit of analgesic effect - even at the low dose I take.

If it helps think of the oxycodone as a stop gap measure until you get treatment - it may take a while to feel the full benefit of it but also be aware that a tolerance can build up and you may find it isn't as effective after a while. You may want to discuss this with your doctor and formulate a plan for when this happens and be prepared to taper off.

If I come across any possible useful info I'll forward it to you. Take care.