Sciatica MRI

PS One good strategy I've adopted is trying to talk to other patients in the waiting room. You can get all kinds of info about what treatments/procedures they've had done and how well it went/worked. The two things people like to talk about are horror stories and how great they feel. So, if you get to the point where you're considering surgery, ask others in the waiting room if they've had surgery and how well it went. Even if they didnt have the same procedure, their perceptions of the experience may tell you a lot.

Casarena I'd also recommend you get a second concurring opinion before proceeding with any surgery. Even if you have to travel a bit into another area of NYC, it's certainly worth it, and if two doctors concur then you could have the surgery at HSS. Also, remember acunpuncture to my knowledge will not cure chronic pain, but it can help manage it. That means you'll need to continue getting it, and it often involves a series of several treatments, and then maybe that will last for awhile, and then you'd go back for another series. I know a woman who's a doctor's wife who's suffered with chronic pain for years. She's now getting 4 acupuncture treatments/ month, and she says it's changed her life. But she'll likely have to get them for the rest of her life. It's certainly safer than surgery and as I've said before if I had the finances I'd be getting it, but it's out of the question for me now for that reason.

Thanks PALady and straydog--Good idea to get a second opinion about surgery. Laser Spine Institute has been advertising in the NYTimes and there are any number of similar places across the country that offer arthroscopic spine surgery. If you Google for "arthroscopic spine surgery" you'll get them all and learn a good deal about the operation, pro and con.

Casarena