Pic #1 - 3. Work
I got my life, “BACK”
PAIN:
I started having extreme pain in my lower back after pulling a carpet cleaning machine in 2014. It got a little better but when sitting it was painful. The pain got worse to the point I was tripping and had nerve pain shooting down my left leg. I couldn’t sit in a car or at a dinner table or meeting for long, nor stand or function well at all. It became impossible to focus or think well and I was always extremely fatigued. I became extremely frustrated. As a professional Real Estate Broker it was becoming extremely hard to do my profession that I love to do. I was irritable and losing myself.
I saw over sixteen Doctors In Hawaii, physical therapists, received painful injections, pain management, aka “Pills”, and several times I was told it was in my head. I started to question myself and had moments I left the Doctor's office emotionally numb with tears slowly going down my face wondering what I am going to do. Doctor’s telling you that this is the way it is going to be, it was devastating.
I don’t care how strong one thinks they are but when all hope seems to be gone you get depressed and start having suicidal thoughts as life was becoming a living hell. I was and am a very active person and slowly and painfully losing my life as I knew it.
I was finally diagnosed with DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease) L5/S1. That my L5/S1 disc was curved and when I sat it slipped pitching into my nerve. Every time I sat down or stood straight I was pitching on my nerve. I eventually had a microdiscectomy in 2018 that failed.
Then Doctors in Hawaii just wanted to fuse me. Being in my late 40’s at the time I knew fusion would be horrible. The facts are clear on it. Less mobility and future surgeries up the spine as each disc that takes the extra load fails. A nightmare scenario!
HOPE:
I knew there had to be something better. I googled options and found some old information on replacement discs. I would ask the local doctors about them. They stated it doesn’t work, doesn’t exist, too experimental, and on. I even had one Doctor state, “If you put that disc in your back don’t ever come back to see me, it is a waste of time.”
I ran into a Facebook forum about DDD and replacement disc. (A great resource!) https://www.facebook.com/groups/235755443565985 I saw and read personal testimonies on replacement discs. Stories of people around the world just like mine. The good and the bad of these discs. I found out the disc have been installed since the 1970’s in Germany. It was real! An option! HOPE!!!
Through my research I found the ESP-LP disc to be the best option as others were failing. The ESP-LP disc is a third generation disc with six degrees of motion. Then I ran into two individuals on Facebook, One was a Doctor in Utah and the other a nurse from Florida, who both had the operation in Koln, Germany by a Dr. Biren Desai is still doing well. I Facebook messaged them and the rest is history. They were in full support and proof it works!
Surgery January 2020:
Dr. Biren Desai and the Sana Dreifaltigkeits-Krankenhaus Hospital in Köln Germany are amazing. I was treated like royalty. Huge room, food provided, clean, safe environment and highly professional. Like a resort stay. You can tell Dr. Biren Desai himself is a good man and he cares and has a passion for what he is doing. I feel blessed and lucky to have found him.
Communicating with them through email, getting the MRI documentation to them, etc took about a month. Dr. Biren Desai approved me for surgery and I luckily had good sources from the Facebook forum connections on how to get to Koln, Germany, plan the flight, train ride, hotel stay, etc. The plane ride was hell but you have to get there somehow. Just sucked it up. The bullet train from Frankfort, Germany was cool.
People thought I was crazy about going to Germany to have a surgery. It’s experimental! I did my research. Fear is always eliminated with facts. Plus, in the amount of pain I was in I was ready to fight to live or just die. The pain was unbearable. This was my fight to live. I was all in as popping pain meds, Ibuprofen, and NSAIDS like M&M’s is no way to live and screw getting fused.
I still remember coming out of Surgery and Dr. Biren Desai was there. I asked, “How did it go?” He said, “It went great.” A couple tears came out. Relief! In a flash all the memories and struggles to get to that point came to me. It was a battle of emotional endurance. To this day the horrible memories, despairing moments, and that pain still haunt me but also fuel my desire to live well, help where I can, and to remember to enjoy each day.
The Second day after the surgery Dr. Biren Desai wanted me to sit. I was scared to. I didn’t want to mess anything up. “Are you sure?” I sat. I had surgery pain but not that horrible debilitating nerve pain. It was gone. It was amazing! From that point on I walked with a stroller. By the 3rd day I was walking around on my own, then stairs, then released on the fifth day.
They custom fit you with a brace to wear for several months. The downside of the LP-ESP disc is it takes time to heal in place. The first several months it is very important not to do anything crazy and wear the brace when out in public or doing anything. I literally was feeling so good on the eighth day I forgot to put it on, was on the trolley in Koln sightseeing, got off and went back to the hotel to get my brace.
The brace helped me also remember to be careful. I lived with that horrible nerve pain for six years! The relief was amazing. My head was clear, I could think, and slept well. When you feel alive again and that pain is gone you naturally just do stuff you used to do. So make sure to wear that brace as a precaution.
To this day in the United States Doctors and the health care system here is still not educated on this procedure and still fusing people unfortunately. You learn that in some aspects the USA is way behind in certain fields due to red tape, FDA games, politics, money, etc. It’s actually sickening. How to get the surgery paid for and/or reimbursed is a novel. I was able to get 60% reimbursed after a year of fighting HMSA / Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Going to Köln (Cologne) Germany
I did not know anything or even looked up anything about Koln, Germany. I was focused on surgery but OMG, what a wonderful place. After my surgery I took the trolley, walked around, visited the huge churches, ate German food and beer, it was a great experience and hopefully one day I will get back there. I had a lot of fun there and learned about it.
Now, 5.5 years later, October 2025
I just celebrated my 52nd birthday and went to Utah and visited some National parks there. Hiked 6 to 12 miles a day, swam, rock climbed, drove for miles (Sitting) and had a blast.
I have minor arthritis pains at times due to the fact my faucet joints were rubbing at times before I was fixed but I do simple stretches and stretching and it goes away. I have weeks with no issues and definitely no major nerve pain. (Unfortunately, I am dealing with a reoccurring left hip labral tear, probably caused by my bad sitting form while my back was messed up for six years. I am about to get a surgery in Denver on that and then will be 100%).
I just had an xray done last month and my LP-ESP is still sitting well and my upper disc is great. Last year I fell off a ladder 6 feet and landed right on my back and butt. Shock waves went through me. Then I thought, “Oh no! my disc, did I break it?” Besides some humiliation to my ego and a sore butt for a week I was fine. The LP-ESP disc held up through that. I was not trying to test it but a nice little testimony of its durability from this guinea pig.
My journey took way too long to get help. Luckily now, more information is out there and people can get fixed sooner than later. Once you have gone through that type of pain nothing else compares. Like being stabbed with a knife you can’t remove.
I have no problem helping anyone find their way to getting pain relief if possible. Nothing is perfect, there are risks, you have to qualify and confirm the issue which can be tricky, but for me it is working. If anyone has questions I can be reached at jlong.JERRealty@gmail.com.
I personally can’t thank Dr. Biren Desai enough for helping me.
He helped give me my life, “Back!”
Jeremy Long
Waipahu, Hawaii
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