I got a disc problem at age 26, which I did not take care of and was forced to have an "emergency" operation.

I have been living with the regret since then that if I had read more about my problem, I would have taken more care and recovered from it without the need to go under a knife. I would have realized that just because a doctor has an empty spot to schedule an operation, does not mean that I NEED an "emergency" operation.

I would have also known more about different remedies as options to choose from. I would have learnt the consequences prior to making a decision.

Although my back is out of danger now, I have to live with the pain for the rest of my life; day in and day out.

I have had to change my active lifestyle to and select 'safer' activities

Finally, I have learnt not to trust everything a doctor tells me. If we have enough information, we have the power to choose, even what the doctor tells us, as long as we understand what we are being told and we can ask the right questions.

We do have different options. We do have products that can help us. We can help ourselves.