post anterior cervical disectomy recovery concerns

RDKRPH · Newbie Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 1

I read these experiences and felt better. Not that you are in pain,
not that I am in pain, but that we are not nuts. I have a healthcare background. Most of us read this because we typed in something like
:Post care surgical fusion, what to expect: I noticed many commonalities
between experiences, and hae gone through a lot of the same things.
I had a flareup from Yesterday's PT. Going back shortly today. Its been 15 months since my surgery. I will share some of my experiences later or
if anyone is interested, I have found 1 or 2 medications that may help
with neuropathic pain. Talked to a couple of physiatrists. One tells me I
am disabled. The other one tells me it take two years to see where you stand with this type of operation. 2 level fusion with plating. I have
tried to keep the surgeon off the defensive. I just want this the best it can
be. "If this is normal, let me know" was my observation to him. I traded
some incredibly acute pain which only the surgery alleviated to chronic
SX's that vary with position and activity level. Fast word of advice.
From what I do know of the spine, the fusion and plate changes the
dynamics of the area. If other discs in the area of the fusion were
"beat up" in your accident injury, stressing them may not be a good idea.
Get MRI's to see what is going on. My adjacent discs show a progessive
slippage. I do know the basic anatomy from school years ago, have read
my reports and have stared at the MRI's. So many things we have in
common. I am not am M.D., but background is pharmaceutical/biomedical.
I am definitely not alone. The experience and pains and sensation that
the majoritity us have, should be the textbook for what could happen I
have a friend who is a cardiac surgeon. Before I had my injury, we would
talk about work. He said : "I enjoy doing the surgery, its the complications." When you think of the post surgical SX's, they make sense. I want some hope without unrealsitic expectations. I said I would
keep this short, but I want to write the story down later and as it progesses. If we can share emotional and physical experiences and
keep each other informed as to what is working. I don't want to talk anyone out of surgery. Even the experts in the field are not in agreement.
Observation: If someone is told us what to expect, then we wouldn't go through as much turmoil. I would like to tell the surgeon that its all better. I don't want to be the therapeutic failure because "I should be fine by
now." I would rather know how normal this is and how much I can
improve it. Relearnign body motions, i.e. retraining the muscle does seem
to help. After a year of waiting to see if it gets better and better with time,
I decided to look for reasons. Unforunately Titanium plating causes
artifacts in the MRI. Cat scanning with dye is my surgeons last word.
The dye is dangerous, particularly for a diabetic, and since I have had
CT scans and fluroscopy (and other radiation in the past), I kind
of hesitate yo go there. I think I see impingment. Radiologist is hesitant
to comment on the graft area. I would probably get the resorbable plate
so we could do MRI's. I thought that was what we were going to use,
but the day of the surgery, the surgeon told me that he was set up for
titanium, and since I already had my Versed. I am seeing a physical therapist again. He was in an accident when he was college age, and seems pretty focused. Better head mechanics and better poster are
my current hopes. If that doesn't work, its the CT with dye. And my question to the neurosurgeon seemed to be reasonable. "Is all of this
normal, if it is, what else can we do." If we find something by doing
the dye study which has a risk, is there something that we can do surgically. I guess none of us knew what to expect. I did find several
communication errors and what I consider poor choices in the process.
I had my surgery ay Hershey Medical Center. A Dr at the U of P that
my D.O. usually refers cases to, wouldn't see me because it involved an auto accident. "Hey, what your pain level with 10 being the worst pain
anyone could imagine and 1 being "no pain." Or the line from a nurse
'remember, this Dr has a pain level that is backward" 0 is a lot of
pain and 10 is no pain. I refused to give a number after explaining
to the Dr that I needed to know which of the several sensations in
the neck and shoulder, that vary "GREATLY" with time and position,
to which he was referring. This started out as 3 sentences and has grown to this. The Dr just kept repeating that didn't the nurse explain to me that his pain scale was backward and that I would be asked that when he entered the room (this was not the surgeon at Hershey). I can't type anymore, anyway. And by the way, he wasn't going to stop asking until I gave him a number. Very Happy

The Best to All of You.
RDK

painstaken · Newbie Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 13

Hi all
It seems that surgery isnt as promising as the doctors say it is,, I had total disk replacement in june 2006 and Im in worse shape now than before the surgery..
Before surgery, I only had a 25-35 percent spinal cord compression and now, I have a 90 percent spinal cord compression..
Theres more about this posted on this thread:

Numbness, post op C-5/c-6 cervical spine surgery. ,,,,,,,,

Its too much to retype.. so please go visit that thread if you are experiencing post op problems.. You may find some that the info their helpful.
I do have to stress this,, If you are having alot of pain, numbness, spasms, swelling ,, demand that your doctor orders another MRI, or more testing period..

Its not normal to still be experiencing extreme pain after 6 months post op.. SO MY SURGEON SAYS,
Peace to all and good luck
Donna

painstaken · Newbie Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 13

Hi RDK,
Please do share you experiences..
I also come from a medical back ground of 21 years and it seems that with this surgery, I have problems treating myself.. lol. You know how that is, I can help others alot more than I can help myself, that seems to be most health care providers scenario. Anyway by sharing your experiences, you can help others, I know I thought I was going nuts or that the problems I am experiencing was phantom pain, from a total disk replacement that was done in june, but after I saw the MRI that was done friday,, I knew I wasnt going crazy.
I posted more about that on the thead that I listed in my last post.. Anyway, we are all here to help each other and I hope every one feels free to post their experiences or problems.
peace to all
Donna

3rdGradeTeach · Newbie Joined: 11 Nov 2006 Posts: 4

I will be having my ACDF surgery on the 24th of this month. Hurray! Very Happy

I'll be having c5-6 and c6-7 fusions using cadaver bone and then the metal plate. I can hardly wait. I'm hoping the pain from the surgery will be a relief to the pain I'm experiencing now. Crying or Very sad

What I would like to know from those of you who have had this surgery already is how I can prepare for my recovery at home? For instance, what do you wish you would have done, or could have had to make recovering from this surgery easier? I think it's always easier after the fact to know what you would have liked or done. So I'm hoping that I can benefit from everyone's post surgical experiences. Plus is there anything you'd recommend while I'm in the hospital yet? The doctor said I would be there for 3 days. Thanks for any helpful suggestions!

papabob · Newbie Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 1

Hi,
I am a 45 year old male that underwent ACD on 1/5/07. The pain in my neck under my shoulder blades, chest when moving while sleeping are as bad, and sometimes worse than before surgery. My neck mobility is so limited, I am nervous I am not going to regain complete mobility in my neck. I feel like I'm constantly hunching my neck and shoulders, and even the water from the shower hurts the area in the back of my neck that feels like there is a lump there. And both upper arms seem to ache periodically. Sleep is virtually impossible unless pain meds kick in and I get a couple of hours. I have a post-op appointment 6 weeks from surgery date. I am a machinist with a physical job and am nervous about reinjuring it if i go back too early. Any input on post-op pain, recovery info and how long before anyone has been able to return to a physical job would be greatly appreciated. Also I have not slept in a bed in about 6 months an am just barely able to start sleeping on the couch. I feel as if I'm about 6 months away from recovering enough to return to work with no worries, does that seem reasonable or am I just reacting to this current horrific pain? Also, how long do you usually have physical therapy? On the plus side, the tingling and numbness in my left hand and fingers seems to have subsided, but I seem to have a significant loss of hand strength and grip, will the strength in my left hand come back with therapy? Very depressed with this post-op pain and about the actual time it takes the fusion to take and heal properly. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

kristins71 · Guest

I am 35yrs old , and I fell down a flight of concrete stairs which led to my surgeries.You will start feeling better, very very slowly. I had anterior cervical fusion in 2004 of the C5/C6/C7 and was inthe hospital for one day.I first had a really high fever & vomiting for two days during the first two weeks when I thought was going to die, but it passed.Red or raised or fluid filled areas very bad if you have them, so consult your doc asap.My shoulders hurt very badly, shoulder blade area, mid back,and upper arms die to the surgery trauma and the muscles spasms. Tingling/numbness in my arm and hand was gone in about 6 months. Sleep was very , very difficult, and still presents issues from the pain, angle of my neck, and the unending muscle spasms. I actually went back to work after 2 weeks at home post-op.No collar given by surgeon, no pain meds. I later bought myself a soft collar for sleeping, sitting in front of the tv. Went back to work on a shortened schedule and I remain on that schedule today since my work revolves around a computer/sitting. I have small raised area where the fusion site is that is sensitive-no yanking,pulling,etc and the inside of my throat seems dimensionally smaller(not sure why-metal,pins,scar tissue)which makes it hard to swallow some pills now.I thought that the pain was never going to get better, but it does and things start clearing up in a year. You start feeling partially "normal"in about two years. If it rains or the weather gets bad the fusion site swells up,and I have a really bad day, but I take a short day and pop some Advil/rest.I was popping Advil/Ibuprofen/Tylenol PM for a year straight before my primary doc finally gave me some pain meds. In 2006, I had further surgery on my low back-Microdisectomy L5/S1.I feel much better today after both procedures.My surgeon,despite not giving me any pain meds, was wonderful. I have several issues sleeping,sitting,walking for long periods,headaches which I think will never go away-but I have hope!. I have found the following things to be very helpful, but please consult your doc. Hot baths, heating pad, Aspercreme/Bengay,Advil Liquid Gel Caps,Alleve,Vicadin 750m,Inversion Table, Exercise is Paramount-Walking/Recumbant Bike/Elliptical,Tylenol PM, Soft Cervical Collar, Sleep Number Bed/Select Comfort, Back Exercises Each Day, Stretching,Touching the Skin and Surgical Area to Promote Positive Sensation,Acupuncture,Sleep as much is humanly possible.I plan getting a recliner real soon as a treat to watch the aeful programs on my tv. I have felt like crap since 2001 when I fell, missing things from trauma/ pain delusion/meds/doctor-hospital treatment dance-birthdays,trips home, daily activities,life. It does get better!!! Take care.

Parrotthead · Guest

Hello all you fellow Pains in the Neck Wink

I too have have had cervical spinal fusion, on Dec 19, 2006, which makes me 6 1/2 weeks Post-Op. I can feel your pain and sympathize with those that are still having problems. I've searched so many sites trying to find answers to what are "normal" expectations and symptoms/problems after surgery but haven't found any good articles yet. This forum is by far the best thing I've found yet just to see if I'm normal! If yall have found a good site let me know.
I had a severely ruptured disc, C5-6 and a bone spur (osteophyte) on C4, my doc said I was in his top 10 worst cases he'd seen. I had pieces of disc all the way to my shoulder! I'm 45, female, and a smoker. I've read that smoking can prevent or slow the fusion, by the way. The one thing I've noticed in all the posts that is different with me, I did NOT have to wear a brace or collar! They gave me a soft collar and said I only had to wear it if it helped with the pain. I had the disc decompression with the Titanium plate. Was in hospital for 23 hours. Went home and have done really well. I went back to work in 4 weeks, my husband and I "Flip" (remodel) houses, so I have very physical work. I drove in 3 weeks. BUT now I think I've over-done it! IFor the past 3 days I have had constant burning pain on the top of my arm over my elbow area and "aching" pain across my shoulders and neck. From reading all of your experiences I guess this is normal? How long did your doc's say you have to wait for physical therapy? Mine says 12 weeks, but I'm already doing just about everything I did before, just not lifting anything over 10 pounds and trying not to do work over my head. Bassplayer, are you any better??? Good luck and keep posting... this is interesting and we can see how we all do in the next months.

3rdGradeTeach · Newbie Joined: 11 Nov 2006 Posts: 4

I am 3 1/2 months post ACDF surgery and I feel great! I had a 2 level (c5-c7) ACDF with cadaver bone and titanium instrumentation. I don't have any pain. I no longer have to wear the Aspen brace, I have returned to work full-time teaching, I can drive again, and I am sleeping at night. I am so glad I had the surgery. It's amazing how well I feel. I just wanted people to know that there are some of us who do very well after this kind of surgery. I was in terrible pain before the surgery and completely disabled so there really was no choice for me not to do it. The recovery was slow and painful at first. I think I had the hardest time with the incredible boredom of not being able to work and watching so much tv. I was given the ok to work after 6 weeks. I worked half-time for two weeks until I felt that I could manage full-time without it being too painful. I feel so grateful to have had it all work out so well. But I did do everything the doctors told me to do and it's been working so far. Good luck to you all out there. Very Happy

rdegneau · Newbie Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Wisconsin

to mommy3boy2girls.
wondering if things are better now.
see my last posting to see if you followed same dr directions.
I would like to ad dr say absolutely now advil ibobrfin or asperin, it inhibbits bone fusion healing time. careful use of narcotics is much prefered Brace comes off in 5 weeks.

Meemers · Guest

Hi Papa Bob!
I had my surgery 12-28-06 and am definitely still in the recovery stage. My fusion was done with my own bone graft from my hip which has actually given me more pain than the neck.
I was in the hospital for 3 days and was released wearing a Miami J collar, Percocet and Flexeril. My surgeon was absolutely wonderful!
I had to wear my collar 24/7 for 3 weeks until my post op appointment.
Since that time, I have weaned myself off the foam collar and only wear it for sleeping.
My doctor has me scheduled off work for 3 months. I only have numbness and tingling on occasions, but the pain between the shoulder blades (which everyone seems to complain of), is definitely an issue. I have not taken Percocet since my 2nd week post op and usually Extra Strength Tylenol helps. Flexeril also takes the edge off.
My surgeon prescribed no physical therapy and said that if I needed it he would, but told me to take my time when resuming activities. I am now driving but my neck is still pretty stiff ( I guess I'm afraid I'll break) but heating pads and Ben-Gay really work wonders.
My surgeon said at my post op that the bones were fusing nicely and that full recovery is at least 6 months to a year.
I wish you the best!
And keep your chin up!!! Smile

post anterior cervical disectomy recovery concerns

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