ACDF Multiple Site Recovery Progress

I have mentioned in one of my previous post that I didn't experience this. I had no problems of this kind, and I found TBriens posts and got interested. My girlfriends friend has this problem. So my girlfriend wanted me to find something for her friend on this forum. Her friend is not being active enough. She is 2 month post op and still in pain.
I'm not trying to be judging, just wanted to see TBriens opinion on this. Is there a good way to motivate her to go for some activities.
I understand that this is very painful thing and want to apologies if I have insulted you in any way. It was not my intention at all.

I honestly think that the less you do because of the pain is a negative. We (your friend and I) need to keep our muscles as toned as we can or the situation will only get worse over time.

I had to go on disability after working 30+ yrs (one of the most traumatic experiences in my life!) but I do continue to walk, work in my yard and in my flower garden. It hurts like hell, pardon the expression, but I know if I don't my symptoms will most likely get worse.
The one thing I have to do is take breaks to rest my neck and arms. I work about 30 min and break for 30 min. Sounds crazy I know but it works for me. Tell your friend to start little, take a breaks and gradually work herself up. Be kind...after 4 yrs my max is still about 30 min. My PT's always told me to do until it hurts, back off, then do again.

It is very frustrating for me because I have lost a lot of stregnth in my hands. I get extremely irritated when I try to open a bottle or do anything that requires hand stregnth. I throw a fit, feel some self pity for awhile then tell myself to get over it. It could be much worse...you could be dying from cancer and contained to a bed! Does your friend go through the self pity and why me stuff? Tell her to stop and look around...there are many people in much worse shape than we are.

I honestly, thanks to my parents, have an inner drive that makes me want to do. I have never been one to sit around. The sad part is when you sit around feeling sorry for yourself depression sets in. That makes the sitation worse.
This has been one of the most traumatic experiences in my life ( and I've experienced a lot in my life).

Let me know what happens with your friend.
I've underwent hundreds of tests...no exageration...my neck surgery was a sucess. So why all of this pain? Honestly I do not know!

Well this is good post to show her. She is really my girlfriends friend, so I don't know her that much. I know that she doesn't want to go out anywhere. My girlfriend understands that this thing she is going through is very hard, but she thinks that she is not helping her this way.







I'll try to suggest my girlfriend to tell her this. This might help.

Thank you for giving this suggestions.

KariB, I couldn't agree with you more. I have no idea what kind of pain you are experiencing, but I know the pain I was in before surgery and I can imagine it was like that, from what you describe. I admire you for driving yourself to stay active and moving and I agree that the movement and activity is most likely keeping it from being worse than it is. I wish you the very best and hope that they can find some cause that will get you some kind of relief. Keep up that wonderful, positive attitude.

I want to emphasize, for anyone reading this, that almost everyone has a different experience with this type of surgery. Prior to my surgery, I found two people who'd had the surgery several years ago and spoke to them personally. All of us are the same sex, within 10 years of the same age (I'm right in the middle) and have many of the same physical demographics (activity level, non-smoker, etc). If anything, I was the worst of the three being the most over weight and had very high blood pressure. Out of the three, I've had the best recovery, so far. I've listed my surgery and recovery here in the hopes that my experience will help others. The experience of KariB and others is just as valid and should be taken into account by anyone deciding to have this surgery.

One thing that I'm discovering, in reading these and other posts, is that quantifying the extent of nerve damage before surgery is virtually impossible. I stated in an earlier post the amount of time between the on-set of severe symptoms and the corrective surgery can play a vital role in figuring what type of experience you will have after the surgery. While that is true, there is every possibility that moderate to severe nerve damage has set in, in just a short amount of time, or that nerves are damaged as a result of the surgery (VERY scary, but a real possibility). Many times, it seems, that this surgery doesn't make things better, it only stabilizes the damaged area and keeps the damage from progressing. In these cases the pain would continue AND be accompanied by muscle spasm. In other cases, like mine, it can make things better. While, I've stated that I'm "back to normal", it might be helpful if I defined that a bit - I continue to have muscle spasms, very minor numbness in my thumb/wrist and, minor "twinges" of pain down my left arm. This is a gigantic improvement on my condition prior to surgery, and I'm conditioning myself to be willing to accept the fact, after talking with others, that the numbness and twinges may be permanent and the muscle spasms may continue for months yet.

Hang in there KariB!!!!

I really think that what you've posted is helpful so thanks for getting back to me about it and telling me more about your experience. I have asked this about other people with issues before and it sounds like you have this aspect covered but what about support? I know that you have this forum and that you had some people who were going through the same thing you did, but do you think you'd recommend counseling or therapy for someone going through this?

I believe that, once again, support is an individual thing. Definitely, coming out of surgery and for a few days after, anyone is going to require some support - both emotional and physical. As far as afterward, that is going to depend on the individual and how they react to the surgery and the results they have. My personal opinion is that if someone is in pain or severe discomfort months down the road and not getting better then counseling or therapy certainly couldn't hurt and might help a great deal.

In fact, if someone has decided to have the surgery or been told that they absolutely require it, and the prospect frightens them, I'd recommend counseling before the surgery. One or two meetings with a professional before might make a huge difference in the experience. Just my opinion.

I agree with counseling before the surgery. This can be important thing for some people. They can prepare for what is coming in an easier way. This is not a simple procedure and people get really scared. So to have a word of advice from someone means a lot.
TBrien, how did you feel after speaking to these guy's? Where you scared more when you found out what you need to go through after the surgery or this maid very positive effect on you?

Well, I thinkt hat because you had other people going through the same thing with you is what also helped you quite a bit! But I think that it would help that if someone was going to undergo it that they should have therapy like you said. I mean, they do counseling for stuff like HIV. I don't know why they don't provide it for more surgeries that have a long recovery time. I think it's been interesting talking to you about it and if you have any further insights to share, I'm glad to hear it. Thanks! :)

I've been looking a little online about counseling for long time recovery from surgeries, but couldn't find any. There are a lot of people who suffer after surgeries. It would be good idea to have some sort of counseling for them too.
Do you think that this would make a positive effect?

Yes, I do. For some people, major surgery of any kind (and this is major surgery), can cause mental trauma in addition to the physical trauma. For those who have physical problems after the surgery that continue or get worse, counseling, IMHO, would be a necessity to help deal with the effects and to learn how to live with he many issues. This is just my opinion, of course, but I certainly don't see it as hurting anything.

Hi Brien,
How are you? Didn't hear from you in some time. Are things good?
And yes counseling can't do much harm in this case. It could only help people that need this.

I just noticed that you replied to the thread! :) I totally agree with your assement. I guess it's been awhile since you've gone through your surgery now. Are you fully recovered now? Do you have any issues at all?

Thank you for asking. It's been awhile since my last post and update so I guess it's time for an update to my condition. Things, for me, continue to go very well. I still have some numbness in my left forearm and thumb. Actually, I term it more as "decreased sensitivity" because the tingle and changing sensations are virtually gone. The "twinges" and pains in my arm and shoulder have also virtually disappeared. I say virtually, because every so often - about once a week or so - I'll experience a slight pain or tingling. Much of this, I've noticed can be controlled by my posture. By standing, or sitting, with my shoulders back and pulling my should blades in I can make the pain or tingling go away almost immediately. This goes along with what my PT and Doctor had said about muscles pressing on the inflamed nerve trunk. Based on the decrease in problems, I'd gather the inflammation is almost completely gone.

The only regular problem I notice is the soreness in my neck and upper back muscles, and even this is diminishing. On a recent family trip to Disney World, I was actually able to ride the roller coasters with only slight momentary discomfort. I'm even back full time to my martial arts class. One note here is that my balance now seems to be off a bit. Turns, even slow ones, and standing on one leg seems to make me very unsteady or even dizzy. Normal walking or moving is unaffected. I also noticed this on the roller coasters at DW. I've never been prone to any kind of motion sickness so this is new. I'm assuming that it is because my center of balance has changed position due to inserting the bone in place of the crushed disks and changing the position of the inner ear. It's just something to get used to.

Also, I'd like to note that my stamina is not where it used to be. This is very hard to get used to. After doing some reading, I've found this is very common after major surgery and it can take six months or more for the body to get back to normal. Soft tissues can take a very long time to heal and your body expends energy reserves to do it. Regular exercise, good nutrition and most of all, patience, seem to be the only things that will help that.

In summation, I'm doing great! With the exception of the minor things listed above, I'm completely back to normal. Please feel free to ask any questions about my operation, after-math, recovery, etc. I'll respond as quickly as I can, but failing that I'll post again after my next Doctors appointment in four weeks. Be well!

Hi TBrien, it is good to hear that you do not have any major issues and that you are doing grate. I think other things like numbness in your forearm and thumb will go away soon. It is hard to get your stamina back to normal (like it used to be) after these procedures. But hang in there and work on it. You will get there.
One quick question, you ride a roller coaster after all this? Well I got to give it to you, you are one brave guy. :-)

I'm really glad to hear that you're doing well! I have had some issues with back pain as well and I think it's awful. I have a lower back problem and there's no way that I can really get much help with it...glad to hear that you're doing so well! Thanks for coming in to give me an update. :-)