Advise of post op symptoms Anterior Cervical Decompression

I am having the C 6/7 anterior decompression and fusion surgery next week. All your comments have been very helpful, particularly the ones about what to eat after the surgery. I will write again after the surgery.

:-D
I am a 45 year old female, and not even one week post-op from an anterior disc fusion C5-C6 due to inability to move neck while driving, arm numbness and tingling, loss of muscle, etc. My NEUROsurgeon (and I would strongly recommend a neurosurgeon as opposed to an orthopod operating on my spinal cord) replaced the disc with a cadava bone, implanted a plate... and I feel fantastic. No neck brace (which freaked me out from the beginning thinking I would be lying flat and immobile), no pain meds - other than some tylenol for a headache the day of surgery. Yes, I had a sorethroat for a few days... it was not like swallowing glass. It was more or less a feeling of having a lump in your throat. And it was uncomfortable - but certainly not unbearable. Sleeping is a bit tricky at times, trying to find the best position for my neck. My arm pain and tingling was resolved immediately and I feel great. Don't believe the horror stories as everyone is different. Simply go forward with a positive attitude AND DO AS THEY SAY POST-OPERATIVELY and you should be fine. Fill the script for pain meds... you may need them here and there.

I had the anterior cervical discectomy with fusion and hardware and autograft (bone from my own hip) C 5 and 6, I think it was. I had a full recovery within a short time and now, three and a half months post surgery, I feel fiine. I am 66 years old, and female. I am back at the gym doing an hour on the treadmill and stair climber, and a half hour or so on resistance machines for the legs and hips, though no upper body work for a few more months, the doctor says.

The key is to follow doctors orders. DO NOT SMOKE. Smoking prevents bone fusion. DO NOT take NSAIDs of any kind (Mortin, Advil, Aleve, even aspirin) for 6 months, at least These drugs prevent bone fusion. Use your own bone, as your own bone will fuse in about three months. Donor bone can take a year to fuse, and imagine the potential for injuring yourself in that span of time, with a back being held together with screws. Walk every day, a lot. Two miles is best, but if you can't do that, work up to it. DO NOT LIFT anything heavier than 5 to 7 pounds for three months. Don't drive for a month. No bending or twisting, no gardening, bed making, etc.. Don't go see chiropractors. Lie down or stand up, don't sit, for three months. Walk, rest and heal.

I never had to take pain pills of any kind past the first few days, and even then, they would only give me Tylenol. I stopped taking that fairly quickly as Tylenol is so damaging to the liver. I did have residual arm pain in the beginning and the doctor gave me a 6-day course of steroids, perhaps ten days or so after the surgery, which took care of the pain. (But remember that the steroids also prevent bone fusion, so you can only do this briefly, if at all.)

Everything goes away....the arm pain, the lump in the throat, etc., but it takes a while, so calm down. My only complaint is the strange scunching noise in the neck bones and the snap-crackle-pop sounds that develop in the joints, which I can find NO medical explanation for. If anyone has gotten information on this, I would love to hear it! My doctor's nurse says this is typical and it goes away, but I want to know What it ism physiologically, and how long it's going to last.

My mom has been having alot of issues after her surgery that have made her life miserable, none of her doctors can give her a good reason why shes had severe ringing in the ears, dizziness, and a heavy head. she is desperate for help, i was just wondering if anyone has had this problem. please help asap

acdf hi its deb, i have to go have a marshmallow barrier mill in my throat since the acdf , if my head tilts foward now i gag, an cant breath properly,i have trouble swallowing even if its a tiny tablet i had acdf may 2008, i like all of u r stuffed, i recently had left shoulder reconstruction,3weeks ago im afraid it has not done much because it was left so long they had to take out extra bone on the end of my shoulder about half thumb size to make room, the damage tissue i have in both shoulder blades is permanent with deterioration ,an im in a lot of pain, still on all my mes an oxycotin,40mg daily, cant go with out them, i wish us all well someday,deb

Hi all, I had an anterial cervical decompression and fussion in London September 09. Can honestly say dont worry about it, my surgery went great. Woke up without any pain what so ever. The pain in my arm instantly had gone, no more aches or pins and needles! I could eat the very next day, although must admit swallowing was a little painful. The only pain I had was wearing the hard collar for 6 weeks :-) Just do as your told. Rest and enjoy it!!!!!!

I HAVE BEEN SUFFERING FROM ADF FOR MORE THEN 30 YRS. IN THE EARLY DAYS I HAD FREQUENT AND  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i had the similar thing 4 weeks ago- same onset as well except i only had severe neck pain that went into my shoulders. I ended up needing emergency 4-5 5-6 fusion and spinal cord decompression. I woke up with c-5 palsy which i didn't have. I have no use of my right shoulder right deltoid. and i am losing my right hand grip strength. i have horrible neck pain and right shoulder arm pain that is constant. i am 39 as well with 2 kids- very very active- a nurse and this is devastating to me. The seem to have no answers for me- after the surgery they never did any repeat tests on me- just said they had no idea what happened bc the emg and monitoring showed everything was intact that no nerve damage occurred.

Can you tell me how your doing?

Tracy,

I had this operation eight weeks ago. I had a titanium cage put between C5-C6 and another between C6-C7. The incision was only
about 1.3" wide on the right side of my neck next to my wind pipe. I don't think that you will have too much trouble. They said expect that your throat may be a little sore and to be sure to take ice chips when you are given permission to drink water. I took my ice chip right away and frequently, this takes down the slight swelling and helps you to swallow easier. I then asked for another cup of ice later in the evening. I then was hungry and ordered a full meal. I had chicken , mashed potatoes and gravy some vegtables and coffee. Not everyone experience will be the same. Hang in there just follow instructions and ask the nurses questions if you don't understand something. Perhaps if you are anxious the doctor can order medicine for it. You will be taking pain medication though which will probably relax you, so don't worry ;-)

thanks for the applesauce advice! i will be having; decompression,fusion with plate at c5-6-c6-c7 in early october on 2012 i have been in severe pain for almost 3 years and on morphine and oxycodone 24 hrs.a day for over 8 months. it can't get much worse so i'm having the anterior surgery done.

i hope the pain meds will work on me, i have already been on morphine sulfate er tabs 15mg. 2 times a day and oxycodone 2 times a day for over 8 months, 24 hours a day and i am building a tolarence to the morphine.

I only had one level surgery C7-T1. The day after surgery I could swallow but it was painful. In the 2 weeks I was in a rigid collar there were times where my neck swollen up enough to make it feel like I was being choked when I laid down but this went away when I sat up. My biggest problem Post-Op was sleeping in the rigid collar. I didn't get much sleep the 2 weeks I was in the collar.
Except for the pain swallowing I had little Post-Op pain. I only took one of the Vicodin that I was prescribed and even then it was in the hope that it would help me sleep than for pain.

i only had problems swollowing for about 4 days after an acdf with plate. i wish i could say the same for the other pain though.

I had the surgery Jan. of 2015. It is now August 22, 2015 and I am in constant pain. My bicep and left shoulder have spasms and make my neck on the right hurt like crazy. I suffer daily pain, terrible reflux. I am going through speech therapy because since the surgery I have unilateral paralysis of the right vocal chords. My place of employment has placed me on medical disability. It's been a very difficult recovery, but I'm not giving up, even if I have to apply for Social Security disability. I hope all of you recover well and if not, take one day at time, allow your body to talk to you about what it needs.

Aloha, glad I didn't read of all the post operative problems before I had ACDF performed almost two years ago. Some ancient injury had resulted in a bone spur collapsing my spinal cord - I had lost most of the strength in my right shoulder and arm and the orthopedic surgeon was amazed I was still walking when he saw the MRI photos. I walked out of the hospital ten hours after being admitted and walked three miles the next morning My throat was a bit sore, but that was about all. I entered months of physical therapy and SLOWLY regained strength as the nerves began firing. I am back to about 80% of the strength I should have, but continue to improve each month Every few months, I experience a couple of minutes of "electric" like shock flowing through the nerve on my right side - they subside quickly and I'm fine. I'm told that this is really a good sign that nerves are functioning again. My surgery has allowed me to play tennis daily and get back to life rather than facing a future in a wheelchair.