anterior cervical fusion/choking and swallowing issues

Thank you soooo much for the lesson on Yoga, I was wondering if that was causing my neck pain. It's been almost 2 years post ACF, pain is back, same as before, thought the yoga would help. Also, good to know that the fusion is apparently breakable.  I too thought and was told after the fusion I was free to return to everything, skiing, etc.  But, when I woke up with complications and the doc was wondering how things were going to hold up right below the site, any of the usual active things were over. Skiing, rockwall, horsebacking riding,

what a shock.  But no yoga, seems unreasonable :)   I agree once you start having that slow burn pain second time around, you start to rethink your actions. 

 I'm new. Hi everyone.  I'm heading down the path of a redo, anyone tried a pain management center? We were looking at that for a spine block of some sort, has that helpled anyone? The pain is getting unbearable again, do NOT want to redue that procedure , but the pain is a strange intolerable, and serious meds just make me unable to do my job ( computer ) effectively.

 

Has anyone had the spine block work enough to be able to ward off the re-fusion? 

 

 

WOW!! I cannot believe I found a board like this!! 

I had anterior cervical neck fusion c4 c5 c6 c7 on march 28th.. where my incison is on my throat sets right on a tendon/muscle there. it sticks out therefore pulling at my skin. hurts and also has a knot in middle of incision. im prevented from looking up or down and im at my 2ndmonth now. both times ive been back to see the surgeon he has'nt came to see me. instead it's been his assistant. i would think he himself would want to see my incision since he's done the surgery. im havign more problems since surgery 3/29,12 than before surgery. i also have titanium plate. i still have spasms, pain and numbness. but this incison is really bothering me. feeling like im being choked. the tendon on my throat sticks out like a sore thumb....... does' anyone eles incision stick out?

Hi To all cervical friends, had my first cervical fusion 3 years ago, I had cadaver bone grafts. I too, have had many major problems with chewing, swallowing, choking, and sleeping. I could not lay flat on my bed, my head had to be elevated. After 6 weeks of therapy, and my therapist recognizing my delima, he checked my neck and determined that my scalene muscle was stretched. He spent another 6 weeks massaging this area. My problem was a little better, as soon as I stopped therapy and massage, it returned with a fierceness that I had not experienced before. i have to sleep on a hospital bed, with the head elevated. Still have lots of pain, but the numbness and pain in arms has subsided somewhat. Hope you all get some relief...

Judy, I had a friend send this to me. I know it about dental implants but what he says effects us all. http://www.terfinfo.com/Files/Implants%20News%20Release.pdf

I too have the same issue. I am 6 weeks out. I am nervous now. It literally feels like someone is pressing on my throat. Good thing is...it is so annoying that I lost 20 pounds already. I am guessing this is never going to go away. I wish they would have told me this. :(

I DID and still do!! My doctor told me that they never heard of that...it is just coincidental that it all seemed to happen RIGHT after the surgery. Let me know if you find anything out.

Your NS is correct-seeing a speech pathologist is your best option. Speech pathologists are trained to treat dysphagia as well as speech and language deficits. Unfortunately, many surgeons do not do pre-operative counseling (eg. you will have dysphagia which could be long term following this surgery). A speech pathologist will teach you swallowing exercises and strategies to maximize function and compensation, making it eventually, much more comfortable to eat and drink. If you haven't set youself up yet with dysphagia therapy and continue to have problems I suggest you do so right away. Good luck and so sorry for your troubles following the surgery.

tresalynn wrote:

Hhp wrote:

I am 6 weeks out from my second fusion. The first one was in January 2002 and was at C4-5, no plate. The second one was 6 weeks ago, at C5-6, C6-7, with a titanium plate. The second surgery was worse for me but I chalk that up to my being 5 years older (31 now, 26 then) and the surgery being more extensive.

It does get better. Patience is NOT a virtue of mine but I'll admit that I feel better every week. Pain and boredom are terrible alone and an even worse combination. I recommed listening to audio books if it hurts to raise your head enough to look at a tv or hold a book.

As to the lump, at my 4 week follow-up visit, my doctor said the lump at one side of my incision is the knot where he tied off the stitches/sutures below the skin. Apparently there are several layers of stitches under the skin, and they will all dissolve over time. When they dissolve, the lump will go away.

I'm just glad he gave me the go ahead to use mederma. I used it after my 2002 surgery and it made the scar totally disappear.

I had anterior cervical neck fusion c4 c5 c6 c7 on march 28th.. where my incison is on my throat sets right on a tendon/muscle there. it sticks out therefore pulling at my skin. hurts and also has a knot in middle of incision. im prevented from looking up or down and im at my 2ndmonth now. both times ive been back to see the surgeon he has'nt came to see me. instead it's been his assistant. i would think he himself would want to see my incision since he's done the surgery. im havign more problems since surgery 3/29,12 than before surgery. i also have titanium plate. i still have spasms, pain and numbness. but this incison is really bothering me. feeling like im being choked. the tendon on my throat sticks out like a sore thumb....... does' anyone eles incision stick out?

I am about 3 months post surgery. I have this horrible choking feeling 24/7. I have lost 15 lbs because it feels worse everytime I eat or drink. My surgeon keeps telling me that my neck is still healing and that this will stop. I also have a tendon that sticks out when I look up . It is very tight.
Have you found any relief?

hi all , had anterior cervical disc excision and fusion c4-5,c5-c6,c6-c7,used allograft bone graft {cadaver }, the plate is titanium . Surgery was 6/1.2012. I feel constant pressure from plate, choking, coughing,try to clear throat but cant, hate this, guess misery does love company cause Im so glad we have found each other.So do not want a second surgery,feel for all of you! hang in there, the surgeon took me off pain meds do to vomiting,Feeling extremely uncomfortable !

I just had this same surg. Mine was 3 level, had my surg. July 11 and so sick of the aspen collar. Can't sleep at night in it. So tired. Go back to Doctor On the 20th for follow up.

Hi everyone, I had a revision surgery 10 days ago. C3 thru T 2. the surgery went very well , better than the previous one. The biggest issue I am having is choking ( god forbid I need to take a pill as it gets stuck and doesn't move) and not being able to eat anything like chicken, mashed potatoes, bread. I am able to drink,which after reading all the comments in here I am so grateful for, and I can get jello down, broths, and very soft eggs if they are cut into the smallest pieces. I am not going to wait and see how long this takes to resolve itself ,as I have read so many papers on this happening after cervical revision surgery. When I see my doctor I am getting the name of a good ENT to help me with this. I know I would rather live drinking slowly and eating small portions of food than dealing with the pain and weakness spinal issues put me thru. Mags

How did your follow up GP? If you had three levels done, why not ask your doctor for a soft collar for the night?

I had ACDF c-5-6 & 6-7 on July 15, 2012. Six weeks and I'm doing fairly well. I'm back to work however, I can start to feel bad as soon as I go for the mouse. I went to the neurosurgeon this morning for my 2nd post visit. This visit I feel like I did prior to surgery. My right are pain is back agin in the tricep area as well as dull aching pain in the elbow. My thumb, index finger  and partial palm and top of hand are still numb tingly and at times feel very cold and burning. I also think that the other three digits are more numb now then they were prior to surgery. My throat is not soar anymore however, it's very difficult to swallow. I assumed when the pain would go away the problem would be solved... Not the case, I still am having trouble swallowing. It feels like everything I eat gets stuck and if I bend over to pick something up I get reflux. The truth is I feel no better after putting myself through surgery. My pain at time of surgery was not as bad as the orginal on-set. I wanted to do the surgery because I was feeling weaker on my right side and very clumpsy with my hand. I also did NOT want to become a person addicted to PAIN PILLS.

 I'm going for a CT scan to see if anything looks out of place.

Perhaps you went back to work too soon. You had c5 thru c 7 done.my first surgery was difficult and I knew there was no real way to go back to work...but I did. You need to alter what you do, how you do it and the length of time you do it for. It takes at least months for the bones to set.
You won't feel good instantly but with time you will. Be gentle on yourself and do not turn your head. You are still healing