I had cervical disk fusion C3/C4 with cadaver bone and steel plate in Jan 2003. Surgery went fine (Neurosurgeon) and I was off work about 4 weeks (semi-soft collar) and light duty for 4 more weeks (soft collar). I have recently begun to feel some arm pain similar (but not nearly as severe) to the pain I experienced before the surgery. PT helped initially, but I haven't done much since. Light exercising and stretching seems to help. Swimming and other water conditioning has also strengthened the supporting muscles and I feel better. There IS pain most of the time, with some headaches--but not severe. I take Celebrex occasionally for days that I overdo it. Warm baths, showers, and aroma therapy heating pads (warmed up in the microwave) work wonders when I hurt or after a workout. I have decided to endure the pain without further surgery as long as I can. It has been over 4 years now. Pain was so bad before the surgery, I couldn't have lasted 4 days. I hope this helps. :)
:D [i had to reply to someone on this board so i will reply to this one and hopefulley anyone reading will be able to be helped as i was
:D now the good news 3 weeks ago i was sent in for facet injections a material is actually put into the joint and cushions the bone on bone condition have been off work since sept of 2006. 3 weeks out has been a 80 -90% improvement have another treatment on the 20th of june and going back to factory work july 3rd.
:D people question your doctors on this the neorologist actually snet me to get it done so i would start there " I HAVE MY LIFE BACK" if you would like to talk to me through email you can do that at *****
i just want to see this information get out there i have read these boards all over and never hear of this as an option hope i can help
jim.
in response to:
from moderate to severe. I had 10 wks PT, wore soft collar for comfort.
Had MRI, neck xrays, my surgeon said it looks good, nothing there to explain
this pain. He sent me back to my pain intervention doctor, now Im having
trigger point injections in my neck/shoulder, back on Hydrocodone and
Cymbalta for pain and depression. My surgery was 9-5-06,I can't work,
limiting on driving or doing any tasks at all, I had to retire from my job
and applied for disability in Jan 07. I need a cane to get around and most the
time I sleep, it sucks. I now wish I didnt have the surgery, but I had no choice, I had spinal stenosis and serious problems coming to a head. It
was have surgery or be in a wheelchair or worse. So I know how you all' feel. So keep in touch if anyone has a solution
Mary
**edited by moderator**emails not allowed**
:D now the good news 3 weeks ago i was sent in for facet injections a material is actually put into the joint and cushions the bone on bone condition have been off work since sept of 2006. 3 weeks out has been a 80 -90% improvement have another treatment on the 20th of june and going back to factory work july 3rd.
:D people question your doctors on this the neorologist actually snet me to get it done so i would start there " I HAVE MY LIFE BACK" if you would like to talk to me through email you can do that at *****
i just want to see this information get out there i have read these boards all over and never hear of this as an option hope i can help
jim.
in response to:
from moderate to severe. I had 10 wks PT, wore soft collar for comfort.
Had MRI, neck xrays, my surgeon said it looks good, nothing there to explain
this pain. He sent me back to my pain intervention doctor, now Im having
trigger point injections in my neck/shoulder, back on Hydrocodone and
Cymbalta for pain and depression. My surgery was 9-5-06,I can't work,
limiting on driving or doing any tasks at all, I had to retire from my job
and applied for disability in Jan 07. I need a cane to get around and most the
time I sleep, it sucks. I now wish I didnt have the surgery, but I had no choice, I had spinal stenosis and serious problems coming to a head. It
was have surgery or be in a wheelchair or worse. So I know how you all' feel. So keep in touch if anyone has a solution
Mary
**edited by moderator**emails not allowed**
I am glad to have found this website and realize i am not alone.
I have been off work since February 06 with right arm pain, numbness, tingling and major pain. I was in bed for many months, taking 12 percocets and a morphine patch to get through the days and the pain. Then finally i got a mri, and was referred to a neurosurgen :O He found that i had two pinched nerves on my right side of my neck, and i decided after a few months to have the surgery.
In February of this year, i had the surgery with a bone graph also taken from my right hip, boy oh boy, that is more painful than the actual surgery %-) I went to the neurosurgeon for a check up and felt really pretty good at 6 weeks, and then started to do more at home, and now at 4 months, post op, i am having more pain in my neck and having camping in my thumb and first two fingers. I am on a waiting list for physio and would like any suggestions to getting the pain under control again, without any medication, if possible.
I do think these pinched nerves are from falling down our stairs at home about 2 years prior to my pain.
Thanks for anybodies suggestions...
I have been off work since February 06 with right arm pain, numbness, tingling and major pain. I was in bed for many months, taking 12 percocets and a morphine patch to get through the days and the pain. Then finally i got a mri, and was referred to a neurosurgen :O He found that i had two pinched nerves on my right side of my neck, and i decided after a few months to have the surgery.
In February of this year, i had the surgery with a bone graph also taken from my right hip, boy oh boy, that is more painful than the actual surgery %-) I went to the neurosurgeon for a check up and felt really pretty good at 6 weeks, and then started to do more at home, and now at 4 months, post op, i am having more pain in my neck and having camping in my thumb and first two fingers. I am on a waiting list for physio and would like any suggestions to getting the pain under control again, without any medication, if possible.
I do think these pinched nerves are from falling down our stairs at home about 2 years prior to my pain.
Thanks for anybodies suggestions...
History First:
I was fused (anterior approach) at the C6-7 level in '04. I had the disk removed, they used Cadaver bone in the disk space and a did a massive laminectomy to alleviate nerve (radiating) pain, numbness and loss of motor control in my hands. They fused me with a basic 4 screw Titanium plate.
In '06 I had my lumbar L3 - S1 fusion (posterior approach...ouch! Lots of tissue 'damage' for that one but less arterial risks and less gastric side effects) , massive laminectomies, all discs removed, and P.E.E.K. inter-body cages installed in the disc spaces. They installed massive rods and screws of the titanium S4 SRI system type to stabilize things.
In the first week of October of this year my MD, the same spinal Orthopeadic specialist, used an anterior approach again and removed the C5-6 disk, and the C6-7 plate he installed before (it was no longer needed as the union was 'solid'), and installed the new stainless steel Prestige cervical disk at C5-6. (This artificial disk was NOT covered by my insurance! Though FDA approved it is not yet 'insurance approved'. We are talking about appx. $20,000 just for the hardware!
State of Existence Now:
With the last surgery I am free of most restrictions such as hard collar wear, driving restrictions etc. unlike the first fusion surgery which saw me in a Miami-J hard collar for 6 weeks day and night (NO exceptions except for wearing a plastic collar in the shower!). I still have a bit of arm pain but not like pre-surgery. I am a 46 year old female go-getter, probably an Alpha type, and I have not slowed down too much and do feel a bit of wear and tear by the end of the day probably due to over exertion.
Even after the Lumbar stabilization surgery I still have some leg pain and numbness but I have an utter and complete feeling of 'stability'...so much so that within a year of surgery I was riding my mountain bike 16 miles a day, and/ or walking 6-8 miles a day, playing tennis, shooting hoops, playing catch with my kids... The reason for my leg pain and numbness is that I waited so long to have surgery and the bone spurs had done significant damage to my peripheral nerves. In fact they said that it could take up to 2 years BEFORE that pain goes away completely because it may take that long for the nerve damage to heal.
MY Opinion:
I think the quality, training and experiences of your surgeon as well as their personal 'approach' to surgery makes a HUGE difference! I like Orthopeadic surgeons as opposed to neurosurgeons..but that's just me. I saw little to no benefit from surgery alternatives but know that my state of mind and desire to get up and get healthy again 'despite' surgery has really helped me tremendously. It's easy to get in a rut when you are in pain but sometimes we are the best medicine to alleviate that... Sometimes it takes suffering some pain to rid ourselves of it. I even lost 50 pounds to 'lighten my load' after surgery. I KNOW that Prolotherapy, in the hands of a very experienced and highly qualified a licensed D.O. (not a chiropractor!) has helped me to stabilize as well. This therapy allows your own body to regenerate the ligaments that hold your body together. I am not fond of going to Physical Therapy but I did go after surgery and they taught me how to help myself. Not only what I could not do but what I can and HOW to do it. I have worked really hard to get my soft tissues in shape so as to alleviate stress on my spine. I will probably never get all the feeling back in my legs or be pain free but I am just SO happy to be able to get out of bed and live my life and be a good mom to my kids that I can live with the pain. It will probably only be a matter of time before I have more surgery since I suffer from Deg. Disc disease but I am gonna make the best of my time while I can. If you have questions hammer your doctor with them... be sure you want THIS person to do the surgery even if the surgery is what's best for you. Talk to the patients he/she has seen and see how well they have done. Talk to other people and see what they have had done (discetomy, fusion, art. disks, cages vs bone grafts etc).
We don't all need the same surgery and we don't all have the same experiences after surgery because of the many, many variations and approaches that are available in this field of medicine. IF possible shop around before you have someone cut on you... if they insist on surgery without trying something different first and it is not a matter of 'life or death' or extreme quality of life, or they get offended because you want a 2nd opinion i.m.o. you need to scrutinize what they are telling you. It is YOUR body, it is YOUR right to ask questions first AND afterwards!
Installing hardware in your back/neck or removing bad parts is not the end all solution... it is a new starting point and what happens afterwards is quite often in YOUR hands. Healing, especially of damaged nerves, will go on for sometime even years after surgery.... keep that in mind as well.
Good Luck!
Silver
I was fused (anterior approach) at the C6-7 level in '04. I had the disk removed, they used Cadaver bone in the disk space and a did a massive laminectomy to alleviate nerve (radiating) pain, numbness and loss of motor control in my hands. They fused me with a basic 4 screw Titanium plate.
In '06 I had my lumbar L3 - S1 fusion (posterior approach...ouch! Lots of tissue 'damage' for that one but less arterial risks and less gastric side effects) , massive laminectomies, all discs removed, and P.E.E.K. inter-body cages installed in the disc spaces. They installed massive rods and screws of the titanium S4 SRI system type to stabilize things.
In the first week of October of this year my MD, the same spinal Orthopeadic specialist, used an anterior approach again and removed the C5-6 disk, and the C6-7 plate he installed before (it was no longer needed as the union was 'solid'), and installed the new stainless steel Prestige cervical disk at C5-6. (This artificial disk was NOT covered by my insurance! Though FDA approved it is not yet 'insurance approved'. We are talking about appx. $20,000 just for the hardware!
State of Existence Now:
With the last surgery I am free of most restrictions such as hard collar wear, driving restrictions etc. unlike the first fusion surgery which saw me in a Miami-J hard collar for 6 weeks day and night (NO exceptions except for wearing a plastic collar in the shower!). I still have a bit of arm pain but not like pre-surgery. I am a 46 year old female go-getter, probably an Alpha type, and I have not slowed down too much and do feel a bit of wear and tear by the end of the day probably due to over exertion.
Even after the Lumbar stabilization surgery I still have some leg pain and numbness but I have an utter and complete feeling of 'stability'...so much so that within a year of surgery I was riding my mountain bike 16 miles a day, and/ or walking 6-8 miles a day, playing tennis, shooting hoops, playing catch with my kids... The reason for my leg pain and numbness is that I waited so long to have surgery and the bone spurs had done significant damage to my peripheral nerves. In fact they said that it could take up to 2 years BEFORE that pain goes away completely because it may take that long for the nerve damage to heal.
MY Opinion:
I think the quality, training and experiences of your surgeon as well as their personal 'approach' to surgery makes a HUGE difference! I like Orthopeadic surgeons as opposed to neurosurgeons..but that's just me. I saw little to no benefit from surgery alternatives but know that my state of mind and desire to get up and get healthy again 'despite' surgery has really helped me tremendously. It's easy to get in a rut when you are in pain but sometimes we are the best medicine to alleviate that... Sometimes it takes suffering some pain to rid ourselves of it. I even lost 50 pounds to 'lighten my load' after surgery. I KNOW that Prolotherapy, in the hands of a very experienced and highly qualified a licensed D.O. (not a chiropractor!) has helped me to stabilize as well. This therapy allows your own body to regenerate the ligaments that hold your body together. I am not fond of going to Physical Therapy but I did go after surgery and they taught me how to help myself. Not only what I could not do but what I can and HOW to do it. I have worked really hard to get my soft tissues in shape so as to alleviate stress on my spine. I will probably never get all the feeling back in my legs or be pain free but I am just SO happy to be able to get out of bed and live my life and be a good mom to my kids that I can live with the pain. It will probably only be a matter of time before I have more surgery since I suffer from Deg. Disc disease but I am gonna make the best of my time while I can. If you have questions hammer your doctor with them... be sure you want THIS person to do the surgery even if the surgery is what's best for you. Talk to the patients he/she has seen and see how well they have done. Talk to other people and see what they have had done (discetomy, fusion, art. disks, cages vs bone grafts etc).
We don't all need the same surgery and we don't all have the same experiences after surgery because of the many, many variations and approaches that are available in this field of medicine. IF possible shop around before you have someone cut on you... if they insist on surgery without trying something different first and it is not a matter of 'life or death' or extreme quality of life, or they get offended because you want a 2nd opinion i.m.o. you need to scrutinize what they are telling you. It is YOUR body, it is YOUR right to ask questions first AND afterwards!
Installing hardware in your back/neck or removing bad parts is not the end all solution... it is a new starting point and what happens afterwards is quite often in YOUR hands. Healing, especially of damaged nerves, will go on for sometime even years after surgery.... keep that in mind as well.
Good Luck!
Silver
I had the same surgery as you have all described (cervical decompression), pain in right before w/numbness, now have worse nerve pain, numbness in all fingertips/shoulder and arm pain severe, neurosurgeon says he does not know why/taking lyrica and cymbalta with no success......
i had cervical fusion with a metal plate in dec 07. No pain since then not even the day of surgery. was a wonderfix--would have it again in a heartbeat....would recommend it to anyone
I had cervical fusion C5-6, 6-7 in October 2007 and had consistent pain in my left shoulder arm which never quit. I went to physical therapy to get my neck moving again after surgery and am now back in therapy for my left shoulder because I have trouble getting my arm behind my back and have pain all the time and have occasional pain in my right arm. It all started with a frozen right shoulder, which was fixed in therapy before. I have numbness and tingling in my head, neck and pain in my left arm which won't go away and my orthopedist thinks I have tendonitis in my rotator cuff and bicep. I also feel something when I swallow, which the nurse says is scar tissue. The MD won't give me anything for pain.
I had a cervical disk fusion with disk removal on c5-c6 surgery in June o7, after a fall at work. Since the surgery I have been in pain just like before I ever had the surgery. I have had a new MRI and a EMG study done. The MRI shows that I now have a buldging disc at C4, and bone spurs on the bone graft. The EMG came back ok, didn't show any sign of nerve damage. I have been to PT more than one set of sessions no relief. I am under the Texas workers comp which sucks...They think I am making up the pain. I feel like someone is sticking a knife in my left shoulder blade. I also have numbness and tingling in my left hand. My neck always has this achy pain in it. When I yawn or stretch my neck it is very painful. I am glad to know that I am not crazy, by myself...the pain is real. I am wondering am I going to have to go through the surgery again for the buldging disk?
I had anterior cervical fusion 2 weeks ago for c5-c6 & c6-c7..with titanium cage..I am usiing soft collar still, although doctor told me to remove 1 week before. But Ihad pain everywhere after I have removed .so I continue to use.
I have pain in my triceps, shoulder and forearm time to time.
Collar helps to have the muscles relaxed.so first you have to get over this spasm..because when you have pain ,muscles have spasm and pain increases and more spasm so on...so
first of all, muscle relaxant should be used time to time I guess.
I hope I am still in the healing process of nerves and bones which wouldnt take more than 2 months hopefully.
But I am disappointed with such kind of a post operation ..although Doctors offer 95% succes in long term in neck surgeries generally.
I also have c3-c4 c4-c5 hernia.but not so bad.since c6,c7 has not such movement and lost its all ability already, I hope making them fused dont change the stress on c4-c5 and make them go worse. The main question is , when we have pain, if we are able to cope and get the muscles relaxed, by bending the neck left and right slowly pain can go.(as before)But is it correct to do it???
I have pain in my triceps, shoulder and forearm time to time.
Collar helps to have the muscles relaxed.so first you have to get over this spasm..because when you have pain ,muscles have spasm and pain increases and more spasm so on...so
first of all, muscle relaxant should be used time to time I guess.
I hope I am still in the healing process of nerves and bones which wouldnt take more than 2 months hopefully.
But I am disappointed with such kind of a post operation ..although Doctors offer 95% succes in long term in neck surgeries generally.
I also have c3-c4 c4-c5 hernia.but not so bad.since c6,c7 has not such movement and lost its all ability already, I hope making them fused dont change the stress on c4-c5 and make them go worse. The main question is , when we have pain, if we are able to cope and get the muscles relaxed, by bending the neck left and right slowly pain can go.(as before)But is it correct to do it???
I would like to wish everyone luck on any spinal surgeries. I have had 3, C5,6,7. With the plates and fusions. Now one fusion has buckled from a recent fall. I have chronic pain as well especially when I try to sleep. I have had 3 surgies awake to remove scar tissue. But I will take the pain over being paralyzed any day. Especially from the neck down. I have 2 family members who are paraplegics. God bless to all and I wish our bodies did respond the same, then we could have an answer for everyone. o.O
:'( I had my surgery one and a half years ago. I have been thru mri's, xrays due to terrible pain of neck and down my left shoulder. I have neck pain on a daily basis. I am a nurse and i pass medications so i constantly have my head looking down on a med cart. My neck is flexed constantly and being a nurse the hours can get long. The xray showed my fusions have healed nicely and my mri showed everything looks good but i do have some degenerative disc disease starting in c2-3. I also have pain in my thoracic spine now about the level of 4-5/ I am at a lose. My neuro surgeon states it is neuropathy and put me on lyrica which has done nothing for me. Now he wants me to see a neurologist. I honestly think people think i am crazy. At times i cannot work due to the pain. Would a fmla be helpfull? I do not call off often but at times i do have to. Is there any other options for me? CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP....
hi all,, look i think having the surgery is the best thing,even tho we are all in some server pain it has to get better,,well im hoping for all of us,i had c5/6 c6/7,2 disc titanium plate 6screws done on 19th may 2008, nerve was pinched in 2 spots.the only pain i don't have is the deep throbbing aching pain down my left arm but all the other pain i still have sometimes recurring deep pain in both arms comes and goes,. getting deep tissue massage on my neck ,shoulders, shoulder blades, outer arm,damn it hurts to,,still weak,get tired heaps,cant do anything of much at all ,,but hey we still here and alive, going to start counseling next month ,still on my meds tremol 300mg daily and mersndole forte for break threw pain,anyway at least we all have people on here we can talk to ,,that does help,Debbie 8-|
In November of 2006, I had a four level anterior approach cervical fusion with titanium as a result of bulging or herniated discs compressing my spinal cord. Oddly, I had very little pain, but a lot of disorientation and, silly as it sounds, numbness and tingling in my HEAD. The neurologist wasn't even sure the symptoms would go away, but said if I fell or was in a car accident, I'd be a quadriplegic, so no question on the surgery options.
We actually discovered the neck problems because I was seeing a(nother) neurologist (about the fourth or fifth) for chronic daily headaches. She ordered a head and neck MRI to RULE OUT neck trouble. Hah.
So I had the surgery; I sat on my ever growing butt for two months and had to wear the hard collar for three months. No one tells you that the worst part is that they move your esophagus to Saturn and it takes months for it to move back, though that may be a function of the fact that he was in there for four and a half hours.
PT, blah blah, and my neck was fine, though it didn't help and actually made the headaches worse (so the head numbness did go away, dammit). So the first neuro sent me to a pain doctor, who did radiographic thermocoagulation on the facets as a headache treatment. No stunning improvement. He left town, and I was referred to another pain specialist, who wanted to combine PT with Botox in my neck muscles. First visit to PT, she says "If the pain doctor gives you Botox in every muscle you need it in, you won't be able to hold your head up.
Botox last Monday, no real change.
Here's the problem. About three or four weeks PRIOR to the PT and the Botox, I started having tingling and numbness in my hands and arms (bilaterally) and pain to go with. My first thought: I've ruptured C2-C3 or C7-T1, or ..... wait for it...... I've got a screw loose. And I truly thought that was the worst thing that could happen and I'd have to go back to surgery. Little did I know.
Yesterday, one of my clients came by whom I hadn't seen in a while who has had multiple lumbar fusions and a single cervical fusion. About the same time my symptoms started, so did his. So he had an x-ray. The VERTEBRA above and below his fusion are CRACKED from where the screw ends all the way to the posterior side of the bones.
He has no idea how they're going to fix it, and sorry as I am for him, now I'm scared to death for ME, too! I can't get on the MRI schedule til 3 Oct owing to the fact that I have to have general anesthesia to go in there. Exceptionally bad first experience.
Does anyone have any experience with recurring symptoms after this long, and what did it turn out to be?
We actually discovered the neck problems because I was seeing a(nother) neurologist (about the fourth or fifth) for chronic daily headaches. She ordered a head and neck MRI to RULE OUT neck trouble. Hah.
So I had the surgery; I sat on my ever growing butt for two months and had to wear the hard collar for three months. No one tells you that the worst part is that they move your esophagus to Saturn and it takes months for it to move back, though that may be a function of the fact that he was in there for four and a half hours.
PT, blah blah, and my neck was fine, though it didn't help and actually made the headaches worse (so the head numbness did go away, dammit). So the first neuro sent me to a pain doctor, who did radiographic thermocoagulation on the facets as a headache treatment. No stunning improvement. He left town, and I was referred to another pain specialist, who wanted to combine PT with Botox in my neck muscles. First visit to PT, she says "If the pain doctor gives you Botox in every muscle you need it in, you won't be able to hold your head up.
Botox last Monday, no real change.
Here's the problem. About three or four weeks PRIOR to the PT and the Botox, I started having tingling and numbness in my hands and arms (bilaterally) and pain to go with. My first thought: I've ruptured C2-C3 or C7-T1, or ..... wait for it...... I've got a screw loose. And I truly thought that was the worst thing that could happen and I'd have to go back to surgery. Little did I know.
Yesterday, one of my clients came by whom I hadn't seen in a while who has had multiple lumbar fusions and a single cervical fusion. About the same time my symptoms started, so did his. So he had an x-ray. The VERTEBRA above and below his fusion are CRACKED from where the screw ends all the way to the posterior side of the bones.
He has no idea how they're going to fix it, and sorry as I am for him, now I'm scared to death for ME, too! I can't get on the MRI schedule til 3 Oct owing to the fact that I have to have general anesthesia to go in there. Exceptionally bad first experience.
Does anyone have any experience with recurring symptoms after this long, and what did it turn out to be?
I had a c5-c7 anterior fusion in January of 08. After the surgery I was instructed to wear a philly collar which I totally disregarded. The reason I had the surgery was because I was having very rapid atrophy of my upper extremities; mostly right sided. I am now 8 months in recovery and I am having more pain in my neck but on different levels. I have herniations which are still in my neck at c1-c5 and c7-t1 that I know of. I have not had further MRI's but my EMG's show acute and chronic denervation in my back which I didnt have prior to the surgery. I am 28 years of age and I was born with a asymeterical growth of the dura at c5-c6 and I had multiple fractions of my cervical vertabreas from trauma and intense physical labor. I am going to be undergoing further surgeries to add stability to my spine. Just know this, when you have a fusion other levels are affected because your spine is being forced to grow a different direction. I am not a doctor but someone talking from personal experience. If you want to talk more post or email me and I can give you better details which I most likely left out of this post. ******
**edited by moderator**emails not allowed**
**edited by moderator**emails not allowed**
hi all debbie here, its been 4months now since my c5/6 c6/7 acdf, an im still in pain quiet server somedays scale 8/9/ and other days 4/5 headaches amr aches shoulders blades,thoracic,you cant seem to escape the pain nomatter what you do ,im getting so peed off with it all,i hate goin to bed in pain and finally sleep then wake up to pain,what a great way to live,im just glad to know im not the only one with this pain and im not imaging it anyway talk soon ****
**edited by moderator**emails not allowed**
**edited by moderator**emails not allowed**