cervical C 6-7 fusion recovery

  Ill have my 3rd fusion done in 2 months... I have multi injury from auto accident 21 years ago..... After all the "dope" and depression meds... I moved to Cali... and started regular use of medical marijuana  ... I have tryed many other medications OPiats ect... I have not been addicted to any of them or have the damage done by them..... Good Luck!  ( PS smoking is notNOT the only way to use the herb)

As for the voice I did and do have some difficulty in speaking load or trying to sing now  my voice cracks...

 

I had C6/7 fusion w/ a plate two days ago. I woke up 11:20 Thursday, ate scrambled eggs and toast 90 minutes later, and washewd it down with a cup of coffee. I was walking around the floor and room by 2:45 - essentially 3 hours after waking up. I had a scratchy throat from the trach tube but nothing worth complaining about. The whole experience has been amazing, The site of the 2 inch incision has zero pain, I dont know how it's even possible. Oh, i walked 1/2 mile last night after eating a pizza with my daughter. Make sure you keep popping Colace...Six hours after waking up from surgery, my level of discomfort was about equal to the way I feel after taking a 5 hour road trip. A bit "out of my element" and sometimes sore, but no pain.

How are you doing so far? you had it in 2007 in that 5 years do you have any complaint? i am schedule to do surgery on august 21st C5-6 C6-7 and I am a little nervous about this surgery, some people has done it with no problem at all. even the first day they could eat any thing but other even years after still having problem from the surgery. I would like to have your comments. thank you

Hello Ozzie 444 I will have the same surgery that you had, same disc, I would like to know how are you doing so far? do you have any complaints? I am a little nervous about the surgery some people do very good after the surgery and others do not. I have heard people that the same day the eat like nothing happened, next day no pain at all. tell me your experience it will help me

Mo-USMC How are you doing 4 years after the surgery?

Hi, Cindy I am schedule for surgery on august 21 C5-6 and C6-7 I am a singer too, because I heard about people that have lost their voice even singers and they had not gotten back, some people they had no issues with their voice. I asked my surgeon about the lost of the voice because I am a singer too, and I really do not want to lose it. he said that I wont lose my voice because the vocal cord is not touch. How are you doing so far?

Hi, Eric its amazing the way you felt after the surgery because most of the people suffer a lot post the surgery; I am schedule to do it in august 21 and believe me I am scare even that I met a lady that did it 2 months ago and her it was like you, she said that next day was like nothing. I will have it with the same surgeon as her. I have read in this post people still suffering still years after the surgery. when I read about you it make me to feel better, so far how are you doing? tell me more about your post surgery. and thank you

nino2448 wrote:

Eric wrote:

I had C6/7 fusion w/ a plate two days ago. I woke up 11:20 Thursday, ate scrambled eggs and toast 90 minutes later, and washewd it down with a cup of coffee. I was walking around the floor and room by 2:45 - essentially 3 hours after waking up. I had a scratchy throat from the trach tube but nothing worth complaining about. The whole experience has been amazing, The site of the 2 inch incision has zero pain, I dont know how it's even possible. Oh, i walked 1/2 mile last night after eating a pizza with my daughter. Make sure you keep popping Colace...Six hours after waking up from surgery, my level of discomfort was about equal to the way I feel after taking a 5 hour road trip. A bit "out of my element" and sometimes sore, but no pain.

Hi, Eric its amazing the way you felt after the surgery because most of the people suffer a lot post the surgery; I am schedule to do it in august 21 and believe me I am scare even that I met a lady that did it 2 months ago and her it was like you, she said that next day was like nothing. I will have it with the same surgeon as her. I have read in this post people still suffering still years after the surgery. when I read about you it make me to feel better, so far how are you doing? tell me more about your post surgery. and thank you

I had my post op followup on July 13th - 8 days afteer surgery. I stopped wearing the collar during the day but I had to promise not to touch chin to chest. I was X rayed everything good. Neck incision is close to invisible, I wake up with a stiff neck in the morning buts it's fine before 1st cup of coffee. I've been in the office full time for a week. I drive a miata with no difficulty. Yesterday I spent 35 minutes on a stationary bike in the gym and did some tricept exercises. Sucks not having nicotene but other than that this is a piece of cake. I don't lift anything, I don't run, and I don't rise the bike - but all the other stuff is easy. What are you scared of? They'll give you an injection, you'll have the best buzz of your life, then you'll wake up with a moderate hangover and have good looking nurses come check on you every couple hours. It is NO BIG DEAL - I don't even take Tylenol anymore.

Sounds like your Doctors were not too good. Did they use an ENT specialist to open your neck? More than likely not. Go to a good ENT Doctor and have them look down your throat and make sure you are ok.

Switch pain meds to OXY contin 10 mg 1 time released tab a day, don't cut the pill. Try 2mg valium slit in two twice a day. You are in effect taking 1 MG to relax your back at noon and 1 MG at bedtime. In general all surgeon suck and if I told you my story I could write a book. They are in it for money only. Good luck and God bless you. Ricky

I had my cervical fusion 5 weeks ago, and I want to share my experience 3 hours post surgery I ate my dinner everything I did not have any discomfort but the next day I had sore throat and chest congestion but this was due to the tube that was introduced in my throat and I had a low fever after that my recuperation was very well I was eating normally and sleep normally; the chest congestion it will last 3 or 4 weeks; you will feel as if you got a bad flu but it will go away.I hope this experience may help somebody like it helped me some of this post.

Tell me how you feel now not 3 hours after surgery, please. I have no chest issue but pain in the spine is constant.

Are you all healed up and playing golf now. Give me an update on your neck surgery status. Drs want me to fuse c5/6 I'm a golfer and am 34.

I had cervical fusion surgery (C5-7) just over 2 weeks ago, and I was up the same day, out of the hospital the next day, and have returned to normal life for the most part.  Reading these posts make me understand why my leave from work is 6 weeks though.  I have no trouble at all with my voice, but I DO have trouble with swallowing.  I used to take a whole hand full of vitamins and such every day, all at once, but now if a pill isn't coated, it gets stuck in the back of my throat no matter how small.  Capsules and coated pills, no problem, and food not problem at all (I could wish, since I could stand to lose a few pounds). 

I didn't hurt at all after surgery, though there was maybe less than a week I had some muscle spasms between my shoulder blades.  This was obviously expected since the neurosurgeon gave me muscle relaxant (methocarbamol) for that problem.  I have been out walking almost 2 miles a day, and the only thing I notice that bothers me is stop and go driving, and even then only in some cars.  

I guess it looks like I've turned out lucky, but I figured I would post so folks out there would know it isn't all bad.  

I do still have some numbness in my fingers, but nowhere near as bad as what caused me to go for the surgery in the first place.  I can hold onto my sheets to fold them, and I can cut vegetables for cooking.  More important, I think I can do the fine motor stuff at work I need to do.

I notice I can't lean my head as far to one side as I once could, but the all other range of motion appears to be returning to normal, to the extent I'm willing to push.  I am trying to follow the limitations, but since nothing hurts, it is difficult (I don't sit around well).  I have done gentle (hatha) yoga for a low back problem for a couple of years now, and am trying to work my way back into that since I still have that problem. 

Good luck to the rest of you.  I can't believe how lucky it sounds like I've been!

 

Thank you for this encouraging post. I am an active 50 year old female that rides horseback and still competes - I am hoping to go back and compete after recovering from surgery. My surgery is scheduled at the end of May 2013. Did you do anything special to get ready for surgery?

Thank you - there is hope :) The stories of some make it really scarey.