Cervical Spine Success stories?

Mindscapes! Thanks for your reply. My husband is hoping to return to work 11 days after a 3 level fusion. Do you think he is being way too optimistic? He is a desk jockey (real estate exec), but is up and about frequently. Jesus, this is scary!

In theory, he can return to work on light duty after two business weeks out, keep a few things in mind: Where are the 3 levels, he won't be driving the 2nd week. The 3rd week, I would recommend only 1 lane if his doc approves, two way roads. Why? Any two lane highways make it darn near impossible to turn your head into the blind spot to cut over lanes. The quality of the doc is important, too. A perfect NS is the difference between a happy post like mine, or thousands of horrible ones out there. Is he getting a cage, or straight fusion with plate alone? Cage is actually a stabilizer that goes between the vertabrae. I have cages and two titanium plates that inter-twine for stability. If he's getting his hip scraped for bone, he will be out longer and have a ton more pain according to the masses. I feel poor NS's use hip bone, most world-class NS's never use hip bone and even state in abstrats and clinicals that hip bone causes more harm than good because it takes longer to heal your hip than you neck in many cases. They typically scrape your disks, mix in grinded and remolded cadaver bone (non-rejective), vertebrae and use BMP, Bone Morph Proteins with your own blood. You also need to check what BMPs (2 or 4) they use if they do, some are considered deadly and some dumb docs still use them against the FDA advice because they cause severe swelling in the throat. BMPs basically cause your mashed up bone and cadaver bone to mold 10s of times faster into your vertebrae to fuse faster and more naturally. You have to factor in his age, does he smoke? Smoking prolongs healing horribly. Use the breathing device they give you when you leave to work his lungs out, some people stop that and get infections in their lungs. I oddly work with allografts and bone regeneration on the side and have worked for years with studies, the funny part is you have no clue how tough this surgery is unless you go through it yourself. If he's a tough guy and does what he's supposed to, he should be back at the desk within a few weeks. Hope that helps, sorry to throw a lot at you, but there's a lot of factors!

Thanks for your input. I am having bone grafts and plates at C4-5 C5-6 and C6-7 The doc will be using cadaver bone and I have not heard of anyone scraping the hip anymore.

Dear Been_there, I'm 11 weeks post surgery; fused c4,,5,6,and 7 with 4/5, 5/6 and 6/7 dischectomies. I was left leg non-functional with left arm pain and severe left hand pain. I also had flashing burn on my left side, left thigh, and left foot. My spinal chord had been "squashed" for a few years. Initial symptoms were simple, my left foot began rotating inward when I walked. In 2 years, this progressed to where I could not lift my left leg off the floor or raise my toes. My balance was compromised to where I needed a walker. My bowel function was out of control. I was nearly painless for the first 2 weeks post surgery. I began a mild yoga stretching and walking routine. Out of the blue, pain in my left hip appeared and increased in intensity to the point of needing medication. The only time it shows is when walking or just standing; sitting or lying down are painless. MRI and xray of lumbar spine indicate no physical reason for the pain. Opinion is that the spinal chord and sciatic nerve are "awakening", thus transmitting false signals of pain. I seem to notice differences in what I feel every few days. I do know that my bowel control is returning. I am hopeful the hip pain subsides; if it does I would rate my procedure a success. I would love to walk my dog again. The doctor told me that the surgery was not to make me better, but to keep me from getting worse. So far, I believe I'm getting better.

9 days post. op. Out of the hard collar and into the soft one. Feeling very little pain now and expect zero pain in the near future with almost normal neck turning ability. C/5 to C/7 disc removal/ fusion. Why did I wait so long? The longer you let it affect the nerve the longer your recovery. Mine had just started moving into my right bicept when I had it done.

Try a herb from Thailand called Kratom It helps with pain and also helps with opiate withdrawals. I crushed my C4 in 2007 12 months later it was not fusing back on it's own so I opted for C4 and C5 Anterior fusion. Almost 6 years later and I have no pain, limbs to go numb and tingly quickly. Also when I take a normal size bite of food I have to chew it longer or it gets stuck.

Hi everyone, like you i am glad to have found this thread. My dad was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis and with Myelopathy and radiculopathy and a doctor from the Orthopedic and Trauma unit did an operation on him last month (on the 7/14/2013).  It was an anterior spinal fusion approach with an implant, and he said it was to “decompress the nerves.”  (The findings from the MRI showed severe cervical stenosis.  The operating doctor said it was so severe that he had to do operation instead of taking the wait and see approach. Looks like the damage has been done for at least 5 years.)

  Right now, my dad has to wear a Philadelphia neck and body brace (back and front piece), and will have a follow up appointment about one month from now ( 2 months post surgery) to go for an X-ray scan. His gait seems to get better, and incontinence seems to have disappeared. What worries me however is that his physical conditions do not seem to improve, and most of the symptoms that existed pre-surgery still persist till this day.  For example, he is lethargic, dizzy, and still having mild insomnia and the heat sensation down his calves during afternoons (even more feverish than post-surgery). 

Right now, he is taking

1) Methycobal tablet 500mg, *3/day

2) Frisium tablet 10mg, *1/day @night

3) Revicon forte tablet, *1/day @morning

It is to note that before the surgery, he took Remeron Soltab 15Mg, *1/day and Rivotril Tablet 2Mg, *1/day, prescribed by a psychological doctor, because we thought he had depression.  He stopped taking these two medicine after the surgery.

 

I would appreciate it if you could give me some advice.

1) Is it it’s normal that his conditions do not get better, or actually, get worse post-surgery? The doctor said it takes time for the nerves to recover, and some of the replies above said the pain is due to the awakening of the nerves, but I couldn’t help to get skeptical since my father is in a lot of pain and distres during this "recovery phrase." So, should i be worried?

2) I think the fact that he has to wear the body brace together with the neck brace has in some way made him feel tired. Do you know if it's necessary to wear the body brace actually?3) He has some atrophy in his muscles and complains of backbone pain sometimes. Do you recommend that he takes some calcium supplements? What are the supplements that you would suggest?

 

Once again, thank you everyone for your help, and i wish you all good luck with your recovery. God bless!

I am happy to see success in in Bassplayer's surgery. I too have had cervical spine surgery with C2 and C5 replaced with Titanium cages and 2 rods and 8 screws. This gave me a new life and strength with BIG thanks to Dr. Mark Levy, Neurosurgeon in Fresno, Ca! I am a professional trumpeter and Music Director with Princess Cruises. I can do everything a normal person does including Ice Skating, riding rollercoasters...weeee!!! Thanks to great doctors I am SUPER and GREAT! Aloha, Darrel M.

I am happy to see success in in Bassplayer's surgery. I too have had cervical spine surgery with C2 and C5 replaced with Titanium cages and 2 rods and 8 screws. This gave me a new life and strength with BIG thanks to Dr. Mark Levy, Neurosurgeon in Fresno, Ca! I am a professional trumpeter and Music Director with Princess Cruises. I can do everything a normal person does including Ice Skating, riding rollercoasters...weeee!!! Thanks to great doctors I am SUPER and GREAT! Aloha, Darrel M.

Hi Suzanne....i think your comments related to myself more than others i have read. i had my surgery 3yrs ago, i got the titanium cage and bullet....my stamina and strength sadly has not returned, i am constantly tired as sleep is difficult because of not being able to lie properly and my neck always seems to bend back while i do sleep....i also feel worse and have more pain the more i do, especially if my head has to be down for reading and writing purposes, which result in the most god awful headaches which are also very frequent...like you my eyesight has been at times affected and am currently w8ing on tests as this may be MS which you may be aware can mimic myleopathy symptoms. also i know my symptoms are slowly getting worse, very limited dexterity in left hand, thankfully i am right handed, also i notice that my legs are getting heavy again and muscle spasms although not sore are uncomfortable. i tried therapy and found it just caused pain and stopped attending after a few months as it just was not helping, everyone is different though......thank you for your post as i felt a bit alone in this x

Hello All,  I had a ACDF on Dec 27, 2012.  I had a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, bone spurs, etc... My disc was herniated at C5/C6.  I stayed one night in the hospital and was out of work for 5 weeks.  I had a titanium plate, donor bone, a screws put in place.  I have to say this was the best decision I have made.  It is a year later and I am 110% pain free!!!!  I had the best neurosurgeon (which I recommend vs. an orthopedic surgeon).  I have no regret and would do it all over again if I had to.

Hello All,

First i want to say a deeply thank you to all of you who have shared your stories and knowledge.   Before my surgery I was nervous and unsure what to expect. Going thru these stories it gave me some insight to these questions and emotions, and courage to go ahead and take the plunge (surgery).  Thank you for taking the time and sharing. It helped.  

In Halloween 2013 I was diagnosed with severe damage on my C4-C5; also damage to C5-C6, C6-C7.  I was not particularly surprised because I was told 7 years before that, that if I did not take care of it I would become a quadriplegic given my life style.  Being in my early 40's I took the neurologist advice seriously, but with a grain of salt. After all, I had been hang gliding, kayaking, mountain biking, dirt biking, skiing, snowboarding... and as my brother says, "Touching the bulls balls".  So when I was re-diagnosed in 2013 I got scared. This time I had numbness and symptoms from a bad fall, and the symptoms were not getting better.  I had pain, numbness, and tingling radiating from my shoulders down to the back of my arms, radiating to the tips of my fingers.  It varied according to activity. My concern was permanent damage. But for the most part I was pain free (although I suspect I developed a high tolerance to pain). Also, the other thing I had was neck instability and pain when turning my head side to side or up and down. 

After really looking into the available specialists in the area, in December 18th I went in for a C4 - C7 discectomy with a Neurosurgeon (not an orthopedist – although highly recommended by another doctor).  My doctor used donor bone (thank you) and ground some of the cartilage and spurs into it to improve the fusion.  He finished by placing the frontal interlocking titanium plates between C4 thru C7.   The operation took about 4:20 minutes and they kept me overnight to be sure no issues came up.  When I work from surgery i was spacey, but was able to walk to the bathroom after 2 hrs. being awake. My first surprise was the immediate relief I felt - no numbness or weird tingling/nerve signals. Also, my neck felt "stable". 

The initial recovery symptoms included the dreaded chocking sensation.  It felt like someone was chocking me all the time; sometimes triggering a gag reflex. This lasted from max intensity to the point of ignoring it - 3 months.  The first month was a PITA, but it gets better.  You can take steroids to reduce the swelling, but it will go away - be patient. Also, the neck muscles get way tweaked.  Someone mentioned to me that they would have recommended going Rolfing before the surgery to prepare your body for the abuse.  I had a soft neck-upper body massage at home 4 days after surgery and it really-really helped with the neck tightness.

I stayed on pain killers for only 3 days. After that I used mostly Tylenol and the muscle relaxants they provided.  I was recommended walking 1 block per week of healing. Living in the mountains, I started that way, but after 1 week, i was walking about 1 mile per day in the back yard snow covered single track; I kept that up for the next 3 weeks. That is one of the best things you can do, go for a walk - helps blood flow, keeps your spirits up = healing!!  I also stated using a bone growth stimulator; still using it; although I’m not sure how well it works.   After 2 weeks I re-visited my doc and he said everything looked good but to shorten the walks - right... 

After a month from surgery my wife fell and broke her hip.  Guess what, I'm on point now; take care of the wife, kids, drive, shop food, wash, dry, fold, sweep, mop - you know the drill.  Lift only 10lbs..sure.  The biggest indicator was my fatigue and tension on my neck. i could tell if I was overdoing it when my neck muscles were complaining - thank god for those muscle relaxants.   Oh, and BTW, I started going to work after 3 weeks (trying to catch up after missing 3 weeks - supposedly "part time").

My next and final doctor visit was 3 months from surgery - last Mach 18th.  This was one weird doc visit; somewhat unsatisfactory.  First they re-took more x-rays to check the fusion and said it looked fine and progressing normal (what does that mean?) but then, when I asked what I could or not do they were very aloof. They said I could go to PT and increase my weight lifting capabilities to 20/25 lbs, so I told them my wife's story and just brushed it off saying that my x-rays looked good; lucky me - even though I been really pushing it.  So as I am walking out of the office I asked when is my next visit to verify the fusion is complete.  That's it they said. You are done.   What no more x-rays 6 months later to see if it really is fussed? Nope, unless you have an issue, then call us.  Hmm. 

How do I go about progressing what activities I can do? Does if fall to my PT person? I do not think so. I will ask another orthopedist their opinion.  So far, I am doing well and continue with the bone growth stimulator and walks when I can.  The biggest hit has been mentally/emotionally.  I am used to being active and this operation has definitely put a slow down on my/family life style.  Nine months before this surgery I had a shoulder reconstruction that put me down for 6 months. Add the neck surgery and it’s more than a year from having an active life style.  My cholesterol went up from a “normal” 200 to 275; I attribute that to work stress and not being active – my diet is somewhat healthy.  I am really looking forward to the PT stating this week and changing my body back into shape.

Well enough of your time. Thank you again for your postings and good luck.

JC

 

I'm just wondering how old you are at the time of the surgery.

Hi Guest and everyone afflicted,
Well I am sorry to hear of your pain. Like you I have problems with C5/6 and C6/7 for years and I did all the recommended physio and now I am so ill I have a lot of days in agony. I have a theory that all this exercise wears the joints out even more!...My G.P say our discs are like just like car tyres that wear thin with use! I say just move naturally with day to day living and avoid lifting . In fact I believe that humans should not lift things like groceries/ school bags especially over long distances. We need to educate everyone, as future generations will repeat the same mistakes. I have not had any surgery yet, as I am waiting for my turn. Well I have earache and jaw problems (dislocates when I walk too much!) prior to surgery and I thought that after surgery this would settle. I do not know whether I shall have fusion or an MC6 artificial disc? There a pros and cons to either type of surgeries.... such as subsidence with artificial discs with the odd patient and not enough long term studies and I believe that one day medicine will have a more biological answer rather than a prosthesis or fusion solution. I think depending on each individual problem, success depends on how much of the whole spine has deteriorated, as the good discs always have to compensate for the loss of the worn out ones. It is a shame that we are in the window of time before a biological solution has been properly invented. I even went to an endocrinologist in hope that hgh or reservatrol ( please check spelling) would help, but the Doctor claimed it was not effective for this problem yet, Meanwhile all of us has to carry on somehow and I know of people who have had long term success with fusion. It is hard to make sense of it all, as I am sure some people must register pain more than other people. Many of us seem to have shoulder and/or jaw problems as well. The neck and spine is the tent pole used to support to the human frame. It seems to be a common problem with pain and stability with necks, jaws and shoulders, I believe that once the original angle of the body changes, it wears out the other joints as everything else tries to compensate for the loss of disc. Anyway from what I have read and researched I think surgery seems to help rather than hinder as it stabilises the spinal joint so that the body has some reference points for healing to take place. Whoever comes up with a simple solution to this human misery is going to be made. as most of humanity will suffer various degrees of this malady. If bones can re-grow why not discs???? There has to be a scientist out there who can solve it. Let us hope that Governments invest together to find a cost effective method to seriously put an end to this human suffering and it will be history.

disc replacement is better if you can. quicker recovery, full movement . i have c45 done. but.. DO YOUR RESEARCH. There alot of bad manufacture implants. best one is Prodisc-c by sythesis. any other is bad. and you need a very experienced surgeon. Dr bertagnolli in Germany is the pioneer of this procedure and has a very comprehensive website with 20years experience and over 6500 surgeries. easy to find on google. good luck