How to treat extreme weakness in the left arm and hand after a Cervical Laminectomy

I had mine Aug 31 2011 and in a few weeks it will have been a year. I have been on pain meds daily ever since. With me it was the right side to begin with. I cant put pressure on my upper back lower neck area. The ache will become unbareable with in minutes. I get severe headaches now. But like you, the nerve pain down my right arm and in my hand and wrist is worse than before surgery. They said it was successful ?? But after a year Im in this much pain and somedays I cant even use my wrist. I grab things and drop often. To make matters worse, 6 months after surgery I had to drop my cobra Inc because I could no longer afford, now I can no longer get answers without Inc. Im helpless and stuck. Its been the most horrible medical issue to date with me and I have already had two hips replaced by age 38. Doctors say its just knots in my back. I disagree. The stabbing knife between my shoulder blades is  a daily part of life along with pain meds, pain patches and gabbapentine.

hi there: i had surgery 12 feb 2014. my discs were disintergrating at the upper level of my neck so the surgery was necessary. prior to thjis my body was completely numb from the feet to shoulders . i was unable to feel electric shocks, barely walk, could not feel hot water on my private parts etc, etc. my left hand started to loose muscle mass between the thumb and forefinger and is now indented. and very noticeable.i had two(2) titanium rods fused into the upper neck but there is still no difference , and the numbness is now getting  worse as the day goes on., especially at night. at this point, i cannot walk, stand etc. sometoimes people think im plastered if i stand, sit too long, and i usually stagger around. no one seems to understand my condition.now the surgeon want phisio but didnt say waht kind. he also old me at preop that it could take several months to re coup, but in all honesty, i dont think its going to get any better. he also used the word paralsis in the report. i have difficulty in judging the pressure of the brake and gas pedal, and have come close to having  acciidents.he also told me it was a c**p shoot, meaning that the surgery may or maynot ease the numbness, and so far nothing has changed, but actually got worse, and im afraid that i may be cinfined to a wheel chair or something.im going to try phisio for about 2 weeks and if nothing changes, then the therapist will contact the surgeon and inform him that nothing seems to be helping,so, the ball will be back in his court. at this point in time im just disapointed at the surgery results.by the way i am 67 yrs. old  and just dont feel that i can handle a wheel chair permanantly.if u have any sugestions please reply.  thks. brian.

Hi, I searched all over the internet to seewho else has had the same result post laminectomy as my father. He, too, had increased weakness and his fingers became clumsy and stiff immediately following posterior cervical laminectomy and fusion. I read your story and would like to know if you discovered others like you, and if things are continuing to improve for you. Thank you.

I’m having same problems. Doctor says my hand will recover. My surgery was just last week but others with this problem seem to still have it after a long time!

Hi. My name is Bill. I just had a six level laminectomy and rods installed in my upper cervical. My right hand is weaker than before the surgery also. My left hand seems to be about the same as before. It has been two weeks since the surgery. My worst problem is I cannot open my hand as far as before, and the strength just isn't there. I cannot even pull the trigger on a small pistol. I'm thinking it's going to get better, But after reading everybody's input here, my hopes are diminishing. I hope we can all find some more relief from this. I'm due to have physical therapy soon, and I hope this helps some.