post anterior cervical disectomy recovery concerns

I AM GOING THRU POST OP ALSO AND ALL YOU STATED WAS ME TO THE TEE. I HAVE TO WEAR THE MIAMI COLLAR 24/7 BECAUSE I OPTED NOT TO GET A TITANIUM PLATE. IF YOU CAN LOWER YOUR SHOULDERS WHEN YOU ARE WEARING THE COLLAR YOU WILL FIND LESS SPASMS HAPPEN. THE COLLAR PUTS OUR NECK IN A NOT TOO NORMAL POSITION AND THAT IS WHY THE MUSCLES SPASM. EVERY DAY WILL GET BETTER....HANG IN THERE. I TRY TO WALK IN THE HOUSE AND DO VERY LIGHT LEG LIFTS AND ARM LIFTS AND MOST IMPORTANTLY KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. REMEMBER , IT'S ALL TEMPORARY AND SOON YOU WILL BE UP AND AROUND AND FEELING GOOD AGAIN.

dear nsbiio48

I had the same operation as you did, but I did not have a titanium plate. They used bone from my hip and not a cadaver bone. I am in a stiff neck brace for at least six weeks....

I get the spasms in my back and I think the neck brace causes me to lift mys shoulders and cause some of the pain. I was told that when they perform this surgery they stretch your arms out n the operating table and put you in positions that cause a lot of pain and soreness post op. They do this so the vertabrae stretch and they can slide the bone / new disk into place. I take Darvocet and it is great for me. Does not make me sick to my stomach. Some days are better than others, it has only been two weeks since the surgery. A P.T. guy comes to my house three times a week and has gotten me sarted on very light exercises. I also have Fibromyalgia which adds to my discomfort and I think the stress of the surgery put me into a flare. I have started taking short slow walks with my hubby outdoors and just being outside lifts my spirits. I make sure not to over do it. Remember that you just went through traumatic major surgery and it takes time for the body to heal and recoop. Be good to yourself and try not to rush the healing process. Hopefully the pain you had that took you to the surgeon will be gone when you are healed ....that is what I am hoping for. I had two herniated disks that were compromising the spinal cord, plus I have stenosis and degenerative disk disease. I am 57.

I wish you the best of luck......

mabb

I have a Miami J Collar, it's stiff and very uncomfortable and I have to wear it for at least six weeks 24 / 7. Sometimes I want to rip it off, but it is very important not to turn the head or bend it etc...I know it is temporary so I try to ignore it as much as I can.

I was not a candidate for minimal invasive laser surgery but I do not regret having the surgery because the pain made my quality of life nil.

It's great to be able to read all the comments here on this chat. It has really helped me and I don't feel so alone with this....Much luck to you and all who have had to endure this kind of surgery.

bonrae

Hi, I am post-op Cervical C4-5 since 1999. I experienced pain in my neck and shoulders for exactly 1 year after the surgery. I had returned to the doctor who did the surgery and he said that he had stretched my neck because he felt my vertibrea's were loose. I figured that was why I had the pain in my neck. I had trouble breathing, waking up from my sleep gasping for air. I used to sing, but can-not hold onto a key, and that has not changed.
I don't wake up gasping for breath anymore. At least that and the most of the pain is gone.
Recently I have been having numbness in my middle to pinky fingers on both hands and pain in my shoulders. I had an MRI and it showed that I have a bulgeing disk below the fusion contacting the spinal cord.
I do not want to do another surgery and have to go through all that pain again. But I will not know until I talk to my doctor.
See numbness can turn into permenent loss of use and I don't want that to happen. So to answer your questions about the pain post-op, it does finally go away, but you don't know what the future will bring.

Thank you for all the previous posts. I helps to know how others felt after surgery. I just had surgery on April 24, 2008. It's been 8 days since surgery. My previous symtoms of pain in the right shoulder extending down the outside of my arm and numbness and tingling extending all the way down to my hand and first two fingers have nearly susbsided. Slight numbness still remains in the tips of my fingers. I do have nagging muscle discomfort between my shoulder blades. My first followup with the doctor is scheduled in 5 days--this will be 14 days after surgery. I'll mention the slight numbness and nagging back issues. All-in-all I feel pretty good. Doc prescribed Lortab and Valium to manage pain and anxiety, but I've used very little of both. My hope is that I can return to golfing as it is my greatest sports passion and stree reliever.

Thank you for all the previous posts. I helps to know how others felt after surgery. I just had surgery on April 24, 2008. It's been 8 days since surgery. My previous symtoms of pain in the right shoulder extending down the outside of my arm and numbness and tingling extending all the way down to my hand and first two fingers have nearly susbsided. Slight numbness still remains in the tips of my fingers. I do have nagging muscle discomfort between my shoulder blades. My first followup with the doctor is scheduled in 5 days--this will be 14 days after surgery. I'll mention the slight numbness and nagging back issues. All-in-all I feel pretty good. Doc prescribed Lortab and Valium to manage pain and anxiety, but I've used very little of both. My hope is that I can return to golfing as it is my greatest sports passion and stress reliever.

I had my acdf at C7 this past June 2007 and having all kinds of problems one year later. I am still out of work and had an EMG done last week that showed pinched nerves in my right elbow that will require surgery. The pain in the neck, right arem, shoulder, hand and legs (mostly ankles) are insane! I was on Oxycodone for months and now on Tramadol. I am living on the pain meds but all it does is take the edge off. I cannot take the pain anymore and have twin 4 year old boys who want to play with their once very atheletic father. It is sooooooooooo frustrating and depressing. My job fired me last week via mail and I am not sure if I can work again - the pain is that bad and I can barely walk. My neck cracks very loudly when I turn if and x-rays show bad arthritis. All this came on post-surgery. It feels like another disc is ruptured but I will not find out until the surgeon reads my EMG results. Looks like another MRI (I have had 5 since Sept. 07) and workman's compensation is a battle for every test to be approved. They are horrible to work with and I do not know what the futuer holds. What a change in my life. All I can do is pray and hope I heal soon. It is very difficult to see my wife work full-time and then do all of the household chores...I have lost the majority of my strength in my right arm and went from a strong body builder to a arm that has lost all of its muscle tone. It is a battle everyday.

I had an anterior cervical fusion at my C5/6 and C5/7 on 4/2/08 and have been bery dissappointented with my progress. To date, I can still not swallow a large pill ( I chop it up) and have to be careful about taking small bites and using a straw. Except for this, after the initial week, I started physical therapy and started walking a little each day. I still had trouble sleeping, but felt that the actual pain (headaches) was better although the left shoulder pain and arm tingling, numbness wasn't any better. I had tingling in my left index finger, but felt that if I could sleep I would feel better. My doctor prescribed ambien and I found out that a whole one knocked me out for the entire day! I went back to work 2 and 1/2 weeks later part time for three days (I'm a teacher) and then back to work full-time for two days. On the second day, I was sitting at my desk grading papers and I had the most intense cramps, spasms, and pulling on both sides of my neck. Luckily, it was my last class and so after work I went home took more pain medication, alternated with ice and moist heat and it finally eased up a little. By the next morning, I could barely move and called the physician on call who "rudely" told me I could either go to the emergency room or come in and see my doctor on Monday. Since I live over an hour away from my doctor and our local emergency room doesn't have a very good reputation, I chose to wait out the weekend and go see my doctor. The doctor took x-rays and said everything looked fine. I explained the muscle spasms, the tingling of the first four fingers in both of my hands now and also the pain when coughing or trying to have a bowel movement. He pretty much told me he could'nt explain it changed my medication (Valium, hydrocodone, 600 mg Ibuprofen, and ambien if needed). Because I also had problems with my left shoulder and arm as well, he sent my to an orthopedic for evaluation and ordered an MRI of my shoulder. The orthopedic informed me I had adhesive capsulitis and order me to start physical therapy. I am so frustrated right now and ready to get back to a normal life! Any suggestions, has anyone tried accupuncture?

I had my surgery on July 2nd and today is July 7th and other than this stupid aspen collar that I truly believe is causing my irritability, the discomfort is not at all what I have been reading thus far from a ot of you. I'm sure no 2 peope are the same,and also I am a healthy 43 yr old woman, BUT I try and not let things get to me..is it uncomfortable? ummm yes..slightly aggrevating becuse i cant lead a normal life just yet? yes..BUT honeslt the worst part to all of this was the pre-op.I FREAKED, had an anxiety attack, wanted to pull out the IV out of me and run from the table..it's over now, the slight discomfort from my left hip is there from them using my own bone, the hoarse feeling and swallowing issue well its comes and go..but seriosuly the most aggrevating part to all this is this ASPEN collar...if i could rip this thing off I so would in a heart beat..but other than that..the rest is baby steps, I can't wait to get bac to being ME again! Oh one other thing, seriously,,he narcotics AREN'T your friend, I ahet those things, stick with SOMA ara muscle relaxant that will be your friend, and just alot of good people around you..Good Luck everyone!

I have already had 2 fusions on c-5-c6 and for some reason, the bones never healed and the fusion never took. Now I am going for a 3rd op for a posterior c-5 -c-4 fusion with some kind of twist tie between the transverse procesees. I have complete faith in my surgeon, but I have to say, this time I am really spooked. Please tell me there is someone out there goig through the same ordeal. I do not want to end up a oxycontin victim like a few people I know.

Attention if you have had a spinal fusion done do not follow the instructions you have read regarding taking advil aleve or any other drug containing ibuproben, this will cause issues with the fusion according to researc, it actually prevents bone from fusing if the pain is not responding to the narcotic your physician prescribed ask about valium, flexeril and vicodin these work for me even tho' i still suffer with a burning sensation as well as throbing, when this does occur, i take vicodin and a flexeril and apply an icepack to the area for about 15-20 mins and i feel a whole lot better, also wear your soft collar all day as a reminder with allowing yourself two hours without it a day, also wear while driving if necessary, alos wear while your asleep as well so that you will have the support needed. (6wks) :-( most of the time the icepack works and i don't need to take the meds or just take a flexeril

I am 8 months post surgery (was on 1/3/08) I had C4/C5 and C5/C6 fused. I am not sure why I thought to look for a message board tonight but I did. I had all of the symptoms all of you talk about and then some. I still have daily pain, what I would describe as tightness in my neck and upper shoulders. I can over do it with turning my head (started swimming and had to stop doing the freestyle, instead just do the breast stroke) or looking up or down. I am a professor and teach online and a Phd student so I spend A LOT of time at my computer. I know I need to take more breaks, but I forget! I do have my monitor at eye level so I don't have to look down at the laptop screen, this has really helped.

I too had/have the problem with my voice, a huge problem if you are a teacher. And that is why I am teaching online because I didn't know if I would be able to talk. I saw an ENT who was a voice specialist about 4 months after my surgery and was told as some of you have been that my vocal cord on the right side was/is(?) paralyzed. He treated me with collagen injections in the cord and I have been able to speak mostly normally since. The shots were supposed to last 2-4 months. My voice is now much more variable, but seems to be coming back on its own.

I wasn't told about the problem with anti-inflammatories by my Dr but by my physical therapist whose husband had a fusion after a car accident. I asked about it and was told my Doctor had not heard about it. I decided it was best to be careful! I am not surprised they cause a problem.

I would say that at this point I am at least 90% better than I was pre-surgery. I still have trouble with motor control on my left side, which was really bad pre-surgery. The way I see that is that I can't open jars or anything with a tight lid. The pain is so much better and the fatigue is hugely better.

I hope all of you do well in your recovery! I'll check back again at some point!

Hi,
my mom was in a major car accicdent and flipped the truck on its top and laid there pinned for nearly 2 hours while the team of fantastic people cut her out. She was then airlifted to nearest hospital. She had fractured upper vertabrae in neck and had fusion done with donor bone (don't know exact name because neuro surge thought obviously it was not nessescary to tell us or my mom anything) could never get any real answers and untill i read this post i wasn't even aware there was a specific name for it..ignorant of me i guess..but it was just so scary that i was just concerned about caring for my mom through all of the pain and discomfort. She is in Miami J Collar with the extended chest and back brace for fractures in back between shoulder blades. She went to the hospital on monday and had to wait till following wednesday to get surgery . That was an awful time for her she was in intense pain with numbness and tingling in both arms. She said that it felt like her bones were trying to break themselves in her arms. I want to know if Lortab is a sufficent pain reliever for this much pain? That is all they would give her before sugery and NOW finally the surgery is over ( this is second day actullay) still she is in so much pain,discomfort and unable to sleep for days now, all this with multiple panic attacks..We have asked for something for all of this, anything at all to relieve some pain and the Dr. said Lortab was all he could prescribe..lol..this is unbelievable to me.also he would not give her a muscle relaxer, sleeping aid, anti-anxiety..nothing..it is so hard to watch my mom like this..I f anyone knows anything i could do PLEASE PLEASE WRITE...
Thank you so much

I had my surgery on 11/17 and am on Norco and Valium. The Valium seems to help much better than the muscle relaxers, I was told because the muscles up in the neck and shoulder area are used to being tightened from "stress" and that valium works well for that.

Having had many many surgeries, I will say the combination of both has been very helpful for me, I've also had a total knee replacement. I actually sleep a bit better on these, since Valium really isn't that big of a deal anymore, perhaps they will give her that? My prayers to her and you!

I had a Anterier Cervical fusion c5/c6 on 04/10/09. Went home Easter 04/12/09.I would like to preffece this by saying that you should seak the advice of a health care profesional your Doctor. Take my information with a grain of salt. With that said I find somthing interesting about your story. Prior to my surgery I was taking about 12-13 norco's 325/10 for the pain. I also have a second location Lumbar which I will be correcting soon. When I left the hospital I was given Vicoden 500/05, and Valium. The strange thing is I would take the Norco and drink on top of that for the pain, I know ( you id**t just shoot yourself). It seems the Vicoden 500/05 seems to provide beater pain releif. I also had all of the same symptoms, felt like I was swallowing a truck pain between the shoulder blades, all though not as bad as you describe. I just try and take it easy and hold my head up straight and high to maintain the alignment.
I don't know if this helped but I hope so.
Good Luck to you msboop48