SEVERE NECK/SHOULDER PAIN 6 MONTHS POST OP CERVICAL DISECTOMY

Sounds like me....doesn't bother me too much am...but pm I need to be elevated and take a low dose pain pill to sleep decent.I am 6mos post op and calling my neurologist Monday. I had 3-6 done and bone spurs removed. I get stabbing pain on and off from my armpit down to my pointer finger. The pain in my finger is really bad.

Wow my name is Antonio and I had a spinal fusion a year ago I still have pain in my neck,I find it hard to just sit up without a pillar behind my neck and I still have to sleep with a neck brace on and pop pills,and my doc can't explain.

Yes to everything after one year post-op. Worst of all-- electric, burning, pain in neck and shoulder lasting a fed minutes--results in shock reaction with uncontrolled scream. He!p!

It is so sad and frustrating to hear about everyone having surgeries and feel worse. My neck started cracking last March, and on 5/19/16 my doctor fused c4 and c5. The base of my scull, neck, shoulders all the way to hands were in pain...all of the time plus my neck was still cracking. I saw my surgeon post operation and he told me my neck will always crack. Plus c4 and c5 were fused OK but the MRI showed c3 and c6 were out of line. A few months later I went to 2 different surgeons and they were shocked that only c4 and c5 were fused. Plus the hardware came loose. So on 8/2/16 my new surgeon fused c3-c6 plus put a metal plate in. The pain in my neck, shoulders and arms disappeared. I wore my hard plastic neck brace 24/7 for 3 months. My MRIs show everything went well. I went to physical therapy and the therapist had me lay on my back and turn my head to left and leaned his arms on my head to stretch muscles and then did same while turning to right. I went home and have been in constant pain since. I was only getting pain around 6:00 pm, and would lay down for an hour and feel better. So the following are things that I do to help with the pain. I bought "My pillow" and I feel so much better, plus have a good night sleep. I take 2 TBSP of Tart Cherry Juice 2-3xs per day. It helps soo much to alleviate pain. I also take Tumeric which also helps with the pain. I use Zims Max Freeze roll on which I find to be the best. I put on my hard plastic neck brace for an hour or 2 and that helps too. I take a half of a 5-325 percoset and then take the other 1/2 an hour later. Then I take 2 alleve. 4 hrs later. I also take a small dose of xanax which helps relax my neck muscles. My shoulder also got hurt in physical therapy. So my Dr. prescribed prednisone and my shoulder feels awesome. I am going to try acupuncture because years ago it helped my neck after 6 treatments. I couldn't turn my head to the left or right and after the treatments it felt great. One last remedy is to lay down for at least an hour to rest your muscles. I hope you will try some of my suggestions and hope that they help you too. I have been out of work since 5/19/16 and am bored. broke and very angry. But I do have hope and faith that I will get better. Get well soon and post if any of my ideas help you so other people can try them too.

My 2ND surgery was 11/2/16 not 8/2/16

How did you discover your neuropathic pain? And what test were done to determine the nerve damage?

Your reply is exactly what I've experienced.the one difference is my tennitis is 10 times louder after my surgery.

I had cervical fusion 16 months ago. I still have pain at base of neck that goes into shoulder blades and sometimes shoots straight down spine with numbness down left arm. Next week I'm having ulnar surgery. I feel worse now than before surgery. My doctor always says I'm fully fused and scans look good. Does anyone know if I'll ever have relief. Pain medication isn't working. Is anyone going through this and have any ideas on how I can relieve my pain.

im 9 months post op from a broken neck and fused through neck, , neck still swollen under chin i remind myself of a toad plus back and shoulder muscels so painful i dont go out its effecting my life so much

I've been on Neurontin for my nerve pain for over 10 yrs & it work!! I tried Lyrica & it didn't help at all. They both are good though. Suprised you're dr hasn't prescribed it as of yet. I had C6-C7 anterior fusion over a year ago and found that pt did help with the nerve pain because the health of the nerve can be reversed but you do need to have a great physical therapist. Surgery helped for 9 months, however, due to needing another fusion on C3-C4, L3-L4 & spinal stenosis I am having severe nerve pain, muscle spasms, numbness, severe migraines and - just severe pain period.... so meds, rubs, facet injections, stretching, pt and prayers are all that is going to help for now because surgeon won't touch me for another year due to very thinning bones (osteoporosis). So everyone make sure you're taking vitamin D. In short, Neurontin along with other meds helps me a great deal, I fully understand the side effects but they provide relief and offer me a quality of life that I would not have without them. Without my meds I would not even be able to get out of bed and have a life. You just have to be careful with them. Tizanadine is a muscle relaxer that has helped me as well. Good luck everyone. Only one who lives with chronic pain can relate. Also, I did have the the nerve ablation procedure & IT'S JUST LIKE THEY SAY - THEY BURN THE NERVE ENDINGS, but they also burn surrounding tissue & IT HURTS LIKE HELL WHEN THEY PERFORM THE PROCEDURE & AFTERWARDS. I was bed ridden for 3 months. Think of having a severe internal sunburn on an area that is already painful. It's like being tortured. Man, the stuff we do for pain relief.

I feel your pain no pun intended but I've had 4-5-6 and 7 all replaced the first surgery in 2015 alleviated all the prior symptoms 4&5 but after about six months, two of the screws came loose no jokes please... so they had to go in and re-affix with longer screws and also then did six and seven with additional titanium plate and screws after about six months now the pain is almost diabiliating to the fact that I can get out of bed in the morning and within a matter of minutes the pain is so great that I have to lay down to relieve the pressure again. I find that the humid climate that I live in, the greater the humidity the more the pain. The pain emanates from the base of my neck and then radiates out to the left shoulder more than the right and then comes around the front and behind my forehead the pressure of the headache. I say often, and if I had it to do over again I would've never had the second surgery. Very limited in what I can do in regards to lifting stretching or just the things that I'm used to doing on a daily basis being a very active person. I'm not sure what to do next and then neurosurgeon is baffled and concludes that everything looks normal and I'm not interested in more pain management with narcotics.

MY NAME IS JULIE HAD ACDF FEBRUARY 16TH 2017 SEVERE PAIN IN LEFT SHOULDER UP TO NECK TO FRONT OF SHOULDERS HAVE TRIED A LOT OF MEDS. WENT FOR XRAY THIS MORNING. CAN'T SLEEP, MOVING AROUND HURTS ALSO, BACLOFEN, MANY OTHER MEDS YUCK DO NOT WORK. THROUGH PAIN DOCTOR CONTINUE PT. HEADACHES STILL TAKING MAXALT. PROMETHAZINE FOR NAUSEA, VOMITING, FIBRO HITTING ME HARD. PLEASE GET SECOND OPINION OR THIRD OPINION YOUR BODY GETS USED TO PAIN MEDS THEY DO NOT WORK MASK PAIN. TRY MINDEFULNESS, ART THERAPY, HOBBIES, YOGA, PT, WALKING, LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR HOPEFULLY SOMETHING WILL GIVE YOU RELIEF. JULIE

I know this is an old post but I am so glad to have found it. I has c5/6 disc surgery 90 days ago. The severe pain that radiated through the right arm is gone but I have a whole host of other issues now. I'm almost constantly in pain with my neck hands and some arm also. I now know I'm not crazy. The surgeon says the X-ray looks good but I feel awful. I can't sleep due to if I move my neck it catches and feels like the nerves are caught and stretching in the night and morning are very painful. I've tried my pillow and a wedge nothing helps. Did pt for 3 weeks and am on relaxer and pain med. I will get a second opinion soon.

I am in the same situation. It is four months since my cervical neck fusion c6/7. Signficant stiffness in right hand, referred pain in right forearm and shoulder. Seemed cured the first six weeks after operation. I see surgeon in 3 weeks. The only helpful ideas are that full healing takes up to a year and that I am using the OrthoFix bone stimulator. Hang in there!

I have same neck fusions, a lot of same pain you suffer, I have to change pillows every hour as one feels good at first but you soon are plagued with pain. I also have two fusions in low back and am trying everything to avoid the impending of the third. Pain is a way of life you will never see pain free again, is what I am told. I asked Dr. to be candid with me Gabapentin helps massively with nerve end pain but has to be Dr. Regulated highly addictive but very effective helps to sleep You are not addicted but your body depends on the drug to be there Dr. told me. You need a CT scan done on fusion areas MRI cannot see around metal Plates and screws. Strait from Neuro Surgeon.