Neck problems above fusion

[debbei]

The medication program I am on is working quite well. Its been 14 hours and I would say that the raw tenderness in my neck has reduced about 50%. These medications are incredible and a life saver.

I was expecting some side affects since there are all sorts of warnings about driving and working with machinery. I was not grouchy in the slightest in fact it was the other way around with great jokes just rolling off my tongue all morning.....boy did I have a lot of fun!

I feel so relieved that I could almost stay on this regiment but I think I am gaining weight “by the minute”. (smiley face) Hopefully, I wont explode like the guy in the Monty Python movie.



Ed

I'm so glad you're getting relief and feeling better. Sounds like the happy Ed is back with all your jokes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enSYl...oTOw8ttoGClye4

[JenniferG]

Glad to read that you're getting some pain relief. Take it easy Ed.

[Irina]

I am also happy that you're doing better, Ed. You've been such a great support to everyone here, like a superman, you have to get better!

[Susie*Bee]

Yay, Ed. Exciting news! Hopefully the meds won't cause weight gain. I've been on both without having that problem (just chubby on my own at times...). My husband takes gabapentin for his bulging cervical discs... and I've been taking diclofenac for years for my arthritis. Best wishes for the new regimen.

[JuliaAnn]

Ed, I'm so glad the meds are working for you! I tried a chiropractor for three days once and they didn't do a thing for my back. That was ten years ago, when my back first started to collapse. How does a chiropractor work for a back that's rigid after surgery? I'm quite curious about that since chiropractors work joints pretty hard but a back that's fused should never be twisted.

I've been following this thread with great interest since I'm fused from T1 to sacrum. Those long fusions are really hard on the neck. I mentioned to Dr Hey that I'll be careful with my neck the rest of my life and he agreed that would be good.

Have you been able to figure out if there is anything you did to make your neck worse? I will learn from you and follow any of your recommendations. My neck seems shorter since my surgery and more turkey-neck-curved, much to my disappointment. I try to hold my head up as far as possible often, just to stretch my neck, just in case it will help. Was yours the same or better after your surgery?

I've been thinking of you and keeping you in prayer.

[mabeckoff]

Glad to hear that you are feeling better

Melissa

[loves to skate]

Sally,

I just wonder if the disks are that bad to start isn't it only going to get worse? I just think sometimes the drugs are just a stall of the inevitable. But I work with feet all day, not spines so I was really just thinking out loud. Many times in my field surgery is the only thing to fix a problem (like bunions, they don't just disappear with a shot) but insurance requires us to do shots and physical therapy prior to a bunionectomy. I just wish the problem could be fixed for good and not just patched for a short time.

Tamena

Tamena,
Sometimes the pain happens because of the way you sleep or if you are very tense and the neck muscles spasm so once the meds kick in, the muscles relax and the pain goes away. Sometimes the cervical spine will self fuse. My hope is that I will never have to have a fused neck because then you lose all motion in the neck. If the drugs work, it is possible that they will work for a lifetime.

Ed,
I am so glad that you are getting relief.

[Confusedmom]

Glad to hear it!!

[titaniumed]

Debbe
I see you posted some Monty Python! Ahhh...the memories. I had Mr Creosote from “The meaning of Life” posted. You know, the restaurant scene where he explodes, but decided to delete it..... They really pushed the comical limits pretty hard. LOL John Cleese and many came out of Cambridge and Oxford....(smiley face) I’ve been laughing about that scene for 30 years now.....I guess it was worth it.

Julia
Fused spines should never be adjusted....It was my neck that needed attention, the un-fused area of my spine....

I don’t know why I have had so many herniated discs....this is now 6 in my life with 4 CT verified in 2002.
I wonder if some of the really hard ski crashes through the years had something to do with that? I really had a few doozies through the years.... It will be nice when the science progresses and we know more about this because it affects so many people including people without scoliosis.

We talked about me waiting and battling “excruciating” pain for 6 years with 4 lumbar herniation’s prior to my surgeries. It wasn’t worth it, and I am not going to do that again. If my neck mellows out, fine, but how long will I last before the major pain kicks in again? If it does in 6 or 12 months, I will not hesitate to give the green light....I might have little tolerance for this due to my history. My decision scales will tip easily. Ker-plunk!

Funny how decision making changes with knowledge....I am pleased with my current fusion because I don’t have pain. Adapting to fusion is easier than living with pain, it really is. But the pain I’m talking about is not your standard early years “ache” in the thoracic, or lumbar humps pain. I’m talking about the nerve related electrical, burning, soldering iron, 10 level pain that is just excruciating. Feelings of flames on your skin or perhaps getting kicked by a horse would be a good way to understand what this is like. I hope that people can understand that this affects decision making, and that those that are younger, need to understand this, and weigh the options. Defining pain is a hard thing. Knowing what you can tolerate is important because what you think might be bad isn’t that bad. Living with an un-fused spine is great....I miss it, but it really is ok being fused “when” its necessary.

My cervical MRI’s will happen tomorrow morning and I hope to get copies to post.

Ed

[rohrer01]

Ed,
I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling better! It's just like a sigh of relief when that pain is gone. I've had the same steroid Rx that you are on several times. It was a lifesaver for me until I discovered the lumbar epidural. I was also prescribed it for neck pain. My pain never impinged on my nerves in my arm to the extent that yours are. I just couldn't move my head in any direction at all. Since mine wasn't as bad as yours I don't even dare to make a prediction as to how long this will last. Mine always lasted for at least several months.

Is there anything Dr. M. can do except fusion for your neck? If it comes down to it, are you a candidate for artificial discs? When my lumbar gets bad enough, they offered me that instead of fusion, so I'm just curious.

You are so right about pain. It is very hard to rate. You have your four herniated discs in your lower back to compare to. I have an unanesthetized C-section to compare to. It's really hard to get me to say a 10. In fact, I never do. My mother tripped and fell into a table saw and cut all 5 fingers, three were near amputations (holding on by only the skin) and one complete amputation and the thumb to the bone. With all of that, shock set in and she said it didn't hurt at all. After her reattachment surgery was a different matter. That, she said, was a 10 and I totally believe it. They have that pain scale all wrong in the doctor's offices. It shows a simple line with a smiley gradually getting less and less happy until the last one shows a frown and tears. They should show an exponential graph with a smiley person at the bottom and someone screaming, kicking and writhing at the top!

Anyway, I'm glad you're feeling better. A little weight gain is worth the relief. Besides, you'll lose the weight once your done with the steroids.

[jrnyc]

hey Ed
i am so glad you are feeling better...
but i would not be one tiny bit surprised if the ski stuff definitely
caused some discs to blow...did you never come in from skiing
and think how sore...how much pain...you felt? or wake up the
next day and feel like that...????
you have such an active life in terms of recreation....
how about those heavy scuba tanks...what do they weigh out of the
water...?????

please...do not forget to be careful on your next excursion....
the human body can only take so much!!! and you are not
yet "robo-man"

jess...and Sparky

[titaniumed]

Well, I have the MRI’s done and you can clearly see the 2 herniations....The pain in my arm has not gone away, the meds have helped BUT, I have an underlying problem for the future. Herniations are such a pain to deal with.

Jess, I do wonder but weight lifters technically should have all their discs blown.....Accidents don’t help, but they cant be the sole problem. Degeneration happens for a reason.......

Kinda tired tonite.

Anyway, here are the goods. You can see my T2 screws at the bottom of the MRI.

[mabeckoff]

So what do you think you will wind up doing?

[titaniumed]

Melissa

Well....I still have to see my surgeon again and see what he thinks. I think what will happen is that I will wait a few weeks on my current med program, and if that doesn’t work, I will get my 1st shot. From what I have read, if the 1st shot doesn’t work after 2 weeks, they try again.

I don’t want to be taking meds all the time.... Even though the stuff I’m taking right now doesn’t affect my mind, it still is tiring and I get very hungry. I’m gaining weight right now.....quickly. I have no constipation problems.

He told me he thinks the arm numbness is coming from C7. My left index finger is especially numb.

The meds have helped in my neck area but my shoulder, arm and numb hand and fingers are an issue. I have tingling from my elbow to my hand.

I don’t think they stack artificial discs. I also have a very strong feeling I’m not going to get away with fusing just one level. I sure hope it isn’t 3 levels.... I’m not especially worried about lack of movement. What I am worried about is if we fuse a few levels, will I have a PJK issue down the road from T2 to the bottom of the cervical construct?????

We talked about a ACDF on 2 levels.....(plated from the front) Anterior cervical discectomy with peek cages and synthetic bone cement, no BMP in the neck....that’s off label....

It seems that in this surgery, they don’t strip muscles, so its a much easier recovery.

Ed

[LindaRacine]

Ed...

Getting insurance companies to pay for a single artificial disc is often a battle. Two artificial discs? You'd probably have to hire a lawyer to sue the insurance company. Even then, it's pretty rare. If you've got the money, you can go outside of the U.S. and get artificial disc surgery for a relatively decent price.

There are a lot of theories about which causes disc degeneration. For example, there's a theory that disc degeneration (which includes herniation) is caused by a difference in the vertebral end plates, either from a genetic issue or by some sort of bug. So, it could be abnormal wear, or it might be something over which one has no control.

Hope you get some good relief from non-surgical measures.

--Linda