[bearkat7334]

Hi all give you my long history and try to make it short as i can. I hurt my neck back in 2002 at work picking up boxes did not want surgery i was dealing with the pain in the daytime although it constantly got worse could not deal with not sleeping for 6 month (burning in shoulder blades and arms while laying on my side) so i finally got acdf on c45 and c46. first one was compressing on left side of spinal cord with spondlayis (sp) and the other was compressing on my right side and c47 is bulging slightly. Worst part of the surgery when i got home was not being able to swoller (still find that hard to do especially with pills and most of the time it feels like the dr has left a cotton swab or something in my throat) Oh and surgery was december 18, 2007. i still haven't gotten my voice back maybe because i didn't completely quit smoking and the hard neck brace (finally out of that thank god) guess i didn't realize what bad posture i had but it hurt places in my back that i've never had any pain in before. When back to doc on 1-4-07 and he gave me a spinal pak (bone growth stimulator to wear 24/7 it is really anoying. Everyone I know that has had this surgery didn't have to wear one or either it was just for a few hours a day. i was feeling really good when i went back to dr getting my energy level back but since i have been wearing this i have had a dizzy feeling like my equlibrian is off and just feel bad all over and don't want to get up and do nothing because of the dizziness. Has anyone else had to wear this thing for this long? and if so did you have any problems or side effects? I thought i would be going back to work in 2-3 weeks but he doesn't have my xray scheduled until 2-22-07 and i have got to wear this thing until then and boy oh boy my boss is having a fit thinking i'm milking this. thanks in advance for your help.

[stiffnecked]

I wore one for 3 months. It didn't make me dizzy. I don't think it worked either but just to make the doc happy I wore it. QUIT smoking. TODAY. Use Chantix if you have to. Your not doing your neck or throat any favors by not quiting. Good luck.

[Kathi49]

Bear,

I wore a Bone Growth Stimulator for 6 months...and for two different surgeries. The first one I had I had to wear for 4 straight hours a day. The second one was different; I also had to wear it for 4 hours a day BUT I could take it on and off as long as I got the 4 hours in. They BOTH worked for me and actually I was fused both times at 3 months. The NS just wanted it to be SOLID; that's why he said another 3 months of wearing it. I don't know what yours looks like. The first one I had looked like something out of Star Wars; the second one was more like a necklace and much, much easier to get around with it.

And read the brochure that comes with them; dizziness CAN be a side effect. I had the same thing going on until I actually was able to stop wearing it. And since your surgery was just on December 18th, give yourself PLENTY of time. It is normal to have spasms, pain and such. My NS prescribed Valium for the pain because even though you might think it is the muscles; it is really the nerves being ticked off. I don't know how many times I was told that and it is true! Now, at the 6 month mark or even longer, you may feel weak. The Bone Growth Stimulator will do that to you too. I had my last fusion done in September of '06 and by May of '07 I could barely lift a thing. But my NS apologized and said that was due to so many restrictions. I just had to work through it and get my strength back. It is a long haul...I know.

Anyway, if I were you, I would call the doc and ask if it is absolutely necessary to wear the BGS 24/7! I have never heard of anyone wearing one all day long. But maybe your doc has reasons for that. And the swallowing; that should pass with time. To this day I have some issues with it...but just every now and then. And, yep, I am a smoker too. I tried Chantix and it hit my intestines like a ton of bricks. But at the same time I was taking other meds. So, I do want to try it again.

I hope this helps a bit...those BGS's can be a pain. But in my mind very well worth it in the long run.