After unsuccessfully trying to find information about C5 Palsy written in terms a normal person could understand, I decided to log my experience, so others can benefit. I also have read quite a few articles published by the NIH and posted on PubMed, so I have become quite knowledgeable on the topic. I have discussed my condition with 5 different neurologists, including one at the Cleveland Clinic. The doctors all said that I had a very severe case of C5 Palsy and they have never seen one this bad. This is long winded, but I hope this helps anyone looking for info.

On October 28th, 2015, I had posterior decompression surgery at C4-C6. After surgery I woke up with the normal discomfort that you would have from this surgery. Later that night in the hospital, my arms started to hurt. I had pain shooting down from my deltoids (shoulders) to my wrists. They said it was normal and they gave me some pain medication and I went to sleep. I woke up a couple hours later and my arms were very weak and over the next few hours they became completely paralyzed. I could move my hands and fingers, but from my shoulders to my wrists, I could not move at all.

I was in the hospital for three weeks in in-patient therapy. I did therapy and electronic muscle stimulation 3 time a day. My doctor seemed to think it was very temporary and said therapy would help. After three weeks I was discharged with no improvement. At home I had to have help eating, showering and using the restroom (my wife is a saint !!!).

Over the next 4 weeks, I began to see some improvement in my left arm and within 8 weeks, I had full range of motion in my left arm. It was very weak, but I could at least move it. My right arm was still paralyzed (I am right handed, so that sucked). The pain that runs down my arms was still very bad and I have to take 900 MG of Gabapentin (Neurotin) three times a day to keep it at least bearable. That is the max you can take in a day. After a while, my doctor also prescribed Nortryptaline to take with the Neurotin. That helped a lot to relive the pain.

I have done therapy every day, including the use of a home E-Stim unit. It is very important to do therapy every day (three times if you can). The E-Stim (electronic muscle simulator) is also very beneficial. Your muscles will atrophy, but the e-stim helps keep some contraction of the muscles to help limit the atrophy. Most insurance companies will cover this unit, but you can also buy them for a couple hundred bucks (it is worth the cost).

At 10 weeks, my rehab doctor started me on acupuncture using electronic currents on the needles. This is supposed to help keep the muscles stimulated, kind of like the E-Stim, but better.

Within three months (as I write this), I am still very weak in my left arm, but it is getting stronger each week. My right arm is still showing very little improvement and can only lift it about 10 degrees up from my side. I can now lift a gallon of milk with my left arm and put it on the top shelf of the refrigerator, but that was about as much weight as I can lift. At this point, I can at least drive using my left arm. I still don't drive much because I am afraid that I would not be able to make any fast maneuvers to avoid an accident.

My doctor said that at 3 months, the undamaged nerves will start to sprout new nerve branches to help move the muscles that are no longer getting a nerve signal. At about 6 months, the nerves that were killed and are regrowing, will start to reach the muscles again and I should then start to see more improvement. My doctors say that this should continue to get better, but there still is a chance that it may be permanent.

I will post weekly updates.