J developed C5 P palsy as a result of spinal surgery at C4,5 and 6. My experiences were very similar to Jeff’s, but. only my right arm was affected -- that was bad enough. The palsy began after the second of 4 surgeries i underwent in 2013. -14. Woke up after the surgery unable to move my arm. The surgeons had few answers except that this was a rare side effect of surgery on the C5 vertebrate and it could take 6 months- a year to regain usage. They also admitted that some patients recover less than 100 per cent, They couldn’t predict how well i would do and referred me for occupational and physical therapy --- and that was what saved me. Also told me i had to be patient.

So i started to feel some improvement after about 3 months, but it took over a year for my arm to really be functional. i did my exercises religiously. Right now, i think its about 80 % recovered and i think that's as good as it will get, i can use it but itt's weaker than my left arm.

I also couldn’t find much info on C5 palsy. i found it interesting that there are screening procedures. i was never told about this by the docs, and they never told me about the possibility of this side effect occurring. Given the lack of info on C5 palsy, I think its important for patients to share their experiences, to hopefully move the research forward.