Quote:
Originally Posted by Kathi49
Mike,
We are speaking of the neck and not the lumbar. The neck is the "fusebox" of the body. While I realize some people wait it out it is BEST to go with the recommendations of the NS or OSS. Your faith is a great thing but it is not realistic. I am proof positive that waiting out a cervical fusion is NOT the best thing to do!!! I did not go in for a "quick fix" instead I was MADE to wait for 3 years and in SEVERE pain! When I switched over to another spine group the NS was in shock and we are not speaking of ligaments or muscle pain. You could NOT see my nerve roots at C3/C4...they were totally crushed with osteoarthritis. There was no amount of meds nor injections or anything that would fix that...osteo just does not go away short of surgery. Not only that but you risk severe neurological deficits. Then came my second fusion...C5/C6. I was losing use of my arms and hands. In May of 2006 I was told I could wait but the MINUTE I began to have deficits, I should come in. By August I could not hold a pen.
To tell someone they will heal from something like this is just flat out wrong! Again, we are not speaking of ligaments and muscles. And, btw, fusions do NOT guarantee pain relief...they are done to stabilize the spine. I do not regret either one. And, yes, they can lead to more. But, sorry, I wasn't about to wait around and lose use of my arms...motor nerves are not something that will heal with time. Once shot, there is no getting them back.
And so now I am left with Central Pain Syndrome. NOT because of surgery...the surgery freed up the nerve roots. According to my NS and Neurologist both...the severe pain I had by WAITING caused windup or central sensitization. I WISH I had had the first fusion immediately.
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Supp Kathi, you do have some really good points and you are absolutely right telling someone with osteoarthritis and crushed nerve roots to wait it out is wrong that is not going to heal up unless we get some advances in stem cell research but Trinab does not have this type of condition his pain is "muscle spasm pain". This guy is still working, my pain seems worse than his as I cannot work but mine is getting better because I am treating it and doing what I need to do to fix it. Go check out my thread on alternative treatments and see how much work this actually takes to fix. If anyone has a spinal problem and ignores it, does not go change their posture fix their muscle imbalances lose the weight get the body work done to relieve the muscle spasms it will not heal and you will need surgery but in Trinabs case he can prevent it if he decides to do whatever it takes to fix the problem before it gets to the point where he has osteoarthritis and so on. He can do it and so can anyone else if they believe in themselves. Kathi can you really honestly tell me that after your injury you decided to do whatever it takes to fix yourself and you still could not do it?
Here is what whatever it takes looks like:
Acupuncture 2-3 times a week every week
Massage to relieve the pressure points 2-3 times a week
Every morning 2-3 hours of hatha yoga specifically devoted to your unique problems
Every night another 30 minutes of yoga stretching and meditation
Physical therapy to help identify and correct your muscle imbalances
Actively practicing holding good posture
Eating the right foods and taking the right herbs and vitamins
Using strong ligaments every day for the stiffness
And the list goes on and on, that is what it takes to fix these kind of problems so people have the choice to do that or they can go the fast easy way and just go for the surgery and hope it works which it won't if the underling problem which is bad posture and muscle imbalances are not corrected.
Trinab I would say the next step for you is Prolotherapy and a serious life style change not surgery. Surgery is the last resort. If I was you I would leave my job for medical reasons and get that doc that wants to do surgery to help you file for social security disability to tie you over financially while you fix yourself. If you do it right you will also be able to get unemployment compensation benefits.
,Mike