I have had two different Cervical surgery's now. First was 2 1/2 years ago, C6 & C7, my Dr siad the fusion didn't take very well. We used my own hip bone because it is supposed to fuse better than using somebody else's bone. Well my hip is numb as you know what, you can put cold or hot on it and I couldn't tell you what temp it is.

I had another one done this past May for C5 & C6, and he said he would drill out what started to fuse from the 1st surgery....well I do have to say from both surgery's I am better but I still have massive numbness when I sleep, I can't put my head down for more than 30 seconds without it hurting really bad. I still have muscle spasms in my shoulders and still have pain in my elbows. We used my hip bone again, he said it looks to be fusing but I am not really sure, I just saw my x-rays for the first time with him and they look a lot like they did the first time, black mass between the disc's.

I also have Fibro so that kicks my butt some days, I have RLS which the pills do help with, and my arms are so weak it drives me nuts, it hurts to pick up a cup of coffee sometimes, in my elbow, and the numbness at bedtime really messes with my sleep, my whole left arm goes numb. Most of my weakness and pain is in my right arm. and the muscle spasms are in both shoulders and triceps.

My Dr has been giving me pain pills, I don't use them everyday because I don't want to get addicted to them but at the same time I can't keep living like this, it kills a person's motivation, living in pain. Now I was told today that he won't fill my Loratab anymore, just Ultram, he acts like I am taking major pills here, it is only for 4 pills a day....and I don't even take that but when I do ask for them he treats me like a drug addict!

I have had a nerve conduction test, I have chronic nerve damage in my C6/C7 area.

I also have pain in the middle of my back, my Dr says I must have pulled a muscle, well it has been like this for years, so if it was a pulled muscle there really must be something wrong with me!

No one has taken me seriously about my middle back pain, if I have my husband rub my spine there are times when he hits a certain area in the middle of my back right on my spine that it feels like he shot me with electricity. But my Dr says that is a pulled muscle...Hey he is the Dr right?

I have had a couple of lumbar MRIs done and was told that my disc degeneration is normal for a person my age, so why does it hurt so bad to bend over??

My question now is because I have had savior nerve damage will surgery really take care of all my numbness??? NO it won't, that's my opinion.

I have had two Dr's only one has done my surgeries, i went to the second one for a second opinion before the 2nd surgery. He said he couldn't do anything for me, he was a NS, my actual surgery Dr is an Ortho; he is the best in my area, so I am told.

The NS had me try epidurals, have done two with no change, and he then suggested me to get the nuro stimulator put in my spine. All the research and people I have talked to said they wouldn't suggest it. Plus it is more of my numbness that drives me nuts more so than the pain. He said he wasn't sure if it would help with my numbness and all the research I did didn't say it would either. Does anyone know if it would?

What I really want to know is there anything else I can do? I'm only 39 and feel like I am 89.

Thanks,
Luci