Hi Diane, sorry to hear about all your issues, i have had neck pain for the past 7 month, with numbness in my fingers, and pain. since 5 month I have done "treat your own neck " by robin mc kensies and egoscue techniques, and I am doing much better, pain come and goes, but I am not in awful pain all the time. i have also back issues.
I am not going to do surgery in my neck, as I believe that therapy will eventually work, the worse is my patience is very thin, and I like to be out of the pain, right now. But I did not get there in pain in 5 minutes, It took years of bad posture to get this neck to be unhappy.
I had the same neck pain for a year 10 years ago, and got out of it with therapy, I know I am older, (50 ) but I just don't think screw and plates are going to feel better. and doctors are like mechanics, they love to work on you !! if i would consider surgery I would go for minimally invasive surgery, very small incision, tiny work down, out of it in 2 hours. and search for the top of the top. like a good mechanic, you have the good one, then you have the others... How long, you had neck pain ? and what therapy have you done ?
for sleeping you may tried a neck roll from mc kensies, you can buy it on amazon. I sleep with one, I made it smaller though.
cheers virginie
Quote:
Originally Posted by diane54
Hi
I have C-spine issues at C3-4 and C5-6. Symptoms are burning pain down my left arm (C5-6 distribution) and neck stiffness, tightness and pain. Sleeping is a problem. I've had 2 MRIs and a myelogram. Done the PT, epidurals, etc. Still no better.
So now I'm scheduled with 2 surgeons for surgery and have to decide which way to go. Both are neurosurgeons.
Surgeon #1: Young, only 6 years experience. She wants to do a posterior foraminotomy to "clean up the disc." I like her, trust her, but still not so sure if you know what I mean. (I'm currently trying to get an appt with another doctor in her same clinic with much more experience to see me - this seems to be hard to do)!!
Surgeon #2 (different office and hospital than above doc) - Neurosurgeon with 27 years experience. He is ultra-conservative and would not even talk surgery with me until now, almost a year after seeing him the first time. He says I would do better with a one level fusion at C5-6 as this has more promise to help the neck pain and not just the arm pain.
I'm hoping for a visit with a more senior neurosurgeon in the office of doctor #1 to give me a tie-breaker decision. Hope I can get in to see him.
Another physician (not a surgeon) says I could always do the foraminotomy first, see what kind of relief I get and then go back later and get a fusion if it doesn't work. I hate the idea of 2 surgeries tho!
I have read the horror stories on this site about fusions and am really scared to go that route, yet I really want to get rid of this awful pain that has been pestering me for over a year now.
I hope some of you can give me some advise ASAP as I need to settle on which way to go this week.
Thanks so much for helping me!!
Diane
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