Quote:
Originally Posted by cboncal1972
I am unsure what to do ..
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Yes, I sense that. It's
because you are unsure, in pain, and don't understand these procedures and options, that I suggest you consider undertaking some pain management long enough to:
- Get your pain under enough control so you can comprehend, think, and decide clearly and rationally,
- Learn about the procedure and all of your options,
- If appropriate, research and choose the right doctors/surgeons, get multiple opinions, or research/explore other options.
That
might take some time. (Weeks - Months?)
I'm not suggesting pain management/control as a permanent solution at this time; just as a stopgap to buy some time until you can get your wits about you, think about and devise a logical course/plan of action, and implement that plan. Most people cannot do that while in that much pain. I know I couldn't, and many doctors would agree.
If you undertake pain management and later decide that surgery would have been better, you can
always have the surgery.
OTOH, if you undertake surgery and later decide or find out it was unnecessary or a mistake,
that can
NOT be undone, and you may have no other choice than to enter pain management on a more permanent basis.
If it were me, given the risks and outcome statistics of cervical surgical procedures, I would want to keep as many options open for as long as I can and learn as much as I can in order to make the best possible decision for myself.
Quote:
I do want to have my neck done i cant take the pain.. and i dont like being medicated. What does cervical fusion entail
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You have definitely decided to go through with surgery without even knowing what it entails? Is that what you're saying or am I misunderstanding?
NOBODY in pain likes being medicated.
NOBODY. However, it's the only way some people can function and have any quality of life at all, and it's the only way some people can think, evaluate, and make rational informed decisions. After your surgery, you're going to need some medication for post-surgical pain, and possibly for several months to a year after that, depending on how your healing goes. Possibly indefinitely. Surgery can fix what's physically wrong, but it may
not fix damage to nerves or end the
PAIN. That's an important question to ask the surgeon: "
Will this operation definitely cure my pain?" If he says, "Yes." he's not being candid.
You can learn what cervical fusion entails far better than anything I could describe by googling:
cervical fusion
There are a lot of variables, and possibly some options/alternatives, surgical and otherwise.
Doc