I sure hope I don't have to go through another ACDF. I'm still waiting to get to the point of relief from the RFA's I had done.

I had my 2nd RFA (on my right side) 4 days ago. I'm not feeling so hot right now. It seems that the pain after this 2nd RFA has been more intense. My neck feels weak and it hurts really bad if I have to reach for anything with my right arm or try to turn my head to the left. There is still a lot of swelling in the area where the injections were done. I can't seem to keep the pain under control enough with the pain meds and icing.

It's a bummer to feel like this again since I actually had a brief period (about 2 days) at the end of week one after the 1st RFA where I was starting to feel better. I got very excited when that happened.
But then around the end of week 2 post RFA I began feeling that familiar nerve pain starting up again in my neck and shoulder on the left side. My left side was completely flared up as I went in to have the RFA done on the right side. The doctor told me it would be another couple weeks before the benefit of the RFA really kicks in. He told me that what I'm experiencing is normal as the nerves are still healing. He still thinks that I'm going to get a good result down the road from the RFA's. It has been difficult at times to remain positive while going through this just because it's a long time to wait to feel better.

I had planned on going back to work tomorrow but I think I'm going to need more time to recover. I feel very grateful that my employer has been understanding of my situation.