ACDF with cage plate C6 and C7
 

I wil be having ACDF surgery on December 12. I am not sure what to expect or just what is going to be done at the time of surgery. I currently have a partial knee replacement on my left knee, I have to walk with a cane since I can not move the knee. It is locked in a bent position due to massive scar tissue. I injured my neck about 8 month's ago while walking into the grocery store. I misstepped and stumbled as not to fall. When I did this fast abrupt movement I felt a burning/stabbing pain in my neck and back. That night the pain got even worse !!! I went to the ER, they sent me home with a diagnosis of nothing but a muscle sprain. I was in so much pain, I went to my regular doctor. She sent me for a MRI which confirmed that I had a ruptured disc and a free floating fragment pressing on the nerve. I have had neck, arm, and hand pain, as well as tingling/numbness in 3 fingers since then. I started going to a chiropracter and a neurosurgen for some releif. With chiropractic treatments 3 Xweekly the pain that was off the charts in the beginning has come down a bit to a 6 or so. I do at home streching, went to PT in the beginning also. I also do at home traction. This really helps !!! I have seen the neurosurgen 3 times since this happened. Each time he did a strength test on my hand and arm, everytime the number's have gotten worse. The last visit he sent me for another MRI, this told him that whatever is going on in my neck is not improving with conventinal treatment. It seems that the pain, weakness and numbness is a progressive thing that I am not aware of. I did not realize just how weak my right arn and hand has allready gotten. If I do not have surgery to correct this I mght lose function in my right arm. So I will be having ACDF surgery soon. Any advise or help ??? Thanks, Karen

Good Luck
 

Karen,
I had a 2 level ACDF C5-6 C6-7 pm 12/9/2010. My was from a long lasting regenerative problem. I waited more than 5 years to have the surgery. Big mistake on my part. Should have had it done years earlier. After surgery I was lucky that the pain I had prior was gone as was the pin and needles, tingling. Don't get me wrong, there was some different pain associated with the surgery. I was pleased that I had the surgery. Good luck.

Thanks for the help !!! I tend to look into the "what if's " and totally scare myself !!!

please oh please i beg that you do research much of it

speak with as many persons in your position

seek all different doctors

always always have an advocate with you

get as many opinions as possible

i had the same surgery

same hardware

same symptoms

had all kinds of doctors and painful tests

in the end still haven't fused to date

first surgery 3-11-10 second 4-15-11

i believe in the end i didn't have a good team

some good stories i have read

i'm certainly not one of them

do not want to frighten you

just asking that you make and informed decision

please do your homework

i am worse off from my experience

i wish you only the best of luck

This week I have to go to the hospital for preop testing, then have my primary Dr. give memedical clearance for my surgery. The neurosurgen who is doing the surgery, is one of the best in the area. I have complete confidence in him !!! Lot's to do. I still do my at home traction, this really helps with the neck pain. It dose nothing for the arm and hand pain. My finger's have been numb/tinglingly for 8 month's now. I do hope that the nerve damage can be reversed. I have seen some HORROR stories online about this surgery and the recovery. I am in quite a bit of pain/disconfort NOW !!! I really hope that this surgery make's things BETTER not WORSE !!!

I had my acdf surgery 4 1/2 months ago. I felt much better (except for the normal PO pains) for about 8 weeks. I think I did too much too soon. I went back to work (teaching) after only three weeks and began feeding my horses after 6 weeks. I have pain now that I did not have the first eight weeks. My bone is fusing well and I have another follow up appointment with my surgeon on December 9 so we'll see what he says. Even though I followed all the post op instructions he gave me, your body will tell you what you can and can't do....listen to it! Best of luck, I am sure you will do well!

MB

Hi, Just trying to get everything straightened in my house so there will be nothing left to clean after I have my surgery on Dec 12 th. I had my medical exam yesterday, and except for they fact that I overdid it with the cleaning and gave myself a slight asthma attack, I am doing fine. I am a bit scarred about this surgery, I have had several surgical procedures in the past, and I tend to get this nervous feeling with every one. I know there are limitations with this surgery, no BLT..bending lifting or twisting. Can anyone please give me some advise on what to expect. My surgery is just one level C6/C7. I will be having a fusion with cage plating. Thanks, Karen

with the house and all that clean up stuff have someone with you
NO lifting pulling pushing
relax let yourself heal
this coming from someone who
suffers
OCD err on the side neat and orderly
not a good thing

be well
wishing a smooth ride

I will be having ACDF with cage plate surgery on December 12th. I am a little nervous about the recovery...I have a HARD time sitting still, and lot's of chores around the house on a daily basis. How am I going to do this ??? ANY SUGGESTIONS !!!PLEASE HELP !!!

My experience
 

I had ACDF surgery July 2011. I did NOT wake up in the hospital with my arm pain gone! Unlike some lucky people. The first month of recovery was hellacious. Lots of pain in my arm and shoulder. It wasn't until the 5th week that the pain began to lessen. It's now four months later, and I'm down to about 1800mg. of Gabapentin daily, instead of 3600 mg. before my surgery. Of course, I hope I continue to improve, but sometimes I wonder why it's taking so long (I had two huge disc herniations as a result of a fall. Have no DDD at all).

Re: good luck
 

I do wish you all the best in your surgery. I know if you already have the date for your surgery set, you have done all your homework about it. I had my second fusion C3-7 a year ago. My result was very good, and the pain is alot less. My surgery however was pretty painful. Make sure you are on the same page as your physician regarding medications after the proceedure. I am glad I did this second fusion, and I hope you have good results with lots of pain reduction when it is all said and done. I did start PT soon after surgery, at just 4 weeks with my surgeons blessings. This helped me more than I thought it would. Take care during your recovery, and be extra good to yourself. I also hope you have someone in your life that can help you out for a couple of weeks while you heal. That alone is worth gold. I also hope that by Christmas you can enjoy some of the holiday. My sincere best wishes for you. ginnie

Re: one more thing
 

Dear tiger, get help in the house if you can. You will need recovery time. let your chores slide, let your house go if your have to and just take the time you need to recover. I needed a good three weeks before I was up and doing something again. My results were good as I stated, but I also did all the right things my doctor said, including rest, no activity for awhile, and I had help with meals etc. ginnie

Thank you very much for the advise. It's just me and my hubby here, we don't have kids..we have 4 cats. He is going to be the one to take care of me and the furrkids for a while. I am usually the household caretaker. I am disabled due to a knee injury, so I am home most of the time, while he is at work. I walk with a cane, and can't bend or straighten me left knee. Hubby is worried that he won't be able to work his 40 hour work week and do everything I need him to do for me and the house at the same time. My Doctor has given me aftercare rules/instructions...as to do only what your body tells you that you can do. If it hurt's STOP !!!

Post - Op suggestions
 

Hi, Sorry that it took me so long to reply to you. Just remember everyone is different as far as how long they were in pain, the level of pain prior to the surgery, the amount of damage and how many levels are being taken care of. Many people on these sites are here because of complications and problems. The people who have no issues usually stay for a bit and then leave.

I hope you have a chance to read this prior to your surgery tomorrow. I know that emotionally I was ready for my surgery 1 year ago. You need to be emotionally and mentally in the right place. I knew it was time and the right decision medically and had faith in my surgeon. Hope you are in the same place. The day before when it set in that I was having surgery I realized hey this is it, got nervous and took a Xanax to calm me down. The day of surgery I was surprising calm and ready.

After surgery I was in significant pain from the intubation not necessarily the surgery itself. Talking and swallowing were a difficult. If you have a pain pump right after surgery have your hubby make sure you press the button on the set time frame so that you are not in pain. When the nurse wanted to give me a pill to swallow for pain or muscle spasms I asked for a shot for the first few days and then to have it crushed in applesauce. My swelling was more significant and needed steroids in order to decrease. Again this was from the intubation not the surgery. I don;'t remember waking up in recovery, but my husband said that I only complained about my throat not my neck. I didn't have the numbness, or pins and needles in my hand any more. Don't be surprised if you still have an iv, when you go back to your room. I had iv antibiotics for a few day. If they give you a stool softener go for it. You may even want to have some at home for later on. The pain meds that they give you, the anesthesia, and the pain meds that you take at home will wreak havoc on you bodily systems. No one told me that. Be proactive.

Remember you are in charge of your pain meds. Do not try and be proud and try and take as little as possible, not that I am advocating drugs, but there were times at home in the first few weeks that I tried to decrease the meds too quickly or lengthen the time in between. Big mistake in the beginning. Once the pain got bad at home and I took pain meds, it took a solid 2 hours before they took affect.

Foll ow your doctors orders. Every doctor is different. Some give their patients a hard collar, a soft collar, both or neither. Mine wanted only a soft, I was nervous and he gave me a hard collar that I wore for a few days and then in the shower. Glad I had it. Then I wore the soft collar for 3 months all the time except for showering (hard). Glad I had both. I wrapped a scarf around the soft collar for style. They also gave me a sock type item to place around collar. they get dirty very fast. After 3 months I was weaned off the collar although I still wore it when I was sore or achy.

My best advise is LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. It will tell you when you have done too much. Be prepared to be very tired, weak and tire easily for the first 3 weeks. I only ate soft food due to the swelling. Have plenty of oatmeal, soup, mashed potatoes, pasta, jello, pudding, yogurt and items such as these for the beginning. You may not need them some people eat regular food right away. Place milk or other drinks in smaller containers. I was buying gallon containers, but knew I wasn't going to be able to lift them. You can still buy them, but have you husband create smaller containers with water bottles so that they are easy for you to lift. Bendy straws were my best friend for a long time. My surgery was 12/9/2010 (ACDF C5-6 C6-7 with cage, plate & 6 screws and BMP) so I am trying to look back at a year ago. I slept in my recliner for about 6 weeks. Some people have no problem sleeping. It was more comfortable an since I was not sleeping well on/off it was better since then my husband was able to get some sleep.

Good luck tomorrow, Keep me posted. Again sorry for the long delay in responding. Wish you well.

Dear Tiger
 

I will be praying for you on the 12th. I look forward to the day you can come back here and let us know how you are doing. We all will be thinking of you and hoping for the best possible outcome. Blessings to you. ginnie

Not sure about surgery tomorrow...I might be coming down with a cold. Have a slight fever and a sore throat. I called the surgen's office. Am waiting for a answer.:(

The surgen will not do surgery if I am sick, I have a slight fever of 99.9. I will have to reschedule my ACDF for sometime in the new year. The first week of Jan.

Re: hi tigerbear
 

Your surgeon was right to post pone the surgery. You do need to be in good health. Sorry you came down with something icky. Take care and rest up. Try to have a good holiday and not be nervous about the coming year. Every thing will go ok. Get well soon. ginnie

New surgery date 1/11/12. I will be stocking up on Vitamin C for Christmass !!!

Hi tigerbear
 

[We will be here for you on the 11th of Jan. with support and caring. Try to enjoy your holidays. I hope than your doctor is giving you good pain control while you wait for your surgery. It is hard to function when pain is the primary focus. Hope your recent illnss goes away quickly. ginnie

Thanks Ginnie, for all of your advise and kind words. Thankfully I have lot's of pain med's that I take daily for my knee. This really helps with the arm/hand/neck pain too. I have everything from anti anflammatory's and muscle relaxers to narcotics. I also have lot's of deep penetrating muscle rubs. This is a bad cold, it seems that everyone is getting sick this time of year. Thankfully my doctor dose not need me to repeat the preop testing. I will use this time to bake my christmass cookies, that I thought I would have to miss out on this year :) Thanks again, Karen:)

Hi Karen/tigerbear
 

Glad you are Ok regarding pain medications. Just get well. I had to go out today and I hated to. I live in a high touriest area in Fla. and there are people sneezing all over the place. I hear one and I walk the other way. I am trying like crazy to avoid what you caught. Hope it goes away quickly. I hate being sick too. The tourists come down here with all the flus and colds from up North. I feel like this place is a floating petri dish! Anna Maria is a small island south of Tampa Bay. Get well so you can enjoy some of the holidays. Stay warm. ginnie:santa:

I am in Cheetowaga New York, where it's just starting to get really COLD and SNOWY !!!It seems that everyone is sneezing !!! Well at least we got the christmass tree all decorated today :)

Re: town name
 

What a beautiful name for a town. I know it is cold up there. Try to keep warm and out of the snow. I wish I could send you some sunshine from down here. Fla. does get down to freezing, but I suppose that is warm compare to NY. Our cold season hasn't been too bad at all yet. Average is about 70. I sure try to avoid the crowds at this time of year. take care tigerbear, ginnie:santa::santa:

It's a good thing that I did not have my surgery on Monday after all. I am a cat lover..I have 5 of them. My oldest is 16 and he is not doing too good. I will have to make the hard decision on putting him down soon. I am a total wreck about this !!! With all this stress my painscale has gone off the charts again !!! I have been into the chiropractor twice this week alone. Everything is tight and painfull starting from my neck and all the way to my numb fingers. Things are going form bad to worse !!! :(

Good Luck
 

Hi, Sorry for the change of date for the surgery. Hopefully you will have a relaxing holiday season and be healthy for the new surgery date. Hope my long email was helpful. Are you having your surgery in Buffalo? The town sounds familiar from when I went to SUNY Geneseo.

Hi tiger bear
 

I am a cat lover too. I lost my scruffy last year, a 21 year old rag doll. I do hope your kitty can go on for awhile yet. I so understand that pain of having to let a pet go. When I put Scruffy down, I only waitied 5 months before I adopted Sammy a very very big adult cat. He has allowed the grief to pass. I only have the one right now, but just maybe I will adopt again. There is nothing better than a kitty in bed with you, well maybe a dog for the dog lovers. ginnie

Ok, so I had to re do all my persurgery testing. Things are on schedule for Jan11th. I am going to stay away from anyone who sneezes. I have been taking vitamin c daily also.I have also been to the cyro 2x a week. This has helped a bit. My pain is still intense in my arm and neck. It is a good thing that my surgery was rescheduled. My belovid cat passed yesterday and I have been crying nonstop !!! I hope I feel better when my surgery comes around than I do now. I am a total wreck !!!:(

who knows
maybe just maybe she'll be lying in bed with you licking your
pains away

oh tigerbear
 

[I am so sorry your beloved friend passed away. I know what you are experiencing so very well. I lost scruffy last year my cat of 21 years. I cried for months, and I still do now and then a year later. He was my best pal. I teared up thinking of what you must be feeling right now. I believe we see our pets on the other side, that they are still with us during our time of need.
It is hard when we are in pain, and then no longer have that comfort by our side. I hope you get through the holidays OK, and know that I am praying for you as you get to your surgical date. It is OK to cry. peace be in your heart. ginnie

so sorry for you lose
 

So sorry about your cat. It is so difficult to lose a beloved pet. Time does ease the pain. Good luck with the upcoming surgery. Any questions feel free to ask.

This holiday was very sad for me :( I really do miss my beloved cat. I hope things will start to get better. I went to my chiro 2x this past week, my neck and arm are very tense. With all the christams cookies I made this past week I also have a lot of pain in my hand too. I am looking froeward to my upcoming surgery to hopefully help with me pain !!! I know the recovery might be difficult. I got a recliner for christmas. Hopefully I will get some relief trying to sleep in it while I recover from surgery. I am trying to get as much housework done as I can, so there will be nothing left for my hubby to do but take care of me. Since I am only having one level done, I hope there will not be a lot of difficulty with the recovery. I have read things on here that go either way, it can be great or it can be horrible.

Hi tigerbear
 

Of course you miss your beloved pet. It does indeed make that first holiday without him sad. You also lost him close to the holiday itself. I also looked at scruffys pictures, and petted my new cat sammy. I think my companion was speaking from heaven to tell Sammy how to behave with all the wrappings and bows. It was almost spooky how like him Sammy was. In time, your grief will become tolerable. There is no way to rush this eithor. I just wanted you to know I understand your great loss. You are in my thoughts as the new year begins. ginnie

Thanks for the kind words !!!

Positive Result from ACDF!
 

I want to post because I had a great result. I am 6 days post-op ACDF c6/c7. I have experienced very little post-op pain. My troubles pre-op are gone, and recovery is going very smoothly. I was very anxious about post-op pain and have not taken more than 2 pain pills in 6 days, and then mostly just to sleep. I found a comfortable sleeping position on my side last night and that is a big relief. My voice is still raspy, but i believe it will come back. I am walking and trying to avoid the temptation to do things that are on the "no-no" list because I feel pretty darn good!!

I hope you all can be reassured that there are many more good outcomes that are just never posted. Keep a good attitude, and walk, and drink lots of fluids, and eat well. :D Good luck!

Re: fantantastic sfen
 

Right on! I am glad to hear another success story. Some of these surgeries do indeed work. You did your homework and got the best possible outcome. I am happy for you too. Take it easy when healing, and consider PT. My doctor did recommend the PT and it was a good experience for me, even though I didn't like going in so often for the excersises. Glad to hear your good news. Heal quickly....ginnie

I am getting a bit nervous as time gets closer to my surgery. One week to go now !!! My biggest concern is the fact that I can't sit still for long. I want to be doing something all the time, from playing with the cats to cleaning the house. I am not sure how good I am going to be with NO BLT. I am also not sure if I will have a crevical collar or not. I called the Dr's office and told them I wanted one due to the fact that I am a clutz. I am afraid that I might do too much too soon and hurt myself. The Dr office said I would prob get a soft collar to restrict my movements anyway. I am kind of freaking out a little bit :rolleyes: The crazy thing is that in the past few weeks I have had my normal arm pain all the time, but there are times when it is not too bad. I still have a marked weakness and the tingly fingers all the time. I think I am stressing myself out !!!

Hi tigerbear
 

Guess where I ran to one week before my cervial fusion? I ran right to this site, and you are where you can receive that vote of confidence. I was so scared just like you are. It helped me to calm down and relax to know that others understood my fears. I do understand yours. I believe your surgery wil go just fine. You will be OK. I too had a soft colar, and it helped me not to over do it. Let me know if I can do anything for you to ease your mind. All will be OK tigerbear. I believe you have a good surgeon and that you are in good hands. I am praying for you. Tell me the date of the surgery and I will put you on my calander, time and date. I will pray for you while you are in surgery. ginnie

Hi Ginnie, it really helps to talk to people who have been there n done that !!! My surgery is Jan 11th. We have to be at the hospital at 6am, my surgery is at 9am. It's going to be a LONG day. I recover form anesthesia BADLY !!! I have to be premedicated or I am sick for days !!! My doctor allready know's this, I will be given oral and injectable anti neasusea medications !!! I don't want to get sick at a time when I can't bend over into a bucket !!!

tigerbear surgery
 

I put you down for the 11th. I too had to be medicaded with zanax. And like you I get sick to my stomach after I wake up. I got a few injections for my stomach. Also during my recovery with the pain injections, my stomach acted up a bit then too. Just tell them right away, and I know they will get you what you need. It is good you talked to your doctor first, so they know ahead of time what trouble you have.
I have a tooth out next week, I will be put out for the same reason. My nerves just don't do that good. I will also have pre-surgery zanax. The whole thing can be nerve racking. It will be OK. I sure hope that you heal fast. Keep coming back here until your surgery date, and get all the comfort you can. I sure did, including the morning I went to the hospital. I also jumped on line briefly to tell everyone I was OK, maybe 4 days after recovery at home. Take care, and sleep well. ginnie