pain after ACDF
 

i am having pain in my neck thru my right shoulder down my arm and tingling in little and ring finger. and around my right elbow and the bone is very painful. all this 4 months after cervical fusion

pain
 

I had a 3 level acdf done 12-04 and in 2005 had to have a c5-6 laminectomy. Go figure. It was the same area that I just had the fusion. Still have back of the neck pain while on the compt. Good luck, Tgent:cool:

thanks tommyd. i thinks this surgery is good and helps. but at the same time there seems to other problems that comes on. i am getting frustrated with drs. now my pcp is sending me to yet another dr on monday. i think i am just going to go back towork and live with the pain as much as possible. the vicodin helps some and i hope that at least this dr can give some meds to help when i move.

lolo,

I had my C5/6/7 ACDF back in June '06 and I too am still experiencing the same pre-op pains. I'm all too familiar with the pains you are having and was sent for another EMG/NCS and it showed bi-lateral carpal tunnel and bilateral ulnar nerve problems. The symptoms you are describing sound like they are being caused by your ulnar nerve which would go along with the pain in the ring and pinky fingers. You may want to request an EMG/NCS to see if the nerves are being compressed somewhere and causing these pains.

My EMG/NCS showed global sensory slowing in the upper extremities and motor conduction latency greater than 10ms in the ulnar nerve. I was sent to a hand/upper extremity surgeon for a consult by my OS, who agreed that I have moderate carpal tunnel bilaterally, but he felt the ulnar nerve problems were neuropathic and possibly coming from my neck and shoulder areas so he sent me to see a neurologist. The neurologist did a brief exam and then ordered a blood test. The blood test came back normal and the neuro called and said he had nothing else to offer me & didn't know what to tell me. So now I've got to go back to my spinal OS and see what the next step is. Not having answers is so frustrating, but hang in there and demand answers. We need to be pro-active in our health care since we are the ones living with this pain daily.

Best wishes,

Kim

thanks kim, you are so right. it is very frustrating to be in so much pain and the drs act as if we are the problem. i go to ortho surgeon tomorrow and see what he can do. this wil be the second one since the surgery. any kind of movement or lifting causes me extreme pain i will let you know what the dr says.

lolo,

Well?...What did the doctor say?

I'm thinking that they are going to say it has something to do with the ulnar nerve since you are having pain by the elbow, or the C8/T1 perhaps???

Best wishes,

Kim

hi kim, the dr said it was tendernitis in my elbow, but i need to tell the neuro about the pain in neck. he wants me to do therapy 3 times a week for 4 weeks and then come back to see him. hopefully that will take care of that. i am going to the neuro on monday and i will tell him and also that i need to go back to work. i don't know how i got it just sitting around since i had the fusion unless it is from being on this computer a nd i do that everyday all day. i will let you know

you know kim, the first ortho said i had the ulnar nerve problem and the carpal tunnel. but this on says soterdernitis. so go figure lol. so we will see what happens. i had carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists in2004. do carpal tunnel come back. thanks

lolo,

I have a good friend who had carpal tunnel surgery years ago and yes, she has been told that hers has come back. So, I would guess that you can get it again even after having had the CT release surgery.

lolo, I'm curious to know where your elbow pain is....is it in the elbow or is it just above the elbow in the back of the arm?

I was over a year before pain let up for me after ACDF. I still feel weird on the left side of the neck over 2 years later! I don't think I'll ever be right. In fact, the doctor told me, "I'm gonna have to hurt you to save you." I don't know if that goes for everyone but in my case the damage and compression was so severe he reemed me out like Roto Rooter on a drain pipe.

I am doing aqua therapy for my lumbar ....but my PT said to me that when you have a fusion you should ignore what the surgeon tells you...Mine told me I could do whatever I wanted ...I could not hurt myself...WRONG...I now am having problems with C2 and C3 and T1 - T4....Well some of that was a problem before the fusion too..just not symptomatic...Anyway..The PT said...the fusion makes everything rigid...so we should not be carrying shoulder bags...picking up anything heavier than a gallon milk jug ever...just baby ourselves forever...and forget golf....If you do not do these things you will be back to the surgeon...I think too that scar tissue builds up...It is what my surgeon thinks is happening with me...SCAR TISSUE!

I too have ulnar nerve issues...

Amen Gloria!

I totally agree with you! Anymore I just get livid with PT's. Every time I have gone to one no matter what the problem was, I was usually worse off. There was only one that did a great job for my hip problems. It seems to me and I could be very wrong, but a lot of these PT's are kids just fresh out of school. I am not so sure they know what they need to know when it comes to our conditions. Anyway, I am not a great fan of PT unless they are highly educated and/or specialized. It's just that I have been through the ringer with most of them.

No, we need to follow the instructions of the surgeon. And when mine tells me don't do this, that or the other...I LISTEN! EXCEPT...two weeks ago or so I overdid the housework and irritated the C7 nerve root which was a really dumb thing for me to; thinking I could do it all. I don't know how anyone else feels about this but I personally feel I will never, ever be 100%. So, if that means slow down, stop or find alternate methods of doing things then that is what I have to do. And, yes, it sucks, pardon me, as I am used to getting things done.

Oh, and when my PM gave me the injection he told me, "When the level above is fused, the level below has to take up the torque." Makes sense to me. And I better be careful as I have good discs sandwiched between those fusions! :eek:

I am having some of these same problems two years after surgery...but I have new problems cropping up now...It could be nerves that need the gift of time to heal...or just scar tissue that is forming unfortunately...

workmans comp
 

Thanks for the reply snoozie,

This is a work comp case so the want to put me on a conveyor belt and ship me through. Thanks for the info regarding the rotator. I know they want me back to work but I want me some what whole again. Had no collar after ACDF
not when I woke up or when I went home. But the woman in the room next to me had the same thing done and she had one on. Same Doc too. Maybe work comp didn't want to pay for it..lol

pain after acdf
 

hi slipnslide.. the pain is in my right arm just above and below the elbow also on the funny bone area in the back of my elbow. my gp took me off naproxen because i was swelling. so now the pain is from my neck down to my ring and little finger. and to top it off, tests showed i may have lung disease and early stages of enphyzema.

Hi Guys!
I had ACDF on C5/6 and 6/7 on Feb 14th of this year. I too have had post-op pain, and much of it was in my left elbow..ulnar nerve stuff. I had massive bone spurs, and 2 completely blown discs. My neuro surgeon came in to my room the morning after surgery, and literally tore the collar off my neck...He said " You don't need this crap..all it will do is make you uncomfortable." I have had no PT, and was back to work in 3 weeks. I have had issues since...minor muscle spasms and the elbow pain, but in recent weeks it has gone away. I just go to work and do it..and it just seems to get better every week. I am a printer and lift a lot in weird ways everyday...I feel better now than I have in years.
Thanks!
Dave :winky:

ACDF, Ulnar Nerve Decompression Surgeries
 

I had an ACDF in June of 2007 and a right ulnar nerve decompression in July of 2009. The following problems still exist:

Severe neck pain, stiffness, very limited mobility, cracking and grinding when my neck is moved.
Horrid headaches on a weekly basis.
Right elbow is still very sore from surgery...I am 10 months post-op.
Both hands (4th and 5th digits) are numb and have a tingling sensation.
My right shoulder is very sore since the June 2007 surgery.
Both wrists are always painful and I cannot pick up any items that have little bit of weight to them.
Cannot sleep much and have difficulty doing any everyday chores. Workman's Compensation insurance company has declined any additional medical evaluations/treatments since my second surgery of July 2009. In a severe amount of pain and need medical assistance ASAP!
Dr. stated that I need an MRI for my right shoulder due to injury yet the requests are constantly denied. Have an entrapped ulnar nerve in my left elbow (right elbow surgery for ulnar nerve performed July 2009) and the insurance company does not want to hear about it. Cannot take much more of this constant pain! I am 44 years old and a father of 6 year old twin boys. My poor wife has been doing everything as I complain about my pain. It is not a good feeling to not be able to do the simplest of chores. Feel as if I have been shuffled about and forgotten. I am really nervous about my future....lost a great job due to my 1st injury during my 25 years of being employed. So frustrated....

Welcome to Neurotalk.
I copied your post and placed it on our New Members forum also.
- here- http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread115597.html

I had ACDF 5-6-7 in 1999. I had to have pain management long afterwards, and it's only been the last couple of years I haven't had to have injections in my neck for pain.

Don't get me wrong, the worst pain was relieved immediately after the surgery, but I am saying don't expect to be pain free right away after the surgery. Get a good pain doc and take your time.

Ok, now I am kind of scared. I had ACDF C5-C6 at the end of March this yr. Most of the pain and numbness has gone away with the exception of in my neck, left arm and hand. Still have numbness in 2 fingers and 1/2 of hand, and it hurts like crazy to move my neck, and get muscle spasms in my arm. This is a comp case and doc wants to send me back to work already (desk job) but after typing, driving or sitting too long I hurt.

It seems that all though most of the pain has gone, I will live with the rest of it for the rest of my life.

on 4/6/2010 i had ACDF on C4/C5 & C5/C6. I did great for about 8 weeks then I began having pain in my left shoulder. Prior to the surgery it was my right arm that was affected. The pain has gotten progressively worse. In August I had a cortisone shot. I felt great for 3 days then the pain was back. I am now having a pins and needles feeling in both of my shoulders. I cant lift anything above my chest without feeling a burning pain in my neck and left shoulder. Now i am feeling a pinching in my neck anytime I move. :(

I'm new to this - my father broke his neck- C1 and C2 - and the n/surgeon promotes the odontoid screw procedure. is this the ACDF everyone is talking about? Now he is in rehab with a cervical collar, sitting in a wheelchair though he can walk, and with alarms on his chair and bed so he won't do anything without assistance. We are waiting to get in to see the n.surgeon and get a 2nd opinion, but now we are information gathering. As I read through this thread, I see alot of folks are not happy with the surgery?

I also had acdf six months ago, still have pain in the arm, it is better than before the acdf, however it still is painful no matter what I do.

I could have written most of this post....
 

Johnchez,
I had my ACDF surgery in September 2009 as a result of a car accident. The severe neck pain, lack of mobility, cracking and grinding, horrid headaches, great difficulty sleeping, etc. has been the story of my life since. I have not been diagnosed with ulnar nerve problems yet despite very similar symptoms as you describe. Was this picked up in EMG/NCV studies as mine were relatively ok so far?
My wife could commiserate with yours with the chores as activity drives the pain, burning, and numbness through the roof. You've been dealing with this a lot longer than I have, and I am starting to feel as if this has been endless.
Pain Management options are running out. The Neurosurgeon is throwing in the towel and trying to push me off to an acupuncturist. Do you have any advice?