2wks post-op after ACCF at C4-5/C5-6
 

hi....i am new on here and was wondering if anyone had insight into what i am going through....i am a 37 year old male who had a 6 month history of pain, numbness, paresthesia, and tremors of my right arm and in my ankles/feet...after a few NS consults (all 3 suggested an anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion at the C4-5/C5-6 level), I was told that I had cervical myelopathy as a result of cervical spondylitis with reversal of normal lordosis .....i went ahead with the procedure two weeks ago....for the first two days after the surgery, i felt great!!...best i have felt in 6 months with almost no symptoms!...unfortunately, they started coming back and now the symptoms are just as bad as they were pre-surgery...i am scheduled to see my NS in 4 weeks for a follow-up but am feeling pretty discouraged as i really had my hopes up that the surgery would eliminate my symptoms...this really sucks:(

Hi ~ The doctor SHOULD have told you that PAIN is NEVER a reason to have surgery. Most often, surgery will NOT relieve your pain. Many times you'll have the same pain or worse after surgery. Surgery only corrects mechanical problems, but never pain. The people who get pain relief are just plain lucky -- it is NOT the norm.

If your doctor didn't tell you this, then SHAME ON HIM. To lead a patient on like this is bad medicine. They just want to get you in the operating room. :mad: Perhaps he forgot??? I doubt it. This makes me so mad -- so many doctors don't tell their patients that their pain probably won't be relieved.

I'm sorry you didn't get any relief. My doc didn't tell me either, and I've had severe sciatica for 26 years. What a crock. Best of luck and let us know how your doctor's appt. comes out, will you? God bless. hugs, Lee

hi leesa...sorry it took a while to respond to you....i do not blame the doctors as i had 3 NS consultations and i don't feel i was misled and noone made any promises about how i would feel after the surgery.....it has now been 6 weeks and i would say that my symptoms are exactly the same as they were before surgery...the pain is exhausting and i'm not sure what to do next:(

Re: surgery
 

I am sorry that you didn't get the relief. I am now almost 7 months recovered from C3-7. The works. I did get some pain reduction and it seems to get better month by month. I was told that it may not work, but I had what you did with a reversal of my spine. I didn't really have much choice as moving my head at all hurt. I hope that you had some PT. For me the sessions were good even though I ached after. I am careful now, C1-2 is all I have left, so I don't do alot of looking down or up for that matter. In any case there is hope that you will find out why your proceedure was less helpful. This was my second surgery. The first one did not leave me better off. This second one I sought out the best surgeon I could in my part of the state. I gambled that this second surgery would work and it did. I wish you all the best, and hope that you get a good resolution with other treatments. :hug: ginnie

hi ginnie....thx for the response!!....it is great to hear that your second surgery worked for you!....it seems that almost everyone on here has had a discectomy rather than a corpectomy and it's nice to know someone eventually had success with it (although i fully realize that all of us are unique with our own particular type of pathology)...i am somewhat curious if you ever had symptoms that are similar to mine (pain radiating into arm(s) and ankles/feet along with numbness/tingling and tremors/twitching)....also, whether it was explained to you why the second surgery worked while the first one didn't and what was done differently?....ie. did they simply start with one/two levels and then move onto 4 levels at the second?...any other info would be greatly appreciated!!....my NS did tell me that it is still quite early and that re-myelination of the affected nerves takes time and i may notice improvement up to 9 months or more after surgery....anyways, all the best to you in your recovery:)

I had ACDF March 2nd
 

I understand your frustration, I'm 2 1/2 weeks post op and I'm still in pain also, but the pain is a different kind of pain. The nerve pain in my hand and traps seems to have been relieved, but I have neck pain at my fusion site (I had C5, C6 & C7 Fused with titanium plate, screws and cadaver bone). What I find is if I do nothing, the pain subsides, lying a lot, not too much walking or car rides or chores and activity. This causes swelling and muscle spasms. But if I do things I pay the price that night. I have been back to the ER because of this, and it's normal post-op pain I was told. Takes months to heal, so stay patient, I realize this is hard.... I DO FEEL YOUR PAIN. I'm in a hard cervical collar for 8 weeeks, I'm almost at week 3 and I'm ready to rip it off and throw it into the street... I hate this collar. It chokes me all the time, and it causes the muscle spasms. But it's like a cast for your neck and it's needed to heal your fusion properly, so wear it and put up with it.

Are you still taking adequate pain meds? I tried to cut back too soon and that causes pain also.... I'm taking Oxycontin, tramaset, and muscle relaxers, throw in the odd percacet when I can't handle it any longer.

i've been told it's just too soon to be feeling great, it's major surgery, so try to hang in there and maybe in a month or two you and I will both feel much better.

Take care, have a good, pain free, night.
Cathie

Hello
 

Hello and I hope you are doing OK. Yes there is even hope when the first surgery does not work. I had all the symptoms you told me about. My first was C-6-7 fusion, plate, artificial bone. this surgery I was told had to be done or I risked b eing paralized. I had no health insurance because of pre-exisiting conditions. I often wonder why he did not fix the whole neck. I was mad at the results and got my records and found out my neck had alot more problems than what was addressed. Perhaps he did no more because I had no money or insurance. Any way six years later, That same neck reversal continued on getting worse. My PT really was having trouble controlling my pain. He saw what my neck looked like with the Katamine infussions. He got me to the best NS around. He removed my old hardware, re-did C-6-7 and then fussed all C-3-7. He began with the old one first. My results are good. This is a relief, and I am on much less medication. I do caution, this hurt alot. I was in bed two weeks, and the third barely. Week four started to get better. The surgery I had was not taken lightly by the surgeon or me. I do wish you all the best as you deal with your cervical problems. It sure is no fun, but there are people who will care. I came here right before I had to have the surgery for support. For me the decision to do it was the right one. good luck ginnie:hug:

Hi Cathy
 

Hi cathy. I understand your pain too. I had C3-7 done. It is seven months later and I am doing well. I remember that pain also! I was in bed that long too, and for months afterwards had to sleep alot. In fact I sept so much I thought it was abnormal. Sleep, eat, heal, be good to yourself. I wish you a speedy recovery and at the end of it, no pain at all. Ginnie