I need some advice
 

In April of 2011 I had ACDF surgery on C5-6. They used bone graft, I have a plate and screws. I was in terrible pain before the surgery and I still am! I still have numbness and tingling in my right arm and fingers. My arms and hands will go numb if I lift them over my head. This causes a real problem when I'm sleeping (or shall I say trying to sleep) as my limbs are constantly going to sleep and it wakes me up. I've continued to go back to my Dr. who is the chief of staff at a well know spine center (thus a good Dr.) but they say I'm fine. I've healed perfectly........ so now what do I do. I'm still on pain meds, it's the only way I can function. At some point, I'm sure they will refuse my refill requests, I"m getting very depressed because I'm just not better, yet everyone keeps telling me I should be! I simply do not know what to do at this point. I work from home but it's all computer work and it's very hard to sit and do my job. My business is suffering but I can't help it. Some days it's just impossible to sit here. Any advice would be appreciated.
Tks so much!

Unfortunately, this is too common a story, as born out by discussions here and other similar groups. OTOH, people who are textbook success stories don't generally seek out support groups.

You may need to ask to be referred to a pain management clinic or specialist.

Did they happen to image your shoulders at any time? The symptoms you describe with your arms could possibly indicate a separate issue of nerve impingement(s) there.

Doc

I don't I've had anything with my shoulders. I had a nerve study but that came back normal. What type of test or imaging are you referring to?

shoulder imaging: MRI arthrogram

they inject contrast into the shoulder capsule to get a better look at the shoulder structure

Dr. Smith has a good suggestion regarding the shoulder. another possibility is thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS).

I developed TOS from a car accident and had similar symptoms on the affected side. surgery fixed that issue but I still had problems with strength in the upper arm and neck spasms after surgery. about 4 yrs later, they discovered a problem with the shoulder stemming from the same car accident. once the shoulder was fixed, the neck settled down. so you could have a couple of problems going on.

nerve conduction studies are rarely positive.

Is your desk/workstation set up as ergonomically as possible?
do you hold the phone with neck/shoulder quite often?
how many hr s a day do you do computer work, do you often take breaks to stretch and get blood flowing again...?
How is your overall posture - head forward , shoulders hunched or rolled forward of the body?
TOS can also be related to repetitive work and static postures (desk-work) over time.

Here's our useful sticky thread link for our TOS forum - like a crash course for TOS -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html

In my case they could tell from a simple x-ray, but they may go further with MRI, contrast... I'm not familiar with all the different kinds of imaging yet (and in a way I hope I never have to). :o

Doc

[QUOTE=Jo*mar;803943]Is your desk/workstation set up as ergonomically as possible?
do you hold the phone with neck/shoulder quite often?
how many hr s a day do you do computer work, do you often take breaks to stretch and get blood flowing again...?
How is your overall posture - head forward , shoulders hunched or rolled forward of the body?
TOS can also be related to repetitive work and static postures (desk-work) over time.

Here's our useful sticky thread link for our TOS forum - like a crash course for TOS

I've replaced my chair. I try to wear a headset at all times. I never put phone on neck/shoulder.... actually I can't do that.I find I have to take breaks after 2 hrs. Sometimes I take my laptop and work standing up for a while. (have a high shelf) I will check out TOS. I appreciate the referral. I am just sooooooooo discouraged! I started my own business 7 years ago and it's been pretty successful........ I just wonder how I can continue..... I'm blessed I can work from home but I still must put in 8 hr's of computer work a day. I have employees but we are all virtual so I can't just hand something so someone and say "here you do this". Plus, I'm the one with the technical knowledge..... :( I can't be the only one that has this problem...

You're not....
 

I had to give up a successful business of ten years due to disabling intractable pain & headaches. It was my "child", as I grew it from infancy, and it consisted of all my creative passion & effort through those years. It takes a while to recognize, reconcile, and recover from many different kinds of life-changing events. It can also be a grieving process.

I'm not suggesting you need to or should do what I had to (and I sincerely hope that you do not have to). Only that at some point, and possibly several, you may need to examine and re-evaluate your situation, priorities, and options, and then continue/proceed forward. These are hard decisions, no bout adoubt it.

Doc