They are doing my anterior, and my neuro is going to adjust my incision to a lower horizontal incision in the front to allow for possible surgeries that may be needed later in life (tryint to avoid ever having to go in through the back of my neck, my father had that done 15 years ago and it was terrible!). He was unsure about my C4 being fused, but by lowering my incision and reducing scar tissue he says he'd be able to do a second surgery through the front if I ever needed it. (I'm only 40 and I'm pretty active, so there will be a lot of stress put on other discs if I'm not careful, for many years to come). But for now we're just fusing C5, C6, C7.

I'm hopeful and thinking postive, I'm so exhausted from the relentless pain everyday I just want a shot at being better. It helps that I totally love my neurosurgeon, he has a wonderful bedside manner and is very easy to talk to about concerns. I went from being terrified to comfortable after my last couple of appts. just by getting more at ease with the surgeon. After all, they have our life in their hands, literally!

I am very scared about the paralization risk also, but have to remain hopeful that everything happens for a reason, and I am very healthy otherwise.... here's hoping this will give me some mobility back to my life.

I wish you the best! Where are you from btw? I see BIG differences in healthcare from Canada (I'm in Ontario) and the United States. There are pros and cons to both I believe.

The pain is horrific, I don't believe anyone can fully understand how bad this sort of nerve pain is unless they have experienced it themselves. That's one thing I like about this forum, others can relate and understand how you feel.

Take care.... wishing you a low pain day! Cathie

Cathie, I accepted your friend request. We can talk about the surgery and I can share what ever info you want.

Thank you Cathie,

I am in the states. I belong to an HMO and have to see their doctors.
I was so lucky to be refered to the head of neuro. He is a shy man but he really knows his stuff. He was very honest with me, and I know he did everything he could to help me. He told me, he has never seen anything like this before. I apparently have bones growing where they are not suppose to grow. The pain in the neck and arms is gone but the back is a mess.
I know people dont want to rush into a surgery like this but in my case it was very serious. My head was bent so far forward I was having trouble breathing.

I believe you will see a difference right away with the pain. Follow directions from the doctor to the T.
I wish you luck, and please let us know how you are doing.
I always thought I was the only one like this lol, until I found this and other boards.

Good luck!
Saucer

Ginnie,
You are one of the few people I have seen with similar swallowing issues. I stumpled on this thread. So you may need to update me on your specific case. I had PEEK cages with BMP that caused excessive swelling where they needed to give me a 5 day dose of steroids to reduce in order for me to swallow without extreme pain. It helped. It too need alot of water to get the food down. There are many foods that are just not worth the lump in my throat feeling that the food is stuck. If this is permanent then I will have to deal with it, but still hoping that it will get better. Hope you have a good day.

================================================== ======
12/9/2010 ACDF C5-6 C6-7
severe DDD, arthritis, pinched nerves, disks herniated, slipped disk
6 week check no bone fusion
wearing bone stimulator 4 hours a day
starting PT at 10 weeks post op
Limited ROM and strength

hi,i had surgery on my c4 thru c7 3weeks as of today.mine due to an motorcycle accident almost 2yrs ago.they removed dic=sc,fused wth cadver bones,pins and plate.following surgery,my first week was good,Probably because of all the pain meds.this is week 3,and i do feel somewhat better,but hard to tell because i am not allowed to do anything, and am stillon some pain medication.i will keep u posted,sincerely Tiny1

Hi ginnie.,wel surgery was 1/24/11 and today is 3/14/11,and there is improvement,however still slow,going crazy not being able to do much,no driving,..still have some pain,however i wonder as to how it will be when i am able to do what i was doing b4 the surgery...i am limited as to how far i can turn,and swallowing has gotten better,but not 100% yet..i still have tingling in my arm and legs ,but comes and goes.

I had my C5, C6 & C7 fused on March 2. I had a lot of your issues, my biggest complaint was the numbness/tingling in my right hand, pain in my right arm and wrist and pain in my traps and shoulders

The surgery was not an easy one, but I'm doing ok. I have no more nerve issues that I know of, still a lot of swelling, still swalling issues from the surgery, and I'm still on narcs for pain at my fusion site and in my shoulder, but it's a different kind of pain. I'm doing pretty good. Nice that I can use my hands again! I would do the surgery again, I'm grateful for the nerve pain to be gone.

My next appt. for a followup and Xrays is not until April 26, which is 8 weeks post op, so I will be wearing my collar until then. I wear it day and night, and shower with it. If it weren't for all the incredible help I got from my husband I would not have survived this, he washes and dries my hair, and helps with so many simple tasks that I was just too weak or not allowed to do.

I have a titanium plate with 6 screws at my fusion, and I chose to use cadaver bone from a bone bank. My incision is healing very nicely, you can hardly see where the stitches were, there is a bit of a scar, but I'm not really concerned about that.

My main issues right now are how uncomfortable it is to have my collar on all the time, especially sleeping, and I still have difficulty swallowing, always feels like a golf ball is stuck in my throat, but other than that I'm doing ok.

good luck with your consults, and I hope all goes well for you!
Cathie

What can or does make this condition worse? Is there anything that people typically do in a normal day that can make this worse? I have been having severe pain for about two months now. Initially, I thought it was carpel tunnel or an ulnar nerve issue with my hands/arms...so I filed a workers comp claim through my employer. Long story short...I was harrassed by my employer with regard to the WC claim, the claim was dismissed because that wasn't the issue. I got the diagnosis yesterday of CPS....unfortunately, I was also terminated from my job yesterday due to issues directly related to my condition. I really need some answers. I know that what they did was wrong...they should have given me FMLA and allowed me to do short term disability in order to take care of this. I have been upfront with them all along on this.

I'm sorry to hear this Hellion. Im not sure what CPS is. I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel for 8 months until they realized my spinal cord was being pinched off. Seems CT is a catch all now for arm pain.
I would speak with the doctor, maybe he or she can help with the disability.
Where I live we have state disability.

my original diagnosis was like yours, they treated me for 6 months for carpel tunnel and ulnar nerve, it wasn't until I had my first CT scan after 6 months of agonizing physio that they discovered it was my c-spine pinching the nerves. I too am off on comp (WSIB) but they just transferred my original diagnosis over to the correct one and kept my same file going since I never went back. I am now 3 weeks post op, in less pain then before surgery, and on less pain meds, (although I still take oxy & percs) but I'm still not healed or out of pain completely. I have solved the pinched nerve in my ulnar nerve completely, and my wrist is 90% better, I have a little residual numbness in my last two fingers but I've been told this can take up to 2 years to go away completely. My swallowing issues have all cleared up, and the only thing that is really bothersome is the damn muscle spasms in my shoulder area and sore achy neck. I have a hard collar that I'm required to wear for at least 5 more weeks, then i will have xrays to see about getting that off. Interesting to see how I feel when this collar comes off, it's very uncomfortable. (especially sleeping with it).

I'm glad I had the surgery, I was in much more pain before then now. Now I just need to stay positive and patient while I heal... easy to get bored and climb the walls not being allowed to do anything or drive.

Good luck to you, I'm sorry you lost your job over this, that was definately unfair, since you were being honest, you had no way of diagnosing yourself, and it's the doctor's responsibility to correct misdiagnosis with a compensation claim. I had the same thing, and I was very stressed about my job. I'm still off work for at least 5 more months to heal, I imagine it's going to be a bit stressful returning since my absence has been so long (makes for bad feelings with some coworkers).

take care,
Cathie