I have indeed been thinking about you. I know you face this surgery this coming week. I have been praying for you. This cage is to secure the graft with your disks. I had a little differnent things done. I have rods, and screws placed, different side of the same coin. do you understand? This is just another way of going about stabilizing you spine. There are just two methods they use to get you to fuse, and make your spine strong again without the herniated disks and all the bone spurs getting in the way of you having a better life. while they work on you, all the things that are wrong will be addressed. Look up this cage item on Google. My only concern is that the vivid photos may frighten you. I did not look at my actual surgery until I finished with the proceedure. I knew what they were doing to me, but I didn't want to view the actually surgery until I was again on my feel. I didn't need to be freaked out any more than I already was. My opinion is that you are already really anxious as I was. Wait till you are well, and know that this cage will stabilize and correct your spine and allow you to heal.
The other part I am concerned about is your lack of help at home. I wish to heavens I was your neighbor. You really should have someone with you at least the first few days for meals, bathe, and comfort of not being alone. I even had my housemate bring my meds to me, as I didn't want to get up. I was up in the bath that had my water drawn for me. that first bath was heaven, and helped me feel better. I wore my collar most of the time except for sleep and in bed. Please get a neighbor, call your church, or get the community to respond to your needs. I would call the church if you are really alone and ask for this service on compassionate grounds. I don't think a church, any church would refuse a help request. Let me know how it stands with you on this issue. I am here for you to talk to. Please PM me if you want. Be at peace, and put your faith now into your doctors, that they can restore you to a better place in life. I am praying for you right this minute. ginnie

ABBB,

I answered your question about the cage a couple of days ago.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post852384-83.html
You can find more by googling: acdf with fusion cage

Using this site for support is ok; that's what it's here for, but you may not be in any condition to use your computer during the first few days following the surgery. I encourage you to start building a more comprehensive support team/network for the future. I posted a schematic of what one might look like here.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post805681-5.html
Click on the thumbnail image to see a larger view.

Ginny and others have commented that you may need help during that recovery period. Since you have no family, and may not have a church, contact your local Visiting Nurse Service and/or Friends In Service Here (FISH) or call the hospital and ask about services/organizations that may be able to help you.

You can also call the hospital to find out what items to bring.
Google: questions to ask before surgery
Google: questions to ask before neck surgery

Doc

I totally agree with Dr.Smith. If you can call and arrange some kind of help those first few days at home, it will make your life much better. being alone those first few days is not a good idea. Call the hospital as Dr. Smith suggested and get a caregiver of some kind in. As far as what to bring? Bring easy in and out of cloths for when you go home. At home have an in and out of easy nightie, or PJ's, For me I needed a pillow that is inclined on an angle and that was better for me while in bed. It is called a wedge, bath bed and beyond stores carry them, and so do local medical supply places. There are also moist toweletts at walgreens for personal care so you don't have to take a bath or shower for a day or so. Just wipe cloths that are very nice. There is also a none soap shampoo you just put on your hair and towell dry if you want you hair washed. This is the kind of thing you will need help for. Also your meals are a concern. You will not feel at all like cooking and not maybe even eating. Have some comfort food in the fridge. I had tapiocia pudding, and steal cut oatmeal ready for me. soft foods in particular. Apple sauce,etc.
I also had greek yogurt. You may not have much of an appetite, but nutrition will be important and so will fluids bedside at home. Prepare as much as you can. Soup was also good when I was not hungry. Let me know how you are doing with these ideas. ginnie

Hi
I'm so glad to find this discussion. I have cervical disc disease at 2 levels - not severe but moderate, but the pain is bothering me so bad I have decided to go ahead with surgery on April 21st. I've seen 4 docs, 2 suggested foraminotomy but when I went back to the last NS, he told me that the foraminotomy will most likely not help my neck pain. I was hoping for the easier foraminotomy procedure.

A doc friend of mine has told me absolutely go with my own bone if I go the route of the fusion. I hate the idea of hip surgery on top of neck surgery. Also 10 days before my neck surgery I am having wrist surgery (want to have this all done during the same work absence).

Can anyone tell me what the hip pain is like if you give your own bone?

Also, my doc friend is sending me to see one more NS next week just to get one more opinion if we go ahead with the foraminotomy or ACDF. My doc friend says I could always start with the foraminotomy and then move forward with the ACDF later. I hate the idea of another surgery down the road tho...

I have moderate weakness in my arm on the left side. Doc says no nerve damage yet and is not pushing me into surgery. I just can't stand the pain anymore and I've done all the conservative stuff including epidurals, one in particular really helped me for almost a month, so they feel the found the pain generator at C5-6.

Can't wait to be pain free, but I'm getting scared reading some of these posts... sounds like its a gamble with the surgery!

Diane

[I too am grateful for the site. I had fussion twice, the last C3-7. If I could make a suggestion as others have, if you can opt. for donar bone, or other material. Coming from your hip is more pain. The surgery for me was difficult, but now I am glad I did it. 8 months post op. Be good to yourselves. ginnie

HI, while you are waiting to make up your mind on what to do, I would recommend a very good book. "treat your own neck" by robin mc kensies. I have neck pain with numbness down my arm and have improved it greatly with this book, doing all the prescribed exercises slowly. over the last months. the book is not a general exercises book, but specifically for neck pain. I am also doing isometrics neck exercises to strenghten my neck and back. it seems to me that all the people who get neck surgery don't get such good result, and then you loose a lot of motion. anyway everybody has different opinion, I guess If I was contemplating surgery I would go for the newer minimally invasive surgery, and no fusion anywhere.
cheers virginie

I had similar news regarding my neck,,I had to put off surgery until specialist said it was ok to operate(due to swelling around spinal cord) This was 5 yrs after having original accident,SCARED TO DEATH is how i felt. I weighed up the options and read lots of forums on life after acdf surgery. I had it done finally. My life now is alot better than before surgery although it is not without complication. I have constant neck shoulder and arm pian with pins and needles. I have odd breathing irregularities,,and do not work anymore (i tried but could not work full time anymore) If i had my time over,,I would STILL have the surgery .GOOD luck with whatever you choose to do simon.

Hey - I'm nearly 5 mos post-op from multi-level acdf surgery (c4-c6). The surgery itself, with major complications, is a breeze. I felt great the day after surgery and returned to my full-time job in 4 weeks. So, I would not recommend putting off the surgery if that's what your doctor recommends. I went years with the three herniated disks and other issues in my neck and back. Pre-surgery, my pain was concentrated on my left side (neck, back, arm, hand). Now that I'm in physical therapy, my pain is primarily on the right because unknowingly I had been compensating for the left side with my right. The bottom line is that you are continuing to damage your back in places that you think would not be impacted, and undoing all of that when you finally do have surgery is extremely difficulty and doubly painful.

Hi,
I put of having a 3 level ACD&F (c4-c7) for 7 yrs. Kept working my same job. My job consisted of working on a machine that involved a lot of quick head movement, and good control of my hands, arms and upper body. Needless to say, I finally went in for surgery on Dec. 01, 2010. After 3 months in a neck brace, and now 5 PT sessions, I am suffering more pain then before. Intense headaches starting on the left side of my neck and running up to my left eye. Can't sleep, cause I can't get into a position that doesn't strain my neck. Total numbness in my right hand and fingers. Shooting pain in left shoulder (never had that before surgery). Legs get tired after about 100 yards of walking.
I suppose what I am saying is, if you intend to have the surgery, don't put it off. Obviously my putting it off for so long caused more damage then could be fixed. Wish I would have listened to the NS now.
Also found out this morning that my company no longer has a position for me. They let me go. So, now I am out of insurance, a job, and who knows what.
Whatever you decide I hope things work out the best for you.

I too have a herniated disk, but it is c5 and c6. I have been in severe pain since a car accident in October of 2009. I have been on Lyrica - 50 mg and the nerve pain has helped a little but I am normally 120lbs and have gone up to 132lbs. I have not wanted surgery because the disk was bulging at first and the second MRI showed herniated. The pain in my arm after two surgeries has not gone away and my neck pain is getting pretty severe after two and a half years of agony. I will be having a ACFD in the coming weeks because my doctor told me that it has been much too long to have pain like this and it must be pinching the nerves in my neck. I was beginning to feel like a hypochondriac. Too many symptoms from this herniated disc. He told me that bone spurs form and start pinching the nerves and all of the symptoms of pain that go along with it. I have chosen to have the surgery, it is exactly like the one that Peton Manning of Indy had. Sometimes it needs to be done twice, it if does not fuse properly. I am very scared but have chosen surgery as my last alternative to alleviate the pain. I was an extremely healthy person until my accident. I am sick of taking pills, but the lyrica has helped me to sleep at night, with less headaches. I guess this is better than what I had before. If you have too much pain after a year of before, I would reccomend seeing two surgeons, and see if both agree to your surgery. There is live video for this procedure on line, I have watched it and am scared but I hope that all will go well. I will post after my surgery for all to see, the after effects and if it has alleviated my pain.
So maybe you need to wait, if your pain is not extreme. I also had three sets of cortisone shots, with the third destroying my neck with pain. Still don't have a clue why. I hope this helps you. Carleen