Originally Posted by garyR

I am on my 4th week after acdf c3-7. I have an aspen (hard) collar 24/7. I could not sleep in my bed, I am a "side sleeper" due to some sleep apnea issues. Last night I don't think I got an hour of sleep. I kept waking up everytime I dozed off. I felt like I could not breath. Started panicicking. I am trying to sleep in a recliner because I found it impossible to sleep in bed. Is there anyone that has had this experience? If so, do you have any advice?
I recently cut down on my pain meds (Norco). last night I tried taking one Norco tab to see if it would relax me. It had no effect.

Originally Posted by frenchfri1003

Hi to all.
I am 4 1/2 months post-op at this time. I am pleased that once the day gets started and I have completed my exercises I have decent ROM to the left and down a bit more limited right and very limited up. My strength is still poor. Generally I use 2 lb weight at home to complete exercises. There is one that I use a 5 lb weight for. My son still carries the heavy groceries and the laundry basket. If I try to do either then I will suffer with neck pain, tightness, knots or tingling in my shoulder blade region and muscle spasms. When does this end? I want to be able to complete every day activities without worrying about how I will feel. As stupid as it sounds I want to be able to clean the bathroom thoroughly including scrubbing the tub and really washing my floors. Tired of the superficial cleaning. I would also like to be able to plant a vegetable garden and my flowers. I guess I am just feeling sorry for myself. I know others have it much worse than I do. I am also concerned about levels above and below the fusion. I know that everyone heals at different rates....

*************************************** **********
12/9/2010 ACDF C5-6 C6-7 with plate, screws,
BMP & bone fragment filled cages
2/14/2011 trying to go back to work as a teacher
2/17/2011 starting PT
wearing bone stimulator 4 hours a day
DDD, arthritis, herniated disks, pinched nerves
3 months saw a little bit of bone growth (YEAH)
4/15/2011 Home Tens Unit

Dealt with the pain and issues for more than 5 years
tried PT, chiropractic, acupuncture, cervical epidural shots and selective nerve root blocks prior to surgery

Originally Posted by frenchfri1003

Hi to all.
I am 4 1/2 months post-op at this time. I am pleased that once the day gets started and I have completed my exercises I have decent ROM to the left and down a bit more limited right and very limited up. My strength is still poor. Generally I use 2 lb weight at home to complete exercises. There is one that I use a 5 lb weight for. My son still carries the heavy groceries and the laundry basket. If I try to do either then I will suffer with neck pain, tightness, knots or tingling in my shoulder blade region and muscle spasms. When does this end? I want to be able to complete every day activities without worrying about how I will feel. As stupid as it sounds I want to be able to clean the bathroom thoroughly including scrubbing the tub and really washing my floors. Tired of the superficial cleaning. I would also like to be able to plant a vegetable garden and my flowers. I guess I am just feeling sorry for myself. I know others have it much worse than I do. I am also concerned about levels above and below the fusion. I know that everyone heals at different rates....

*************************************** **********
12/9/2010 ACDF C5-6 C6-7 with plate, screws,
BMP & bone fragment filled cages
2/14/2011 trying to go back to work as a teacher
2/17/2011 starting PT
wearing bone stimulator 4 hours a day
DDD, arthritis, herniated disks, pinched nerves
3 months saw a little bit of bone growth (YEAH)
4/15/2011 Home Tens Unit

Dealt with the pain and issues for more than 5 years
tried PT, chiropractic, acupuncture, cervical epidural shots and selective nerve root blocks prior to surgery

Originally Posted by walshka

Tomorrow I go for my third post-operative visit to my surgeon after having C-4-5, C 5-6 and C 6-7 fused in mid-March of this year. When I woke up from surgery, I no longer had screaming, horrific, unbearable nerve pain... but honestly, it still hurt. And each visit, my surgeon tells me how great I am healing and how fabulous my range of motion is and the scar in my neck is healing and I keep repeating, "But it really hurts. I don't want to run a marathon, I just want to clean the kitchen floor.

I went back to work (I took off two full weeks and then worked half-days for a week, though the surgeon said a week to ten days would be plenty for me to take off) and I now have to believe I rushed back into work too soon. I just have a desk job - I work at a computer all day - so you would think it would be easy.

No, not so much. Gradually, especially over the last couple of weeks, the pain has been getting worse and worse, this time on my right side rather than my left, until I almost cannot take it anymore.

This is just unbelievable. I don't want to exercise - if doing housework hurts, why would I do something repetitive and pointless that hurts? Physical therapy (I had tried three different types of therapy before the surgery, I haven't done anything since) is even more pointless.

I am 59 years old and I have probably taken a total of two sick days in 41 years of working. I never take aspirin, much less heavy-duty painkillers. This is just becoming unbearable, though. I really can't go into that guy's office tomorrow and hear how great I am doing. Really?

Originally Posted by ABBB

Hi, I had acdf at C4/5, 5/6 and 6/7 on 2/21. I developed excruciating nerve pain in left arm POST-OP and had it for 15 days before it started subsiding. I had no nerve pain pre-op...just a dull ache in left arm. I was terrified thinking that the surgery had caused additional problems, but, now, I'm thinking that the nerve was irritable from being 'jiggled' during surgery and the fact that I had had the pain for almost three years pre-op (assault). I, too, was prescribed PT but have found that it causes pain...we have to listen to our bodies and do what works for us. I cannot do anything repetitive for very long with activating the pain across C6/7 where the worst herniation was. My immediate post-op pain was, also, excruciating; and I had to have strong pain meds which made my blood pressure drop dangerously low. I am just now starting to feel better. My PT and home health nurse think I should be able to do more at this point and have contacted the NS to ask that my x-ray appt. be bumped up since it is scheduled for one month from now...just to try to determine what is going on. Bottom line: listen to your body and do not let anyone dictate how much you do.

Originally Posted by ABBB

Hi, I had acdf at C4/5, 5/6 and 6/7 on 2/21. I developed excruciating nerve pain in left arm POST-OP and had it for 15 days before it started subsiding. I had no nerve pain pre-op...just a dull ache in left arm. I was terrified thinking that the surgery had caused additional problems, but, now, I'm thinking that the nerve was irritable from being 'jiggled' during surgery and the fact that I had had the pain for almost three years pre-op (assault). I, too, was prescribed PT but have found that it causes pain...we have to listen to our bodies and do what works for us. I cannot do anything repetitive for very long with activating the pain across C6/7 where the worst herniation was. My immediate post-op pain was, also, excruciating; and I had to have strong pain meds which made my blood pressure drop dangerously low. I am just now starting to feel better. My PT and home health nurse think I should be able to do more at this point and have contacted the NS to ask that my x-ray appt. be bumped up since it is scheduled for one month from now...just to try to determine what is going on. Bottom line: listen to your body and do not let anyone dictate how much you do.