Hi everyone!

I wanted to update everyone on how I'm doing. Last Tuesday, March 19th, I had a 3 level ACDF due to severe cord compression (AP diam. of cord at c5-6 was 5 to 6mm).

The day I had surgery, I felt pretty lousy. I was very dizzy and nauseous due to the anesthesia and pain medications. I did get up and go for a walk around the nurse's station. When I got back to my room, I thought I was going to vomit. I did some deep breathing and that nasty feeling slowly went away. My neck/throat was sore enough ~ I didn't want to irritate it more by vomiting. The next morning, I ate a normal breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt and I was able to do so without swallowing issues. Thank God. I was worried about that pre-surgery due to the fact that my herniation also pushed on my esophagus as well and I already felt a lump in my throat. Big pills do get slightly stuck still, but I can get it to go down with more water.

At home, I brought a recliner back into the living room and that is where I am still sleeping. I can't lay flat yet. I'm sure with some time I will be able to. Should I be buying any special pillows for my bedroom? Would that make it easier to get back into my bed? On Sunday, 5 days post-op, I went for a walk around the block and have increased my walking everyday. Now, I am up to 2 miles per day. I have been trying to wean myself from the pain meds - oxycodone ~ and haven't had one in 2 days. I will take it on a as needed basis. The other day, I think I overdid it and was extremely sore & in pain, so I took a pill and it did provide some much needed relief. I think this has been my biggest problem ~ trying to do too much and my body saying no very emphatically.

My first shower at 2 days post-op was not very successful. I had to have my husband help me because it just plain hurt. Trying to wash & condition long hair isn't fun. Since then, I have been able to shower by myself but very slowly. I use one hand to hold my chin and the other to wash one side of my head and vice versa. I wear the Aspen collar 24/7 except for when I shower. I did not get a soft collar for the shower as I have seen that others have. I will be wearing the collar for 8 weeks.

I go for my first appt. on April 9th and will have to ask if I can take it off to drive to work, which is only a few miles from my house. I'm still out of work but have logged in remotely to do a little work from home. My biggest problem so far is that I can't stay on the computer for too long. Additionally, I was shocked to see a long vertical incision instead of a horizontal one. Does anyone else have a vertical incision and if so, how well does it fade? Any tips on what to use to help healing and minimize any scars? Also, while I know everyone is different, when did you go back to exercising? Do you have any permanent restrictions? I won't be able to do anything but walk for a while but am looking forward to when I can do more. God, I miss running. My sister just completed another half marathon and though I'm happy for her, I'm sad for me. Oh well.

Well, I think that is it for now. Will periodically post some updates. Hopefully some positive updates