Hi All,

Well, I have finally had the C5/C6 fusion done last Friday. I am doing okay except for the dreaded muscle spasms that I knew would hit. The funny thing is...it was always my right arm and hand that hurt pretty bad and now it is my left! But the NS's assistant said that he drilled out some bone spurs on the left. Jeez, I feel like my whole left arm has been chopped off and put back on. But, when I take the pain meds it kind of goes away. It is way too early to really say how I will do but at least I can type on the computer now without any pain other than the left upper arm and shoulder. Well, this will be a long haul and I know it. I do have pretty good range of motion still but am not allowed to do any exercises until I see them next. So, for now I have to take it pretty easy and walk as much as I can when I feel up to it. Anyway, I just wanted to update everyone. Thanks!

Congrats Kathi on your surgery! Keep me posted on your recovery. I am now 3 months out of surgery on c5/6 and c6/7 so I'm curious to see if you start to experience any of the things that I am currently experiencing. This site had been down for so long and I just found it again tonight so I am trying to catch up with everything and how everyone is doing. Best wishes.

Kim

Hi Kim!

I am doing okay but this particular experience is a little different than from the first fusion. The C3/C4 which I had done two years ago really gave me no trouble with the exception of some spasms. The C5/C6 is different in that I did have some SEVERE spasms down my left arm the first 3 or 4 days. But they calmed down. I had a great day yesterday and probably overdid it because last night I could not sleep at all! I am having some spasms across my shoulders but not too bad. The darn steri strips have not fallen off yet and I wish they would because the incision is itching like crazy! And I have some chest pain. But I think that is because the meds are making my GERD act up. Oh, I did go to the ER the other day, so my heart is fine. Like I said, I think it is heartburn. I am so darn sensitive to meds. Anyway, I am down to two Norco a day and one Klonopin and also taking Nexium once a day. I am also wearing the bone growth stimulator 4 hours a day. So, I guess you could say I am doing alright for now. I want to know what YOU are experiencing and how you have been faring. Please let me know! Kathi

Kathi,

I too experienced the shooting arm pains after surgery, especially the first week or two. During recovery it became less often, until I took the Philly collar off. I'm now finding that I can trigger the pains with movement, so now I'm scared. I thought that they were totally gone since I had not felt that pain at all during the last week of wearing my collar. What date was your surgery? 9/20/06? I know how hard it is to sleep after the surgery, I'm still having trouble finding a position that does not cause me pain. It sounds like you are doing pretty well so fa...did your doc put you in a collar? (I can't remember who was being put in a collar and who wasn't from our old posts.....lol) I have to ask, what kind of chest pains were you having? By any chance were they like a crushing feeling, like having the wind knocked outta ya?

Hope you're doing well today,

Kim

Hey Kim!
So glad you found us!! I have been thinking about you! How did your hernia surgery go? Sorry you are still having pains.. My surgery went well.. So far so good. I think I am two weeks behind you.. 7/10/06..
Valerie

Hey Kim,

I just read your other post. Wow, I didn't realize you were having that much pain. I do remember after my first fusion that I had a "honeymoon" period when nothing hurt. Then at about the 3 month mark or so I had terrible spasms. I went to PT for a short time, had a couple of injections and then they calmed down. Since then I had always had some kind of pain in my upper back but the C5/C6 was bad all along. I am sorry to hear that you are still having pain down your arms. What does your doctor say about it? Oh, and I am in a soft collar. But I don't wear it ALL the time. If I am up and about, I do. When I am resting, I don't. I learned from the first fusion that wearing the soft collar ALL the time wasn't necessarily a good thing to do. Anyway, my instructions say to wear it when I am AMBULATORY. I am supposed to let air get to this incision too and wearing the collar prevents that. Oh, and I had my surgery on the 22nd. Now back to the pain again...the chest pain just feels like acid reflux OR sometimes it feels like I can't take in a deep breath. Then again, I know that the pain meds can act on your breathing too. I don't ever feel like I have had the wind knocked out of me though. And last but not least, I don't know what they did to cause the arm pain that is so bad but when I called my doctor's office they told me they had drilled out some bone spurs on the left. I just tend to think that a lot of pulling and tugging goes on in there and it messes with the ligaments and muscles. I go for my next checkup in 3 weeks so I will let you know if they say any more. Keep me posted too! Kathi

I just joined this site. Still having some issues navigating. I had the same surgery. Just 4 weeks out now. Can you share with me the recovery you had? I am doing pretty well. Had excessive swelling due to bone protein went on steroids and much of the swelling went down. Still some swallowing issues. Not much rotation in my neck not sure if it is the plate and screws or some of it will return. Thanks for any info you can give me.

I am scheduled for surgery on Friday 1/26/07, to fix a spur at c5-6. After listening to the Doctor's it sounded like it would be a fairly simple procedure that would eliminate the pain that runs from my neck down my right arm to the tips of my thumb and pointer finger. After reading some of these posts I am beginning to wonder how long recovery really takes and if the pain will really be gone.
My pain came on in 3 days time and has been aching now for almost 6 weeks. I would really like to hear some feedback on how you are feeling now after the twelve week period in which you are required to wear your brace and collar. The bone they are using to fuse in will come from my hip which they say is the better way to go than to use a cadabber bone. Feedback?
Not looking forward to trying to sleep comfortably with the collar or even using the restroom. How did you manage that? I am 6'6 and 300#'s and I detect a little difficulty. I will get some practice in once my collars are fitted on Tuesday before surgery. Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks,
Tripn

Tripn,

I'm sorry that I've only noticed your post just now. I'm hoping your surgery went well!

I know that reading some of our posts must be scaring you a bit, but please remember that most of the people who have this surgery feel tons of pain relief and then go on to live a normal pain-free life and are too busy . The minority of us who have continued pain or problems remain here looking for support and answers. There are even some who had successful surgeries but keep coming back to the forums to give support and advice to those who are still dealing with their spinal issues.

I had my C5/6/7 fusion with my own iliac crest bone back in June '06. Since then I have experienced problems with the nerves in my hip, but my PM believes it might be aggravated by the fact that I am quite thin and there is no padding to protect the nerves. I also had two hernia's repaired right next to the autograft site on my hip just 3 weeks after my ACDF surgery which just added to the scar tissue in the area and is contributing to the nerve irritation. As far as the pre-op and post-op pains, mine seem to have not changed and if anything, they've slightly progressed. I'm still going through the process of trying to finding out why, but have no answers yet. Everyone is different, so keep a positive outlook, the odds are with you!

I hope you're doing well and recover from your surgery quickly. Keep us posted on how you're doing.

Best wishes,

Kim

I had fusion at c5 /c6 back in Feb 2008 and to this day i am still having stinging pains in my upper arms (fills like being pinched) that change from right to left arm. What is the typical recovery for nerve issues? Docs are saying 12-18 months. Not sure I believe them.