Day 3
 

:)Still feeling great. So good, it's hard not to overdo it. Meds are flexeril (for the muscle spasms) and vicodin, which I have now cut in half. Will keep you all updated as I am able! Thanks for the great support!

Yea, Trina!! Glad you are feeling good so far. I hope it continues.
I'll post my progress here too after I have surgery. :)

Day 12 post ACDF
 

Just a short update on my recovery; maybe this will help others who are considering this surgery for themselves. So far recovery has gone very well for me. I was able to sleep in my own bed from the beginning, although I need several pillows to prop me up and use a rice pack under my neck whenever I lay down. Down to only 2 muscle relaxers a day, with tylenol extra strength. I still take a half a vicodin at bedtime as it seems to help me to sleep.

From the beginning I have been able to move my head from side to side and up and down, as long as i don't push the range of movement. Able to shower and do my usual self care (hair, make up) if only a bit more slowly than usual. Streri strips were easily removable after 7 days of hot showers. The incision as hardly been painful at all and looks nice and pink now.

I have had minimal pain - just some muscle spasms across the shoulders and issue with swallowing, which are almost gone at this point. The thing that has bugged me most is yawning, which is very uncomfortable and causes me to notice the lumpy feeling in my throat a bit more than usual.

I am able to walk 2 miles a day - even enjoy it, and do little tasks around the home as long as they don't require extended bending and lifting (ie: I can load and fold laundry but try not to take it out of washer or dryer, I wash my dishes by hand but let my hubby do dinner dishes and put them in the dishwasher).

Negatives would be my lack of energy, the swallowing issues, a creaking or cracking of my neck when I suddenly change positions and a feeling like I have cotton in my ears or they are stuffed up due to cold symptoms (has anyone else experienced these last two?). The worst thing is the boredom! Despite stocking books and movies and DVDs, you can only do that for so long. So I really have no right to complain, do I?

I know my limits so I am not going to push it. I do find it interesting that my doc says no lifting over 15 pounds, not 5 and also some of his other post surgery instructions are not as stringent as others I have heard about or read about here. Wonder what that is about?

Thanks to you all for your wonderful support and help!

trinab.

Trinab,

You are doing fine. :)

You are going to have some pretty strange sensations; some of which will pass with time. The lack of energy is probably due to the pain meds and definitely the muscle relaxers. But you are only on day 12! :) I don't recall feeling as if my ears were stopped up. And remember too they went in through the front so you are going to feel lumps and bumps and maybe even swallow weird sometimes. I still get that every now and then. Please don't push it...just go easy and be consistent. With both fusions I was basically fused at 3 months; wore the Bone Growth Stimulator for 3 more months (to ensure a SOLID fusion) and at 6 months was fully fused. Every 3 months I went to my NS for xrays and just this past September was the one year mark. So, you see, it takes a good, long while. And my NS probably said no lifting of 5 lbs because of the previous fusion and other issues with my neck...but not lifting 15 lbs. sounds fine to me. And your doc probably isn't as stringent and really, some aren't, because they want you to get up and move around as much as possible...within reason that is. Plus, you had the C6/C7 done and that basically just sits there...in a sense. I just remember my NS telling me that it is the HIGHER levels that have the most ROM. He wasn't near as concerned about my C5/C6 as far as ROM goes...mainly the C3/C4. So, quite frankly, you sound like you are doing just fine! Oh, and if you start hurting from overdoing it (you will be able to tell) just put on your soft collar...it helps! And, when they tell you you can start in on stretching; please do!!! But not yet! :eek: Hang in there! :)

Oh, but I do have to ask this and just teasing you...

Have you been sound asleep only to wake up and start to get up using your upper back? Or, have you been asleep, woke up and forgot and stretched? OMG! I have to laugh at myself because when I did both of those things the first couple of days...I about died!!! I had to tell myself every day from then on....roll out of bed and don't stretch!!! And I am mainly referring to how you would stretch like a cat would when first waking up. Oh, boy that hurt!!!

Believe it or not, I really haven't had that much trouble. I do stretch like that, but it doesn't seem to bother my upper back. I do tend to forget and try to rise up from my back sitting straight up, but it really doesn't hurt that bad. I just don't want to do it as I am afraid it will injure my neck...

Thanks for all of the great help and support, Kathi. I really appreciated the comments about C6 and C7... it is my sense that they are probably the least used of the cervical vertebrae and it sounds like that may be what you were implying too.

Going to try a decongestant tomorrow for my ears. Maybe they're just plugged up.

I had my ACDF at C6/7 on Dec. 13th. No problems whatsoever. I hadn't been having a lot of pain prior to surgery (thanks to the ESIs, but no clue when they'd wera off). So I went ahead with surgery. It took approximately 3 hours because once my OSS was in there, he discovered a bunch of scar tissue, indicating this is an old injury and not a new one - a surprise to all of us. So he roto-rootered out the scar tissue, removed the disc and put the donor bone in, and finished with the titanium plate.

I spent the night in the hospital (good thing) and was glad for that - the most pain I had, I had immediately afterward. It was basically a stead stream of Dilaudid and Valium. I was discharged with Lortabs and Flexerils which seem to do the trick pretty well (although they only gave me 40 of each, so I'll be calling for refills by this weekend).

More than anything I have slept. Slept, slept, slept. Like a rock. Apparently I needed it. My pain level is manageable, it's not terrible by any means. I am very glad I had this surgery done and am looking forward to moving on with my life!
Kelly

Kathi
Just wondering if you were on any meds like Gabapentin or Lyrica prior to your surgery?
When I am off of meds I cannot use my arms and hands. When I am on them it is not so bad.
Bonnie

Bonnie,

Yes, I was on, over the course of those years, Neurontin, Depakote, Lyrica and the list goes on and one. None of those touched the pain. Actually, nothing did. That's my whole point about crushed nerve roots! :eek::) Now, meds like that are supposed to block the pain signals and they usually can or do. But for me...no way! Actually, I think they made things worse as far as SE's go. What helped to relieve it the most was Selective Nerve Root injections and/or facet injections...but those were short lived. That C3/C4 level was bad and so was the C5/C6 which was fused eventually. I do NOT regret any of it. What I regret is not having something done much, much sooner. The thing is...once those neurological deficits start...in the arms for instance...TIME to do something. And you better believe I listened to my NS...he did say it would get worse..and it did! On the other side of the coin and after these surgeries, I swill have weakness in my arms from time to time...not always. But as my NS says...it is due to the restrictions I had. But it is slowly getting better with time.

Anyway, the thing with the osteo and bone spurs...nothing short of surgery will take care of it; not meds, not supplements...nothing. It is as RedHotBeads said...it has to be roto-rootered out. Otherwise, anything else is just a bandaid on the real problem. The thing with fusions too is that pain relief is NOT a guarantee. That is NOT why they do them unless of course the pain is intractable and mine was. They do them to stabilize the spine.

And I know people choose to wait it out...I am doing that right now with my lumbar. But the cervical spine is whole other ballgame altogether. This is all just my own opinion of course. But if my NS said tomorrow I would need another fusion at another level; I would go for it. I would hate it meaning another surgery...but I know what can happen if too much time passes.

RedHotBeads,

I haven't been on here for awhile. But I am glad to hear that you are doing pretty good. I just have to say it...isn't Valium the best thing ever?? LOL I just mean when a spasm hits, that stuff kicks it out in a hurry! :)

Yes, the Valium was the shizzle! I so wanted the home version but the best the PA would do was Flexeril. The Flex does seem to work just fine, though.

I'm doing great so far, no problems and no pain. Waiting for my restrictions (no driving and no lifting over 2 lbs - my dr. is very conservative) to be lifted. But this hasn't been bad at all. I'm really glad. :)
Kelly

Everyone is different.
 

Hi, Kathi, I have to say that I agree with you completely! In 2004 I had ACDF C3-C7 with 5 plates and 10 screws. I was not having any neck pain but I was having arm pain, weakness, numbness, and problems with fine motor skills with my hands. I followed my doc's instructions and had a great recovery with very few problems. Everyone's situation is different and to tell everyone that they should avoid surgery at all costs just isn't realistic. Many people really need surgery. I continue to have other spinal problems but none of them have anything to do with the surgery that I had on my neck. Everyone needs to seek out as much info as possible, consider all their options, and make the best decision they can for themselves. Best of luck to all spineys!
Kat