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Some pre-surgical "jitters & questions" on an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
Okay, A few months ago I posted a question after I got an x-ray and it showed some abnormalities in my neck at the c-5 - c7 area of my neck, I had no insurance, but fortunatly in my area a local hospital agreed to help me for no/low cost, since then I went and got an MRI ( awful! ) and it showed degenerative changes and my disks were almost worn away and arthritis had set in, the condition compressed some nerves, in turn freaked out some muscles around the area (immense and horrifying pain!) so I just saw a neuro-surgeon and scheduled a anterior cervical descectomy and fusion, I have a lot of fear about the procedure and the long term affects, if anyone out there has had this surgery, I would appreciate any input, weather it be a doctor or a patient, I am supposed to go back to school for web design, but was told that my neck might not ever heal to normal, and as painful as it is for me to sit hear now and type this little bit, I can't imagine doing it for a living, I am otherwise in perfect health.... any help out there????
I remember your post back in March. It’s perfectly normal to have fear of the procedure, everybody does, I know I did, I had an ACDF about 5 years ago. Long term outlook on this procedure is pretty good, but it’s going to involve a lot of patience on your part.
The recovery from this can be brutal, however some people have very easy recovery’s there’s really no way to know which category your going to fall into, so its probably best if you know all the facts so there won’t be any surprises.
After surgery I felt like a truck had run me over, very intense pain, max dose of pain meds. Pretty much lived in a recliner for 2-3 weeks, it hurt to move. My pain levels slowly decreased, but were still high at 6 weeks, at 12 weeks my pain was in the 7 range and I began P.T. The Physical Therapy helped my neck pain quite a bit. One thing about this surgery is that it will get rid of the shooting pain in your arms and hands right away; it’s the upper back, neck pain and headaches that linger. P.T. is very important for getting your neck back in shape.
It can take 6-12 months to fully recover from this, but once you reach the 12 week point you should be able to function reasonably well. That’s just my experience; some people are in good shape at 6 weeks; hopefully it will be that soon for you too. This surgery might not take away all your pain, and most Surgeons won’t tell you this, but it helps if you know this going in, I didn’t. You will feel better than you do now.
The main thing is patience; this isn’t a surgery where you going to walk out of there and feel great, you’re going to feel awful. Over time you will begin to feel better, and you just might be one of the ones that have an easy recovery. Long term effects, your not going to be able to move your neck like you did before you had neck problems, but it won’t cause any problems with your profession. It took me awhile to get the strength back in my hands, and it hurt to type, but it got better after awhile. Don't let the stories of failed surgeries scare you, the people who have had successful surgeries don't post on boards like this much.
Take Care and I hope everything goes well.
The recovery from this can be brutal, however some people have very easy recovery’s there’s really no way to know which category your going to fall into, so its probably best if you know all the facts so there won’t be any surprises.
After surgery I felt like a truck had run me over, very intense pain, max dose of pain meds. Pretty much lived in a recliner for 2-3 weeks, it hurt to move. My pain levels slowly decreased, but were still high at 6 weeks, at 12 weeks my pain was in the 7 range and I began P.T. The Physical Therapy helped my neck pain quite a bit. One thing about this surgery is that it will get rid of the shooting pain in your arms and hands right away; it’s the upper back, neck pain and headaches that linger. P.T. is very important for getting your neck back in shape.
It can take 6-12 months to fully recover from this, but once you reach the 12 week point you should be able to function reasonably well. That’s just my experience; some people are in good shape at 6 weeks; hopefully it will be that soon for you too. This surgery might not take away all your pain, and most Surgeons won’t tell you this, but it helps if you know this going in, I didn’t. You will feel better than you do now.
The main thing is patience; this isn’t a surgery where you going to walk out of there and feel great, you’re going to feel awful. Over time you will begin to feel better, and you just might be one of the ones that have an easy recovery. Long term effects, your not going to be able to move your neck like you did before you had neck problems, but it won’t cause any problems with your profession. It took me awhile to get the strength back in my hands, and it hurt to type, but it got better after awhile. Don't let the stories of failed surgeries scare you, the people who have had successful surgeries don't post on boards like this much.
Take Care and I hope everything goes well.
My doctor has also told me that I need cervical and lumbar fusion. Regarding the cervical: He told me it would be fairly simple and should take care of all the pain (2 large herniations).
I know they usually do fusion in the neck when there is a herniation. Unlike a lumbar herniation where they can just do a laminectomy or discectomy..
I also know someone who had one - and she feels much better.
I would ask the doctor why the doctor is telling you your neck may never heal to normal - although it never will be normal (because of the fusion)... you should be pain free. That is the goal, correct?
Maybe it's the arthritis that will continue to cause you pain... did you ask?
hope you are feeling ok... it certainly is painful.
I know they usually do fusion in the neck when there is a herniation. Unlike a lumbar herniation where they can just do a laminectomy or discectomy..
I also know someone who had one - and she feels much better.
I would ask the doctor why the doctor is telling you your neck may never heal to normal - although it never will be normal (because of the fusion)... you should be pain free. That is the goal, correct?
Maybe it's the arthritis that will continue to cause you pain... did you ask?
hope you are feeling ok... it certainly is painful.
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