cevical discectomy sugery

i have to have an extremely large herniated cervical disc *c-6) removed monday. my surgeon is talking like he wants to go with total artificial replacement surgery! my spinal cord has been very tramatized! my husband and i have a consult with him on thur morning, but i'm not knowing what to think between artificial total replacement surgery VS. bone-graft fushion surgery??????? anyone have any input that might help?? please i'd greatly apprecite any at all from anyone!!! getting kina scarred here!

[BRANDY32]

someone help me out with a little knowledge here, or experieces,..i have to have cervical surgury mon morning!!!!!  please!!!!

[TitaniumJen]

I have had a Foraminotomy, no luck then a cervical fusion using my own bone they shaved off from bone spurs.  I have C5,6,7 fused and honestly, it feels so much better than it has in 15 years.  I've also had a discectomy and then fusion on lower lumber at L4,5 & S1.  Unfortunately, I still have a lot of pain and continue pain management until I can find a doctor who specializes in Prolotherapy to fuse my S1 joint.  So I've been through alot.  I can tell you that the cervical is cake compared to lower lumbar.  I don't know much about artificial replacement, but the bone graft fusion with a titanium plate & 5 screws worked for me.
Good Luck!
Jen

[BRANDY32]

thanks for your comments, your the 1st reply i've gotten. i also hab lumbar disectomy surgery on sept 19th (last month) i had 2 lumbar disced removed, but they were able to fill in with collagaen         so no fushion necessary that time! then 3 weeks later c-6 totally blew out in my neck, they said the mri is incredible!! i have 3 other bulged disc at c3-4, c5-6,c7-t1 levels & the report said that ALL disc in my cervical spine are degenerated. i'm confused, don't know much about all this & don't know which way to go!!!!or what ti think, except 4 ****!!!! LOL thanks again for your input, i really do apprciate it! write me any time!!  good luck with yourself girl!!

[unionlady]

Brandy

I had the same surgery that you are facing.  I had this surgery 7 years ago.  It worked wonders for  about 6 months and since that time I have had nothing but pain.  I have compression of the nerve that runs down my left arm and I live on pain medication because the doctor's tell me that there is nothing they can do to fix me.  If there is anything else that you can do, then I would try it.  The artificial replacement sounds like it works out better and wish that I would be a candidate for it but since I have had the fusion, I can not get the replacement now.  

Try something anything other than the surgery.  I am still living with the pain and it has started interferring with my job and all I want is to be pain free.

[BRANDY32]

I am so sorry to hear of all the pain your in all the time! i'll be hoping & praying for you! and that they find some way of heping you asap!!! they changed my surgery , rushed it up to tomorrow morning 6am!! wish me luck!! i should be home from hospital thur afternoon, message me if ya want! best of luck to u!!!

[Tammyin Saipan]

Hey there,
I had the prestuge artificial disc surgery done about 3 years ago.
I wish I never would have had it done.
At the time, it was in clinical study, but FDA approved it I think in June of this year.
It worked for about 6 months, now I am dealing with pain about 24/7
I have tension headaches, neck stiffness, muscle aches in shoulder area.
I try not to take pain meds, but sometimes it is all I can do to get a good night of sleep!
I don't know what to tell you.
Any surgery is scary, and everything is different for each person.
I was so excited to be pain free and be able to get back to the way I use to live, and so far, that has not happened.
I wish you the best.
Do lots of research before you decide on what to do.
You do NOT HAVE TO HAVE THE SURGERY ON MONDAY...put it off if you feel you need to, just take it easy in the meantime!
Best wishes! Keep us posted on your situation.

[Tammyin Saipan]

Oops, meant to say Prestige Disc

[BRANDY32]

thanks for you comment, that was a good one to hear cause i was considering the prestidge disc & thought it looked and sounded pretty alright, but was unsure! i will weigh out my options tomorrow at 6 am! girl, they have moved my surgery up asasp, to 7am tomorrow mornin (wed) .because of the severity of the disc, my spinal cord has been traumatized he said! wish me luck!! my husband will be there with me!!&god too!!thanks again!

[sparringk9]

I am 12 days post op on my anterior cervical laminectomy. this is my second neck fusion in 5 years. the first one was for C5 and 6 i healed up nicely and was far better off than before i had it. i tried everything: the pills, the PT, acupuncture, 3 epidurals...they tried to give me neurontin...dont take that **** read about. theres a class action suit on that drug. watch out. anyway, like you i wanted to avoid surgery and everything except voodoo which believe me i would try if i could find a voodoo priest. i went along fine with only the occasional neck episodes but then i started doing pilates and yoga and ruptured my C7. once you fuse your neck the things you do put pressure on the discs below and above the fusion. my surgeon told me i could do whatever that i was healed....and i mostly was until pilates.

NECK PEOPLE: DO NOT TAKE PILATES!!!

now i am recovering from my second surgery. i feel better...i couldnt live as it was it was a million times more painful than the first time. i had a fusion they used a piece of cadaver bone to graft my own bones and its held together with a titanium plate. right now i still have arm pain and shoulder pain and a little numbness but i am better. i realize that things could get worse but honestly i had no choice i had pieces of disc and cartilage sitting right on my root nerve to my arm and i would have lost function of that arm if i did nothing.

i agree with the other comment you dont have to do the surgery monday. but girl you gotta weigh out the pros and cons..pain will rob you of your personality, your ability to enjoy any aspect of life. and less pain is better than more pain. im going to learn how to deal with it as best i can..im hopeful this surgery will take...im worried when i read tammyins comment about 6 good months than blam. but what are you gonna do? you gotta try!

a neurosurgeon did my first surgery. an orthopaedic this time. my first ost op is tomorrow i will get xrays and we'll see how the fusions going. overall, i feel hopeful and i am looking forward to PT.

dont be afraid. ask a lot of questions...but understand when there is something mechanical broken somebodys gotta get int there and fix it. avoid chiropractic. good luck!!!

[bev62]

I had a two level ACDF (C5-C7) in Nov of last year.  I am in more pain now than before the surgery.  The doctor says that all my test look great, but there has to be something causing all of this pain.  My neck, shoulder and arm  burn and ache all of the time.  I have a terrible headache everyday.  I have had the epidural injections and they didn't help.  All my test are normal and my NS says that I am fully fused. My doctor now tells me that most people do well but a small precent do end up with more pain.  It seems that I'm in that small precent. So now I'm being sent to pain management to help me bare the pain.  I've not been able to return to work yet, and don't know if I ever will.  I'm 45 with two young children ages 7 and 4.  This surgery has turned my life upside down.  After my experience I wouldn't recommend this surgery for anyone.  I don't know about the artificial disk, I haven't heard that much about them.  Good luck.

[Tammyin Saipan]

I do agree with Sparring, you have to live your life, but boy oh boy...I wish I would have taken more time to decide which surgery I was going to have.
I have headaches daily and went to see a specialist here 2 months ago, who pretty much said I should go to Guam to have another MRI w/ Contrast done to see if there is more damage in there. I live on a small island, so medical options are limited.

I did do some Yoga and felt worse after so stopped that. I exercise daily (try to at least) and SCUBA dive every weekend, which is heaven, because for that hour or more that  I am underwater, I am totally weightless, and love the feeling!

I am not sure what the future holds, but I work 40+ hours  a week, take care of my husband, house and pets the best I can and just plug along everyday.
I wish everyone here to be pain free soon!!!!!
Good luck to you all and keep us posted and keep up the support!
It feels good to know there are others out there that have trouble, and to know that I am not the ONLY one!