Cervical c5-c6 disk protrusion, surgery or no surgery (fusion)?

[athiharan]

I have C5-C6 disk protrusion chronic manageable pain in my neck and shoulder, restricted movement in neck, what's is my best option.

Nerve blocks, Cortisone Injections , epidural injections to try and identify the exact location of pain.

Minimally Invasive surgery

Disk Fusion but have read I may have Future problems with adjacent disks

don't do any Surgery just physio therapy

If I don’t do anything will my condition get worse and affect other disks

I don’t have radiating pain to my arms right now ..but some say that after surgery may have arm pain is this correct

I read horror stories..of people suffering from worst pain after surgery than before...I have also read stories of people getting better after fusion surgery...…so I'm very confused...
3 days ago - 12 hours left to answer.

[bon_max]

i have pain in my hands like there being crushed, my arms as well but not as intense as my hands, im an artist and my husband is all but given up on me because im not as phisical as i use to be. i stay in bed and i miss my family,my c5 and c6 are bad and i have bone spurs on my neck that choke me when i eat. my lower back is really bad and my hips stop working, i have scoliosis in my lower spine. i was starved as a child and have really bad posture but its to late i just want help. When i go to emerg they think im after drugs, and i never took anykind of drug till i was working as a cna at a hospital and made it worse, its been 3to 4 yrs and i am so depressed i just want help or not if not theres no point for me. I just cry all the time and i never cry. im imbarrest even to ask you ps thank you from a blue coller that cant work, or help my grandkids. oh im 51 yrs old

[Nanks]

I have c5 c6 problems I'm not in pain just numbness in my 1st finger and slight numbness in the elbow area. My question is if I avoid surgery will I cause any lasting damage by living with the numbness?
Regards
Steve

[faramawy]

Hello Every body
I just want to tell you my story with the pain in my neck and unbelievable headache i used to have pain in my neck and very bad headache from more than 17 years every time i had the Crisis i take some rest and pain killer after few hours i feel better i stayed doing his for all this years ( 17 years ) i went to doctors for one or two times but he told me i have nothing material just a Cramps in my neck Muscles and i need to at lest 12 of  Physiotherapy before i feel better i didnt care about them opinion and i stayed with my same behaviors but unfortunately i felt with very bad pain in my back with bad headache  at this time i went to the doctor he advised  to make MRI on my neck but he is very sure the result will be very good nothing material will be found but unfortunately the Mri result said i have desk in C5 and C6 but i dont have  Symptoms when i went back to the doctor he advised me to make a surgery fix this desk but really im very worry about this surgery i cant trust any Lancet can work beside my nerves i really dont know what should i do  any body can advise me please
:)))))))))))

[henney]

i have recently been told I have congenital fusion of c5 c6 in my neck, i have been cracking my neck an my back for the past 10 years since i was pregnant. I have to crack my neck about 30 times a day to relieve the feeling of a headache coming on, for the past 4 months i have had the worse headaches, pain down my right arm, numbness in my right hand an what i can only describe as the most horrendous trapped nerve pain in my right shoulder blade. I am still waiting for an MRI scan to see how bad it is, is there anything anyone can recommend until i see my consultant. I feel like i havent slept for 10 years!!!

[DivyaKK]

Hello everybody!!
My husband has been diagnosed with c6-c7 disc prolapse with nerve root compression and severe shooting pain down his right arm. He was initially advised artificial disc replacement surgery but we were not ready for the surgery and we took a second opinion and as per that doc's advise we are taking medical treatment and phisical therapy. He is feeling bit better with the conservative treatment.i have started surfing net on this topic and found this website: http://www.drschiffer.com/. I found it very good suggest you all to go through the website where you can find a treatment called CED(cervical endoscopic discectomy) which is an out patient surgical process and takes about 25 to 30 mins. You can even go through the patient testimonals and can also get their contact details if you want to have any further discussions.

Thanks!!

[DivyaKK]

Hello everybody!!
My husband has been diagnosed with c6-c7 disc prolapse with nerve root compression and severe shooting pain down his right arm. He was initially advised artificial disc replacement surgery but we were not ready for the surgery and we took a second opinion and as per that doc's advise we are taking medical treatment and phisical therapy. He is feeling bit better with the conservative treatment.i have started surfing net on this topic and found this website: http://www.drschiffer.com/. I found it very good suggest you all to go through the website where you can find a treatment called CED(cervical endoscopic discectomy) which is an out patient surgical process and takes about 25 to 30 mins. You can even go through the patient testimonals and can also get their contact details if you want to have any further discussions.

Thanks!!

[Naiomi]

Thanks for sharing yours story, because I have the same diagnostic but I haven't had therapy only pain relievers of all kind, now I have being feeling an excruciating pain on my entire left hand, a sensation of millions of ants running all over it and numbness from my shoulder to all my fingers that its killing me, and making me feel handicap. I have a bump on the back of my neck that its humongous and it begging to look like a hunchback. If there is an specific treatment other than drugs or surgery, please let me know because I haven't had any treatment at all.  

[elana06]

I had my C5 and C6 disc fused July 07. I have the scar on my neck wasn't a big deal to me as I have several surgical scars. I felt better quite soon. I to had read all the horror stories. Well let me tell you most of what I have read has turned out to be true. About 5-6 months after the surgery I started to have problems again but this time on my left side. I went back for follow up only to be told that my C7 has been compromised and it's bad. The doctor suggested another epidural he said it may buy me a year at best. I elected not to get the epidural because they are painful and they didn't work the last time I got one. Now I am in sooooooooooooooooooooo much pain. I can't sleep. The pain is HORRENDOUS. When I lie down it feels as if I am being stab in my nerves in my lower left back. I have to have help getting out of bed or I roll over onto the floor and wait before I can get up. I now walk with a limp because if I place my left foot flat it causes pain and I  loose my balance. Most of my time I am confined to bed or sofa, I drive but no more than an hour because if I do I pay for it dearly the next day. I am frustrated but I continue to pray. I am certain I will have the second surgery as I can't continue to live like this. I no longer sleep in the room with my husband because I scream throughout the night / day whenever I finally fall asleep. Good Luck Oh they prescribed me Morphine this last time and it doesn't help - I don't even take them nor does Darvocet, Oxycodone or Hydrocodone.

[Caliber2005]

Hi,
How are you feeling now?
It's really sad that you are going through all this.
There are many different terms used to describe spinal disc pathology and associated pain, such as “herniated disc”, “pinched nerve”, “bulging disc” and "disc protrusion". The bones which form your spine are called as vertebrae. The space between two vertebras is cushioned with disc.
It can happen in any region, but more common at lower back in lumbar region.
Yes, I think you should start on physiotherapy for muscle strengthening, pain killers and pain management specialist for initial conservative management.
But if this fails, the option left is surgery. You may want to consider surgery if you have had severe shooting pain in arms radiating down from shoulder to palm for longer than a month. Only about 1 person in 10 still has enough pain after 6 weeks to think about surgery.
As there are complications associated with spinal surgery and you are young, the doctor will exhaust all his conservative management and then opine for surgery.
Discectomy, Laminotomy, Laminectomy or percutaneous laminectomy are usually considered surgeries.
As you don't have radiating pain to arms right now, you should not consider surgery and try to exhaust all conservative management.
Hope this helps you.
Bye.

[noops01]

Hi,
Yes the horror stories that you have heard are actually true in some cases. At the moment i suggest you take absolute bed rest as that would help in healing. Local moist heat and massage helps relieve tenderness and pain, OTC pain killers for pain. If the condition does not improve you can consider a soft collar and physical therapy 3-5 times per week for atleast 3-5 weeks.Good luck!