Neck and Shoulder pain after C5-6 fusion.

[Roonie5038]

A little over a year ago, I had C5-6 fused. With a plate and screws inserted. Since then I am having trouble with pain in the neck and shoulder area just below the fusion area. I wake in the morning with a headache then turns to pain in lower neck and shoulders.
I have talked to the neurosurgeon who did the surgery and he shrugged his shoulders and said I have no idea and sent me back to my neurologist. He gave me a series of injections in both shoulders and the pain stopped for a couple days but then came right back. Then we tried message therapy, it helps but only for a short period. And I have tried changing my pillows on my bed and sleeping in different positions and nothing seems to help for long term.
What can I do?
Thanks
Maureen

[nettleton44]

Your pain is coming from the position your neck is now after the surgery. The muscles ar straining to compensate for the strange postion they are not use to ( nor ever will) I have been going through this since 2007. I have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to help my pain. but I am going to Dr Kenneth Light in San Francisco to get the fusion reversed and an artificial disc put in. Fusions cost over 70 thousand dollars and disc replacement half. So which do you think the doctors want to do? Which makes them more money??? If at all possible DO NOT HAVE A FUSION DONE!!!. Old and out of date for everyone except certain cases that are too far gone as far as bone disease need to have them.

[nettleton44]

I am going to Dr Kenneth Light in San Francisco to get the fusion reversed and an artificial disc put in. Fusions cost over 70 thousand dollars and disc replacement half. So which do you think the doctors want to do? Which makes them more money??? If at all possible DO NOT HAVE A FUSION DONE!!!. Old and out of date for everyone except certain cases that are too far gone as far as bone disease need to have them.

[nettleton44]

Your pain is coming from the position your neck is now after the surgery. The muscles ar straining to compensate for the strange postion they are not use to ( nor ever will) I have been going through this since 2007. I have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to help my pain. but I am going to Dr Kenneth Light in San Francisco to get the fusion reversed and an artificial disc put in. Fusions cost over 70 thousand dollars and disc replacement half. So which do you think the doctors want to do? Which makes them more money??? If at all possible DO NOT HAVE A FUSION DONE!!!. Old and out of date for everyone except certain cases that are too far gone as far as bone disease need to have them.

[nettleton44]

No pillow is going to stop the pain she is feeling. Your pain is coming from the position your neck is now after the surgery. The muscles ar straining to compensate for the strange postion they are not use to ( nor ever will) I have been going through this since 2007. I have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to help my pain. but I am going to Dr Kenneth Light in San Francisco to get the fusion reversed and an artificial disc put in. Fusions cost over 70 thousand dollars and disc replacement half. So which do you think the doctors want to do? Which makes them more money??? If at all possible DO NOT HAVE A FUSION DONE!!!. Old and out of date for everyone except certain cases that are too far gone as far as bone disease need to have them.

[nettleton44]

Your pain is coming from the position your neck is now after the surgery. The muscles ar straining to compensate for the strange postion they are not use to ( nor ever will) I have been going through this since 2007. I have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to help my pain. but I am going to Dr Kenneth Light in San Francisco to get the fusion reversed and an artificial disc put in. Fusions cost over 70 thousand dollars and disc replacement half. So which do you think the doctors want to do? Which makes them more money??? If at all possible DO NOT HAVE A FUSION DONE!!!. Old and out of date for everyone except certain cases that are too far gone as far as bone disease need to have them.

[painintheneck4times]

I had a work accident in december 2002 and blew out c2-c3 and had emergency surgery on Christmas Eve of 2002 went well for about a year. then i started to have pain again in neck and shoulders with numbness down right arm. went back to neurosurgeon and had mri done and found out that c3-c5 had ruptured. So had surgery again (by the way they used artificial disk with screws and plates for both surgeries) eight-teen months later from first surgery. Then again about a year later started to have neck and shoulder pain with numbness in arms again. So had surgery again (yes this makes 3 surgeries)with them removing disk between c5-c6 and that went well until a year and a half . I fought pain for as long as i could until it was unbearable. This time i blew out c6-t1 (yes it has worked down on my neck) so had those removed and with so many fusions my neck was very unstable so at same time they went threw back of neck and placed two rods going from c4-t4 for support. I just recently had this done (April 20, 2012) and had to spend 14 days in hospital for in house therapy due to no strength in legs. Surgeon had me on Robaxin and flexaril (muscle relaxers) and Fentyl patch and oxycodone 10mg every four hours as needed for pain until i met with family doc. Family doctor took me off Fentyl patch and placed me on methodone and took me off oxycodone and put me on naproxen which did not relieve me of pain. She told me that she would not prescribe me anymore narcotics except methodone 5mg to ween me off of that and that was it. after making several calls to her she finially replaced the naproxen 500mg with ultram 50mg every 6 hours and that helped some (about a 7 on a scale of 1-10). I dont think the family doc should have any right to prescribe it should be left up to he surgeon if you ask me. I wil be 40 in July and I wish this will be the last surgery but the neurologist told me that I would eventually lose c1. I have regain some strength back in legs but I have to use a walker for now. I can walk maybe walk a hundred yards before i need to stop and rest. And as far as my hands and arms is that my arms have no pain but are week and my left hand is week but my right hand has no feeling in middle three finger and numbness in thumb and pinky. Doc said feeling may never come back. I recommend that if you can deal with pain not to have surgery because it will work down and eventually it will effect lower back which in turn will effect legs.