Cervical C6-7 Prodisc C - CMac

[cmac]

Well, I am now an official Cervie! I had my surgery yesterday at noon and I was home on my recliner by 4:30pm. Surgery went very well and I feel like I am now on a good road to recovery. The Dr said the disc that he removed was a 'jumbled mass' which was pressing on my spinal cord and nerves on my left side. My left arm pain & numbness is gone. I am surprised and pleased so far considering this was a major surgery.

So here is my post-op status:

1. I'm having neck, upper back and shoulder pain from the surgery, but the meds are working well for that (and I believe this is expected).

2. My throat is very sore, and I have no voice - it is very hoarse and I can't talk above a whisper. I'm not sure how long that will last, but that is the most frustrating thing right now. My chest is sore also from trying to cough up the anesthesia and get this lump out of my throat.

3. I haven't slept but maybe 3 hours since my surgery. I can't really sleep and I don't really feel tired, but I'm hoping tonight will be different.

4. I do not have much of an appetite. I have hardly eaten anything, but I'm sure that my throat issues are a big part of this. I even had trouble getting my meds down yesterday, but today is a little better.

I was able to take a shower this morning and go for a short walk outside as well. I tired out easily, but what can I expect, I just got my new neck yesterday, right?

Even though I have been dealing with my injuries for only 6 months, I do think this was the best and right time to have the disc replacement. My symptoms were worsening and I felt like the longer I would have waited the more permanent damage I could have caused. I know I still have a long road left in my recovery, but I do feel I will get better and not worse. I have to wear my neck brace for 2 weeks and at that time I will try to return back to work. I'll take it one day at a time...

I will keep posting my progress and I do appreciate all who have contributed to this site and even to my posts as well.

To my fellow cervies, 'til I post again...

Cheers,

cmac

[mecconn]

That's great that you're feeling better. You have no pain in your arm? or just relatively compared to before surgery?

Keep up the good healing.

[cmac]

Thanks for the response meconn,

I am now in day 2 of my recovery, so a little reality is setting in. I have come to find out how much the pain meds have been offsetting my pain levels. I have had to keep my dosage at 15mg of percocet to feel ok. I took my last dosage last night around 9:30 and I woke up in alot of pain this morning at 4am. I tried only taking 7.5mg when I woke up, but that didn't really help that much and I started having a lot more pain again by 8am. I may up it again for at least another day.

My arm pain has decreased significantly post-op compared to before. I definitely noticed a major difference in reduction of radiating pain/numbness. When my meds start wearing off though, I have felt some upper arm pain, but it hasn't been radiating all the way down to my fingers and hand. I guess I need to lower the bar a little on my recovery time and not expect too much.

Although, my throat hoarseness and swallowing is very frustrating. I can only whisper or try to talk, but it only comes out as a weak, hoarse and very difficult to hear gasp of air. Have you or anyone had this issue? How long can I expect it to last? I have read that it could take even up to six months, but was wondering what the most common timeframe is for this to get better? Any input here would be great. I have already had several episodes of meds and food getting stuck in the back of my throat on the left side. I guess it may be from the swelling, since they did operate on my left side.

Sorry everyone for my winded responses, I tend to get started and go on and on. I guess I am making up for what I want to say, but have to type right now instead...

Thanks,

cmac

[Dave C]

cmac,

Glad to hear that you are doing well. Did I understand you correctly that you were home the very same day? That seems pretty quick. I go in on June 4th for the same surgery, so it’s nice to read on what I might expect. I know that everyone is a little different, but I hope mine goes as well as yours.

What type of pain meds are you on right now? I’ve been taking up to 50 milligrams of Norco every day just to function. I’ve had pains up and down my left arm; numbness in both arms and for the last two weeks it feels as if I am carrying 50 pounds on my shoulders the pressure is so great. I’ve been on pain meds so long now I do not know how long they will want to wean me off them. I hope the Dr. does not want me to stop cold turkey, because I know that I am dependent on them.

Looking forward to reading more of your posts. Thanks for sharing.

[cmac]

Thanks for the response Dave,

Yes, I was home the same day! Believe me, I asked several times before the surgery to clarify because my wife and I were a but hesitant on that. However, like the Dr. said, if all my vitals were good and since it was a 1-level replacement I would be home that day. Well, all went well, and I was home before 5:00 traffic! The ride home wasn't the best, but it was short, and I was on meds...

As far as pain management now, I am taking 15 mg of oxycodone every 6 hours - the Dr. said 7.5, but the nurse said if I was really feeling pain, then take 2 for now. I hope to be able to drop down to 7.5 every six hours tomorrow and taper off from there... just taking it a day at a time at this point....

Before the surgery, I had tried several different meds. At first I was on 10mg hydrocodone 3-4 times a day. That went on for about 3 months, and then the dr. switched me over to tramadol and lyrica. It wasn't as effective for the breakthrough pain I had and on moderate pain it worked about 50% as well as the opiates. I also couldn't stand the way the tramadol and lyrica made me feel, and I had to constantly take it or I felt completely terrible. To me, those meds made my body feel a lot more dependant and when I went cold turkey to get off them, I felt terrible for several days after. I couldn't sleep and I felt like @^&#^. Also, my insurance company wouldn't cover the lyrica, so the dr. gave me a few weeks of samples, but I decided not to continue taking either meds. The Dr. switched me back to hydrocodone but was concerned about what I was taking, and had me cut back to 5mg per day. It definitely didn't manage my pain well, but I could take it or leave it when I needed to, and I didn't have the bad side effects like the other meds. I also felt like I couldn't push the issue or I would be 'flagged' as a pill chaser or something... (it's pathetic nowadays when you just need some pain relief and everyone thinks you're trying to get high.)

I can definitely tell you, even though I'm early into my recovery, my arm and hand pain is nothing like it was and I am glad I went ahead with my decision. especially with the dr's reaction to the condition of my disc and nerves once he got in there. The MRI doesn't always show exactly what's going on, and I knew I had problems worse than what they thought. Especially, a couple weeks before surgery, I started having a lot of cracking and popping in my neck and the discogram xray showed that the spacing in my c6-7 vertabrae was narrowing... and to reiterate what the doc said, it was a 'jumbled mass'...

I would be happy to communicate with you along your journey, especially since our surgeries are so close to each other. It's nice having someone to bounce questions off of and relate to each other's experiences. I am definitely glad I found this community- I can talk to my wife about how I'm doing, but everyone here really understands so much more of what we're going through.


Hang in there. I know the next few weeks will feel like a lifetime, especially when you are in pain. I will keep you in my thoughts and hope the best for you. Feel free to contact me anytime...

cmac

[berry]

Congratulations Cmac on your successful surgery. Sounds like you have realistic expectations of the recovery and you are doing great.

Hoarsness wasn't a problem for me but I have read that it could take up to a year to resolve for some.(A very small precentage of people have damage to the recurrent layngeal nerve which just takes time to heal.) Hopefully yours will resolve sooner than that. Have you tried lozenges, they may just sooth a little? I became a little croaky if I talked too much in the early weeks. The thing that concerned me post-op was the shoulder and upper back pains as they were worse than pre-op despite medication.

Wishing you a speedy and uneventful recovery.

Regards

Lynda

[Terry]

CMAC and Dave:

Do not concern yourselves about the need to be on pain medication or the length of time. Opiates block the mu receptor site in the brain and block pain. Granted, you will become physically dependent on them after a time which is normal. Psychological dependence is very rare when true pain exists as the effects are to block the pain rather than provide euphoria when pain is not present. Any good doctor worth his/her stripes will wean you gradually to prevent withdrawal symptoms.

This is not a race to heal from this surgery or get off of the medication as quickly as possible. If you are in pain, take the medication.

The hoarseness will go away fairly quickly within a couple of weeks probably. The swelling needs to go down and you had a tube shoved down your throat for the anaesthesia so this is why it hurts.

CMAC: It sounds like you are well on the way to recovery. Congratulations on a successful surgery. Hang in there.

Dave: You will get there soon. Patience and be gentle with yourself. Share your concerns with the doctor about your fear of becoming dependent on the pain medication. Do this after the surgery though. At this point you want to make sure your pain is under control as that is the most important thing. You don't do your body, mind, or spirit well by seeing what kind of pain you can take. Doctor's are in a catch-22 anymore. They have the DEA looking over their shoulders for their prescribing practices and they also are responsible for making sure your pain is under control. If your doctor is treating you like a junkie, it's time to see a new doctor. You have to be straightforward with them and let them know the pain is or isn't under control. I like the longer acting narcotics as they are less apt to develop tolerance to them and then the doctor can prescribe something like an IR Type Medication (Immediate Release) for any breakthrough pain.

Both of you; hang in there and, be well.

Terry Newton

[cmac]

Thanks Lynda and Terry,

You both have provided a lot of feedback not only to myself, but to others which I have read, and I truly appreciate your support.

Lynda,
I may have already experienced the shoulder pain you referred to in your post. For some reason, this evening I started having a lot of sharp pain in my right shoulder. I tried walking it off, sitting down, but nothing seemed to help. It eventually subsided, but it was strange how it came on pretty strong. Not sure if it is even remotely related, but we did have some storms blow through around the same time, so not sure if it was weather related, or just a normal part of the recovery process... I'm probably way over analyzing here...

Anyway, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Thanks again to both of you, looking at your signatures, I will take you both for your word and I hope you both are doing well in your own recoveries!

[berry]

Cmac

Hope the shoulder pain has eased. Mine came on at day six and only went at after my first post op check-up (which was at 8 weeks)when I had steroid and local anaesthetic injection into my acrimoclavicular joint for shoulder impingement. Perhaps it has something to do with the position for surgery??? Traction is put on the arms to enable the cervical spine to be visualised fluoroscopically. I do think too, that the weather does play a part in our aches and pains.

I have read that some people had muscle relaxers for simialr issues with good effect which may be worth bearing in mind should your persist. I put up with mine as I hoped it would improve spontaneously. Since the injection it has been no problem and I have been feeling fantastic. Hope you will too in time.

Take is easy.

Regards

Lynda

[cmac]

Well, I am now 2 weeks post-op and here is my update. Overall, the radiating pain I was having down my left arm (tricep & numbness in my middle fingers) is gone. I was also having radiating pain down my spine and shoulder blades to the middle of my back and that is gone, so I am definitely pleased! Today was my 2nd full day at the office, so they have been long and tiring, but I am glad I have been able to get out of the house - I was going nuts the past 2 weeks.. I'm not one to sit around and do nothing.

I know everyone's recovery is different, but here are some of my issues I have been experiencing post-op that I hope will soon go away. I would appreciate any feedback on your own experiences to help set my own expectations:

1. Still very sore throat and very hoarse. I can't speak very well or much more than a whisper. This may take some time to heal, but I'm at 2 weeks and really not much better.

2. Neck and shoulder pain, I tire easily and have been having nightly headaches. This has occasionally gotten to the point of being nauseous.

3. At about day 10, I started having sharp stabbing pains in my left deltoid when I move my arm in certain positions. I have never had these pains in this area before, and I have read that the c5-c6 nerve roots control the deltoid region. I'm hoping this is just inflammation from surgery and not potential damage to the disc above my replacement.

4. I can move my head pretty far forward and backward, but barely at all side to side, before I start having a lot of pain.

5. I still can't sleep flat in my bed. I just moved to the couch 2 nights ago from the recliner, which has been the only place I could sleep with the neck brace on. I was supposed to wear the brace for 2 weeks, but stopped wearing it Sunday night so I could get some halfway decent sleep. My couch allows me to lie back and strecth out a little more, but not completely flat like my bed - I tried the bed first, but it was very uncomfortable. I hope to soon be able to sleep in my bed and get more than 4 hours of sleep like the past 2 weeks (or 6 months, if I count since the accident )

Again, I would appreciate feedback if you have any to share! Thanks for listening.