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Posted 7/2/2013 4:52 AM (GMT 0)
Ok one week till surgery .i will have 3 levels done. Not sure what to expect,any reassurance would be helpful. Can't walk well cause the pinched nerve in the lower spine is acting up.doc won't let me get the back shot this close to surgery.one thing at a time I guess .any kind words
Posted 7/2/2013 5:40 AM (GMT 0)
Here's wishing you a speedy recovery and help to relieve the pressure off of that nerve. I have had a lumbar fusion and laminectomy. It is not a pleasant surgery that's for sure but hopefully things will be much better after having it done. I know my sciatic nerve is compressed due to herniated discs and that causes sciatica and horrible pain. Unfortunately there are too many risk factors at this time for me to have another surgery right now so I have to live with it. I am sure you will feel much better once this is done and things will go as planned. Good luck with the surgery and keep us posted on the outcome.

I would make sure that you have everything taken care of before the surgery. Things like having meals cooked in advance and perhaps having others around to help you out for a few weeks. Get a grabber so you don't have to bend over to pick things up, put a plastic bag on your car seat so you can swivel in and out easily, get some slip on shoes etc. etc. I'm sure others will have some good tips.

Much love and gentle hugs,
Lynn
Posted 7/2/2013 7:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Lynn for the great ideas I need all the help I can get. Your the best. Steve
Posted 7/2/2013 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Steve & welcome to the forum. Lynn gave you some excellent ideas. Usually the first six weeks after surgery you will be limited to walking in the house to start with & you can venture outside as long as you don't go very far. You want to be able to make it back to the house. Stay on flat even surfaces at all times. Walking will help build your strength & stamina quicker than anything, just don't over do it. Being patient & learning to pace yourself will be a tough one.

I do hope that you will have someone at home with at least the first couple of weeks. If not, as Lynn said be sure to have plenty of food & snack foods on hand that are very quick to heat & eat.Be sure to take your pain meds, do not let the post op pain get a head of you. Once that happens it is so difficult to get it back under control. Be sure that your dr gives you a muscle relaxer to take after surgery, people tend to get some bad spasms after surgery. Get on stool softners too, you do not want to be straining after surgery either. Another good source to keep the plumbing working is prune, no more than 5 at a time.

Other will pop on with tips I am sure, I wanted to pop on & say hello & welcome aboard......Susie
Posted 7/2/2013 9:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there...Welcome to the boards...

I have had 3 of the cervical fusions (only two levels each time) so having 3 done is going to be a harder and longer recovery as well as it does have a bit more risks in the future with other levels above and below herniating due to lack of movement.

May I ask which levels are being done? Since it is a week away I am really hoping that you went through all the appropriate things of getting a few opinions from Board Certified Neurosurgeons just to be sure it's absolutely imperative to have all three levels done now as well as all possible non surgical treatment first.

Not trying to scare you or worry you, just want you to be as prepared as possible. I also have two severe active herniations in my lumbar right now as well and one in my lower cervical and trying to do everything I can to prevent anymore surgery for as long as possible.

You have been given great advice so far with having everything easy for you in the weeks following to recover. The good part with the cervical surgeries is being up and walking asap and doing as much as possible directed by your Dr.

One of the things I still use to this day is Audiobooks instead of holding an actual book or Kindle/iPad as then you can get into a comfortable position and just listen to your favorite books. So, I started that after one of my surgeries and won't go back to regular reading...LOL

It's really about doing what Straydog mentioned with staying on top of the pain to let your body heal and following all their orders with not going in a car as a passenger or driving for x amount of time, not lifting a certain weight, etc.

My Neurosurgeon believes in Physical therapy and started that around 4-6 weeks afterwards. I feel this really helped me as well as learning things to do at home which I still do to this day. Some surgeons don't do PT so you'll have to find out how yours handles this.

Feel free to ask any questions as there are some others here who have also had cervical fusions as well as just folks who understand and know what recovery is like and living with chronic pain.

Good luck with everything!
Posted 7/3/2013 12:49 AM (GMT 0)
Doc found something on preop EKG prob.nothing but well see which way we will go wed. All great advice from everyone thanks ill check in we'd. And let you all know,Steve
Posted 7/3/2013 11:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone, doc says EKG is ok so tue July 9 is the big day for the three level acdf. Hoping for the best thanks for your support I will report back and let you know how it's going! Great to know other people that have the same thing going on. Thanks
Posted 7/4/2013 12:22 AM (GMT 0)
Steve is this a neck or a back surgery? .....Susie
Posted 7/4/2013 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
I went by the title which is ACDF which stands for Anterior Cervical Discectomy Fusion....But then they do mention their lumbar hurting as well....But those surgeries are either PLIF or ALIF....But I could be wrong...lol

So, hopefully Flybackman will come on to let us know:)
Posted 7/4/2013 12:56 AM (GMT 0)
Sorry maybe I didn't say its 3 level in the neck
Posted 7/4/2013 3:35 AM (GMT 0)
No problem, lots of times people will say their back when in fact they are talking about their neck. I too knew what the initials stood for but then you mentioned your back, so I assumed it was low back surgery but decided to ask anyway. Surgery is surgery no matter what type. Is your surgeon a neurosurgeon? Did you get a 2nd opinion?

Keep us posted......Susie
Posted 7/4/2013 5:44 PM (GMT 0)

Hello,

I've had two triple fusions in the last two and a half years..

First was posterior where I had my entire C2-T1 decompressed, with instrumentation of C3-C5 and a lot of other stuff....a year later I slipped at C6 so I underwent an ACDF again with a fusion from C5-T1

I can tell you it is no easy surgery what so ever, wearing the collar 24/7 is tough- I had to wear mine for 8 weeks- then a soft for another 4 weeks... no one told me that when you get out of the hard collar- the horror starts all over again because your neck muscles will be so weak from the lack of use- no one told me that so just be prepared for that. PT is difficult but do the work, it will be very hard but it needs to be done

Again, no easy surgery at all but I can say that an ACDF compared to a posterior approach- is a cake walk

I had a sore throat for about 3-4 days but nothing horrible- I really was up and about more than the first surgery- make sure you have help at all times, do NOT lift anything and always have help going down stairs

The thing that absolutely saved me was my adjustable bed!

Before my bed this saved me: CONTOUR BACK MAX PILLOW- it's a bit pricy.. you can search eBay for a better bargin but I promise it will worth every penny- especially when it comes to sleeping- which is impossible.

A great pillow can be found on HSN- the Tony Little pillow... THE BEST PILLOW I have found and I tried everyone!

I worked very hard after both my surgeries to get back on my feet... I was on the tennis court playing competitively after only 5 months!

Snowbunny- we are chronic pain twins- I too have back problems also.. wearing my back brace as I type

Flybackman- I wish you the best!








Posted 7/5/2013 5:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hi draka, thanks for the great post .very useful information ,I will check out the pillow also. I am trying to get the surgery done before things get to bad I know I will need it so why wait for more problems. I have lost some strength in my hands along with other problems. I also have had my pinched nerve in my lower back that has been bad the past two weeks so I can't walk ver far without leg pain. Bad timing! I am going ahead with the acdf July 9 maybe down the line post op the doc will let me get the lower back injection I have had before. Someday I hope to have the back operation to fix that for good.one thing at a time I guess.if you or anybody else has any more thoughts that would be great.thanks again,steve
Posted 7/17/2013 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hi guys sorry I haven't posted nine days since my AC DF three-level bones and metal plate in the neck. I have been doing very well got off the pain meds and the muscle relaxers after five days feeling good except for having trouble swallowing. Swallowing was very bad for three days could hardly swallow anything even water now eating better but still have small golf ball in my throat. The doctor said he found a lot of arthritis in my neck also took care of that I feel very lucky things have gone so smoothly. Going to see the doctor on July 22 so we'll see what he says but I feel I am very lucky so far. My symptoms were not bad at all before the operation I feel this is probably a big plus people should not wait until things get too bad it's harder to get them turned around. I did make one thing for myself before I had the operation it's been very successful. I got a used photo tripod at the local resale shop and attached an aluminum arm to it put it alongside my bed And hung my iPad mini on the end of the arm so it's just above my head and I can lay down flat in the bed at night and do the iPad ,works very well! I used 360° iPad Mini cover that is very cheap on eBay for my iPad mini this whole setup works very well if someone had more trouble than I did it would be a lifesaver. Well that's all for now thanks for your support good luck anybody out there that had the operation or is going to have it any questions you can post and I'll try to get back to you.steve
Posted 7/17/2013 7:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Steve,this is awesome news that you are doing so well. A little word to the wise, things may be looking like they are healing up on the outside but you still have a lot healing to do on the inside. Just take your recovery slow & easy, you had a major surgery, remember that. Don't get all anxious and try to do things too soon either, that will really set you back. Lots of times we get to feeling so good we think we can do things we shouldn't and I think this is normal. Please be careful & take care of yourself.....Susie
Posted 7/20/2013 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Steve, glad your surgery went well! Hopefully your swallowing difficulty is just temporary. It is not all that uncommon to have swallowing or speaking difficulties after this type of surgery. I was told by an ENT specialist that he was surprised that there wasn't more problems like this occurring from this type of surgery because of the way they have to move every thing out of the way to get at the spine. Back in 1985 when ACDF was a new type of surgery I lost my voice completely for over 3 months and had swallowing difficulties for allot longer. Allot has changed since that time, but just follow your doctors orders to the "Tee" be gentle with your self and give your body plenty of time to heal. Over doing it, and doing things to soon can cause you more problems and even possible damage later on down the road, and it is just not worth it!

I wish you well and hope your healing and recovery goes smoothly. Good Luck to you!

White Beard
Posted 10/29/2013 5:10 PM (GMT 0)
48 year old mal and I just had C7-T-1 done on Sept 27th, I was out of work 2 weeks and no collar. It was totally different than when I had C6-C-7 done in 2002. I wore a collar for 2 weeks then and was out of work 4 weeks. The surgery was also alot longer, this last one was literally 50 mins and I was back in recovery.

Recovering pretty well, I still have tingling in little finger/ right hand and a good bit of upper back/shoulder pain and tightness in the chest and especailly when I lay down at night. I started physical therapy at week 3, 2x a week for 6 weeks.

I just hope this one ends up being as good as the first one. The one good thing is that I stoped smoking the day before surgery cold turkey after 28 years of smoking and Ive really had no big issues with that. Its probably where all this extra pain is coming from...LOL
Posted 10/29/2013 8:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hello lgortman and welcome to the chronic pain forum. Sorry to read you had another surgery but very glad to read that you seem to be doing well from the surgery. Hopefully you will continue to do well.

We ask all new members to write a their own brief intro post so that all members will see it and be able to give you a proper hello & welcome aboard. By posting on someone else's thread not many people will see this and be able to respond.

Look above here to the left and click Post New Topic, fill in the heading and start typing away...

Take care....Susie
Posted 12/6/2013 3:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hello CountryJ & welcome to the forum. Please post these questions in a new post, not many people will see yours and you will not get much of a response. We do have members that have had cervical surgery and I would like for them to be able to see your questions.

Thanks.......Susie
Posted 1/13/2015 8:50 AM (GMT 0)
I had ACDF done on c5-c6 in April 2014, but my c6-c7 was found to have congenital partial fusion, meaning that mt c5-c7 is joined in one block.

One thing I would like to ask here is:
Do you encounter lower back pain after surgery?
My lumbar spine is found to have hyperlordosis and my pelvis is excessively anteriorly tilted. I googled research a bit. It says 7 out of 10 americans experience lower back pain following ACDF surgery. But this has not been mentioned by most patients who made their testimonials in YouTube.

I hope to seek your advice to see whether compensational change takes place in lumbar spine or pelvis.

Stay happy no matter what
Posted 1/13/2015 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Stayhappy & welcome to the chronic pain forum. You have posted on a thread that is over a year old & we have not heard from the original poster since July 2003.

We do ask all new members to make a separate intro post so that all members will see it & be able to say hello & possibly answer some of your questions. What you have written above would be great for an intro post, so perhaps you can copy & paste it.

We do have several members here that have had surgery like you & are recovering. They have documented their progress & can give you some excellent info.

I will lock this so others will not post here, as we like to keep the older threads off of the main page. Thanks.
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