Posterior Cervical Discectomy

Hi Cori and We come to Healing Well Chronic Pain Forum. You certainly have been through allot. I am a bit confused, you had a a ACDF Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion done in May of 2013 is that correct? Then this past April 2014 you had a posterior discectomy and fusion done at C5/6 and C6/7 is that correct? Was this second surgery in April of 2014 a redo of the first surgery done in 2013? Or was this an entirely different surgery.

Anyway I had a C6/7 ACDF done in March 1985 then another ACDF done at C5/6 in September of 2009. These anterior surgeries were not bad. In November of 2010 I had a posterior fusion of the articular joints done at C3/4 I had an incision from the base of my skull down the center of the back of my neck down to base of my neck where it joins my shoulders. 47 staples I believe. And it was the most painful surgery I have ever had! It took me a very long time to heal and to be able to move my head. They put rods and pins in on both sides attached to the c3 and c4 vertebras to stabilize it all. Anyway it took many many months before the pain let up and lots of physical therapy.



Your not alone! And it is alright to scream and cuss (please just don't cuss in you post here LOL) I do understand your pain! There are many here on this forum who has had cervical fusions both anterior and posterior so your in good company here!

Again I want to Welcome you to the forum! When your here your a part of our Chronic Pain family and we listen an support each other. I do hope you stick around and become an active member of our ffamily

White Beard

Well thank you for such a warm welcome! Hopefully I can clarify dates of the two big procedures:

in May 2013 I had the anterior which is where they went through the front of my neck and did an EXCELLENT job of hiding the scar. I was scheduled to have only one level fused during the surgery: C5-6 and the surgery was scheduled to take an hour and a half. Almost five hours later, the surgeon finished and went to talk to my mom to tell her I was okay, but that once he got in there, another level needed to be fused as well: C6-7 AND that I had two bone spurs, one he described as something akin ti gargantuan.

When I was in recovery and he (my surgeon) came to talk to me about the procedure he told me that when he got in there "he found quite a mess". Anyway, what he told me when we were scheduling the procedure (I'm jumping around and I apologize) that he'd be using cadaver bones. He was one of the surgeons who patented this new procedure and had an 85% chance of success, 15% chance i wouldn't get relief and a 5% chance it would be made worse. Guess who fell into that 5 percentile result range?

But although I did enough complaining and whining and insisting SOMETHING was wrong, he insisted that everything was fine, I was just healing slower than he would like to have seen. However, in that same breath, he admitted that there always seems to have something go wrong when you're working on a friend, peer or family member. His girlfriend lives right next door to me and we'd been friendly for a couple years.

Anyway. He refers me on to pain management where I've explained what a waste of time effort and a lot of money that cost me.

So, let's fast forward to my second major surgery, but first can I jump back to the meds he used for my surgery? I had the morphine drip which I had been given for two other surgeries that have nothing to do with my neck or back. I have no problems with morphine. And he sent me home with 10 mg Percocet and 5 mg of Baclafin. The combination worked like charm.

I still could feel that different pain running down my right shoulder, trapezoid muscle and neck, of course, and sometimes that pain took my breath away. I knew something was wrong. But I digress. Back to this second surgery. I woke up in recovery, like I said. Regan in the exorcist had nothing on me. I was in pain, White Beard, the likes of which I didn't know existed! I was begging for morphine. Not the drip I could control myself, but a shot to get my pain to the point I thought I could live through.

For some reason, the we're taking the Dilaudid route. I kept screaming it wasn't helping and the kept assuring me that it was working because it is 7.5% stronger than morphine and to relax and give it time. So I tried.

But then I began to sob, uncontrollably and like a crazy person and I needed help. Begging for hop. Then use actually scolded me and said that crying/sobbing in that way was making the pain worse and that her advice to me would be to stop my blabbering then I'd feel better.

Anyway, I realize I'm very long winded and I'm on my iPad so all this typing is being done by my hand and a stylus and I am sorry.

However, the hospital refused to give me morphine and insisted on the Dilauded drip with a Tylenol drip with one oxy pill orally every 4 hours. I was still in pain begging them to witch it up.

At this point, after all my begging, they decide to tell me that they couldn't switch me now because my liver levels were high because with the dilaudid they had been giving me bags of Tylenol drips.

They made it sound like other than the fact I'd had too much Tylenol at this point, they would do anything they could to relieve my pain. It was one of the roughest nights of my life. Anyway, hopefully last time this time go around, they sent me home with a million 4 mg of dilaudid pills, about 90 generic valiums and fetanyl pain patches. My body does not respond to dilaudid at all.

Anyway, I finally called the surgeon's office a few days later and the hooked me up with 10 mg oxycodones. I couldn't believe it! Why wouldn't they hook me up with them when I was begging! My mother has been staying with me and is very strict and regimented in doling out the pills. Which is good. My dream combo would be percocets -7.5 mg with half- whole Valium. And I change my pain patch every 3-4 days.

I'm sure your eyes are rolling around in your head reading this mess and boring account of my life this past year. My friends and family and coworkers listen with a mixture of pity, concern and boredom in their eyes and on their faces. I can't blame them.

However, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to not only read this, but comment, offer sympathy and give me advice. You're the best new friend a girl could hope for!

My first follow up is Thursday, May 8 with the surgeon. After reading this, can you give me advice/ideas of what to ask him/what my concerns are, what kind of MEDS I should ask for if hell give me any more because I'm 4.5 weeks out of surgery. Should I be dancing soon? :). Thanks, White Beard. I'm a semi brown, blond, brunette with NO beard :)

Cori, I made you some paragraphs to make your post easier to read.

Post Edited By Moderator (straydog) : 5/6/2014 5:38:46 PM (GMT-6)

Thank you, Susie! Before this second surgery, my surgeon actually asked me what pain level (you know: the usual sliding scale 1 - 10) would I be okay living with. Using as a point of reference the pain I had been living with for the last year, I answered honestly with a "3". That was before the new 1-10 scale that was created after my posterior discectomy. I don't know if a 3 is going to be an acceptable number. I'm scared. I realize I'll never be my old spry self but the pain, as you know, has caused a bit of depression because I can't do things I used to do, I feel like my friends have given up on me (although they've been terrific), I've agreed to do things and go places because at the time of the invitation I thought I'd be able to go, and then wind up canceling at close to last minute. I've gone off track, so your information and suggestions about work were very helpful. I work in Transactions which is not a job I can do from home, so that's not an option. My firm couldn't be more supportive and would never make me return until I'm 100% ready. So, as I've said, it was 4 weeks yesterday. When I talk to my doctor, should I suggest 8 weeks and return to work part time? I was thinking three or four days a week, going in around 11. Mornings? Takes me forever to get ready. I've got long, thick hair and I've been trying taking showers at night, but still make-up, fixing hair, ironing outfits(?), etc. among other stuff, being a woman during times like these?! Good lawd!!!!
So anyway. Thank you for the warm welcome, the advice and information: good and bad. People think working in an office is sissy/ninny work and because we don't build houses, I should return to work a week after surgery :). So, any other information, suggestions, ideas . . . Literally ANYTHING you think would help me (in addition to what you've already helped me with), my ears and eyes are open! I'm like a sponge :). Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So very sorry for everything you've gone through. You might want to ask your doctor how long the recovery time is expected and how far out in your healing until you start mending enough to get some relief.
Sending many well wishes and healing prayers your ways.
At this point its probably all about you healing from such major surgery. You need to give yourself time for that healing and I wish there was a better answer for you. Wish I could help you better.
Whitebeard is the best one on here to give you help.
Again you have my many prayers and healing wishes.

Charteux, Susie and Whte Beard! This is my first time looking for, finding and participating in a forum such as this and although it's been just two days I feel like y'all are friends and really do understand and that I'm not alone! As I mentioned, I go to my month follow up on Thursday (thought it was Wednesday . . . Good thing I answered the confirmation e-call that sais Thursday, May 8. . . I had to listen again to the entire message be as I knew the 8th was on Wednesday. I can only imagine my temper, sitting there in the parking garage, back in that god forsaken city on the incorrect day. I shudder to think how badly I'd react and what a total crap head I'd be to my mom who put her life on hold to stay with me and take care of me. Yeah, in addition to everything else, the ones who are closest to me seem to get treated the worst. I literally apologize until I can't any longer and then the guilt eats me up. This whole process has truly turned me into a princess. . . LOL, but it's not :(. It's sad my behavior is. Okay. Way past my bed time. Big plans going to the Rite Aide and grocery store with my mom. Another dance, jig, SOMETHING will be in order once I can start driving again. Okay. Thanks all, For everything. Best wishes to each of you and for each thing y'all bring to the forum. Good night and I'll talk to y'all later. Not that there's much here, but if there's anything Ravens or Orioles here you might desire, I'm happy to try to get . . . Okay. My eyes are doing their nightly rolling around telling me to hit the pillow now!!! So, lights out and good night :)

Hi all! It's been too long since my last post. I had my one month follow-up on May 8th. I saw my surgeon's PA who was very nice and somewhat helpful. She gave me some exercises to do which I found very simple and painless. I told her I thought the oxycodones I had were a little much and I thought I could step down the dosage. She prescribed me 15mg, 120 pills. 10 more Fentenol patches, more valiums and since they knock me out in addition to helping the spasms, she gave me backlafin, 5 mg. unfortunately, these, too, knock me out. When I picked up my Rx everything was as it should be except for the oxy'd. Apparently, they don't make them in 7.5 mg, so the pharmacist filled it with 60 pills of 15 mgs. I asked him if I brought them back, would he cut them in half and he said no, but they'd sell me a pill cutter. I went back the next day and bought one. The only type they sold. I was at Rite Aide. I got the cutter home and every pill I tried to halve split in more than two pieces, I had chunks of some, slivers of others and it was difficult trying to guess the right amounts and simply grabbed a chunk or sliver until I felt my pain was duly under control.

Sometime I the next week or two I had the brilliant idea or feeling that the Fentenol patches weren't helping, so I didn't reload another one and the two boxes were set aside. Anyway, with so much on my mind and the depression kicking in (I'd find myself crying for next to no reason - not things on tv, but interactions I was having with friends and family) and the pain I was experiencing was getting worse and worse. I was growing more and more concerned because the PA said I would/should start noticing a definite improvement in my pain level and I was feeling the opposite! I couldn't understand why I was hurting so bad and I was eating those slivers and chunks and pieces of those oxy'd like candy. Then it dawned on me! Could those pain patches actually have been working?

Turns out they help immensely! So, after I dug one out of the box and slapped it on, I felt an improvement the next morning. By then I couldn't have told anyone how many pieces of pills I had been taking. I know I still have most of my Valium and backlafin so left because I felt I was already sleeping way too much and those knock me out on a good day.

So, it probably will, or maybe it won't, surprise you that I went thru 60 chopped up oxy's in less than 3 weeks. I called my surgeon's office and they told me there was no way I should be out and since I see my surgeon on June 6, I can wait. So, I've been dealing with my pain by taking the muscle relaxers which do work, but I'm sleeping through the night and not waking up until noon or 1 in the afternoon! I tend to my pets, sit on the couch with the tv and the next thing I know, it's 6 in the evening because I've fallen asleep again. I'll go to bed between 10. And 11 pm and the same happens the next day. Then I cry and get more depressed wondering how in the hell I'm gonna survive at work!

Originally, my post op visits were set up as one month and two months after with the PA and the third month would be with my surgeon and that's when the determination of my return to work would be made. But at my one month, she said I was doing so well, we'd skip the 2nd month with her and I'd see my surgeon at month two. I need to get out of this house and into my routine. I miss my friends and the sense of having purpose that my job gives me.

I do have some good days, but I'm still having some rough ones that are scaring me as is all this sleeping.

I need advice, assurance or a kick in the ***. Help?

Thank you :)

Hi Cory and welcome back. The W/D's tend to throw us into a funky and depressed state and crying at the drop of a hats all normal, not fun but normal.

I'm sure when you get through the effects of this your world won't look so bleak. DR's and especially surgeons and nurses and PAs don't realize how opiates work on your system and assume that since you have any of anything else you should be OK. They can't possibly see how being out of oxy should cause you problems with the fent onboard. We of course know better.

It should start to turn around for you soon now. Just try to take it easy with the Valium as you can find yourself in the same boat when you stop that. Stay occupied by keeping your mind busy with anything. Gaming, music, books and just anything else you can think of.

Good luck and hang on this won't last forever.

In Pain something I want to tell you about the Baclofen, if you will take it as directed the loopy feeling should go away. I take 10mg 3 times a day & it does not affect me that way at all. Granted, I was on another muscle relaxer before being switched to them. Keeping the muscle spasms down will help your pain a great deal. WhiteBeard will also tell you the muscle spasms were increasing his pain horribly & he was sent home with Valium on his last surgery. Rarely now will a dr rx Valium unless you have had spine surgery. So that should tell you a little something. By all means change the Fentanyl patch every 72 hours.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.

I feel you! I had an anterior C4,5 fusion last August that did nothing for my pain. Luckily my doc did not give up and that surgery was a blessing in disguise because they couldn't do another MRI, and instead did a dye bone scan. That picked up a huge facet joint issue made worse by an osteoma, which is basically a benign bone tumor that was compressing my blood vessels and causing the excruciating pain I had had for twenty years. I am just a month out of a posterior fusion and they also cut away the "tumor" spot. It immediately took care of my neck pain, but the post op pain, I was like you, bawling and yelling that night. And when I broke four ribs and collapsed a lung a few months ago that didn't make me cry, so the post op was awful. I am still in a ton of pain from the surgery, and there is no way I could even think about working. I'm pretty proud of myself when I can manage to sit upright for a few hours. I'm learning from reading all these posts and talking to everyone that the docs idea of recovery time and actual recovery time are two different things. I, too, worked in a busy law firm for several years and just thinking of trying to do that job right now, there is no way, no how. You are one tough cookie to have been doing it at all! I am learning though that we just set ourselves back farther and making our recovery progress much longer by trying to do too much of anything these first few months. Take it easy on your body and mind and heal first. We have to hang our Superwoman capes up for a bit, lol til our bodies can handle it. Frustrating as that may be! I hope you get feeling better soon!