Having ACDF C-5/6, 6/7

Hello Medic & welcome to the chronic pain forum. We have some folks here at the forum that have had this surgery & hopefully they will see your post & comment. Something to keep in mind after surgery is things may look healed on the outside but they are not healed on the inside. It can take a fusion up to a full year to become completely solid. During the post op period it is vital that you follow the drs instructions to the letter if you want a successful surgery. This is where most folks get in trouble they start feeling good & jump out & start doing a whole lot things they shouldn't. Then that just knocks the recovery back. You appear to be a very active person and you will have to use good common sense on what activities you can do and your dr can answer a lot of these questions you have.

Anyway, I wanted to pop on & say hello & welcome aboard.

I do hope you have a very good neurosurgeon on board doing this surgery. The reason so many of us go for a neurosurgeon is their training is much more in depth dealing with nerve issues when doing surgery. Those guys do brain surgery which pretty much says it all. An orthopedic is trained to deal with bones & bony structures.

As a rule these are successful surgeries but like I said a dr can only do so much and the rest falls on the patient. Having a decent attitude about surgery can go a long ways. I have actually known people that have said oh I have to have surgery, I will never be the same again. Guess what, they didn't do well because they convinced their self they were not going to do well. that is why its important to have your head on right.

If you do heavy physical work be sure your surgeon is well aware of this because you don't want to get released to return too soon, when an extra week or two of healing could go a long way. Usually if there is any big issues it is over doing heavy lifting for prolonged periods of time. You could have some limited movement with your neck especially at first, this is something that should get better as more time goes by. The other activities you spoke of above you should be able to do in time. The important thing is to let yourself have ample time to heal.

Keep us posted.

Hi Medic140 Welcome to Healing Well Chronic Pain Forum! I have had both of these areas fused, not at the same time, I had C6/7 done in 1985 and then C5/6 in 2009. I will tell you that you don't want to do any heavy lifting or straining of your neck for a good long while after your surgery. Do follow your doctors orders to the Tee. If your some where that it is cold and icy, be super careful not to slip and fall or be in a position where you might slip and lose your balance and struggle to right yourself from falling. You can do allot of straining and such in such a situation, and that can cause you problems later on! There is definite ( I won't say dangers) but complications that can a rise with this type of surgery, they are not common, but can happen. With my first ACDF at C6/7 I lost my voice for about 3 to 4 months, the nerve going to my "" vocal cords"" was damaged. It is rare but it can happen with this type of surgery, I am sure your surgeon has went over this with you. This type of thing is usually only temporary and does not usually last. I am not telling you this to scare you but just to make you aware. Also and this is important! Give your fusion plenty of time to heal and the graft to take. Any major straining of this area, such as heavy lifting can cause you some major complications down the road! I learned that the hard way while I was in the military. My second ACDF at C5/6 was a piece of cake, and I had no major problems with it. With having both done at the same time, might or could be allot more challenging for you!

Just don't be in to big of a hurry to go back to doing all the things you normally used to do! Rushing it can only cause you problems later on! Listen to your body and what it is telling you! If you feel pain, or discomfort, listen up, and don't ignore it!

I wish you well and please keep us all informed of your progress, when your here on this forum your part of our CP Family and we all care about each other!

White Beard

Medic140 the reason I mentioned about the snow and ice, I had my first ACDF done up in Alaska in the winter time, and that was a huge concern! I think that you will find with the double fusion that you will lose some motion in your neck, not being able to turn your head quite as far right or left. I noticed the biggest difference in trying to look up in the sky, ( looking at the stars or moon, or aircraft in a aerial demonstration such as Thunderbirds or Blue Angels ) I just cannot tilt my head back near as far. You will find ways of compensating for this, extra mirrors or what ever. For me that is one of things I notice the most, as I have C5/6/7 fused by ACDF and also C3/4 fused posteriorly. Looking us is extremely difficult for me!

Oh yes there is one thing I should mention,...... I was told by my neurosurgeon on my second ACDF was that it is pretty common for the disc above or below a fusion to go bad within ten years of that original fusion. I guess I was lucky as I got close to 25 years from the time I had C6/7 done and having to have C5/6 done. It doesn't mean that the disc above or below the fusion will go bad, but there is a tendency for that to happen. Makes sense really, as your putting more stress on the other discs!

Good Luck to you!

White Beard

All of us have different experiences of the post-surgical and rehabilitation periods. Yours will have elements in common with other people, but will also have elements unique to you. There is no one road-map on the journey to better physical or emotional well-being. However, here are some tips: in my view, it's crucial to allow yourself to grieve what in truth is a degree of loss, however short- or long-term: of some of the activities you have enjoyed prior to surgery; of your daily contact with co-workers; of your independence. Don't hesitate to rely on your social support system, partner, friends and family members. Prepare them for the reality that you will be counting on their assistance. You'll be less likely to do something impulsive, such as "just nipping up to the store, after all, it's only a couple of blocks from here" and other potential acts that may extend recovery-time. Don't allow anyone to invalidate your very justifiable emotions; they'll be there, without doubt. There's always - always! - someone in worse shape, with more serious disease processes, or more limited mobility, but that does not mean that you "should" deny whatever it is you feel. The experiencing of those feelings is part of the recovery process. There is no "hierarchy of suffering". Positive attitudes aren't inherent aspects of our being; they develop as we learn adaptive ways of coping with new - and often frightening - situations or circumstances. I wish you the very best with your surgery, recovery and the rest of your life.

Hello Goodtogo & welcome to the forum. If you don't mind we ask all new members to make their own intro post so that all members will see it & be able to give you a proper hello & welcome aboard. By posting on someone else's thread as you have not many people will see your post.

To make your own intro post click Post New Topic, type in a heading, hit enter & start typing away. Thanks.

Medic,

If you care to read a rambling tome of self-indulgent suffering I just posted my intro thread on a 3 level ACDF. I am 8 weeks out. I enjoy all the things you do and my brother is a firefighter/paramedic. I ride with him sometimes so I have a good idea what you do. Thank you so much for your service. You provide a crucial and under appreciated public good. Were it not for folks just like you I would not be alive.

First off, good2go put it right on the money. I am still struggling with putting myself first, but to a certain extent your life is about to become ALL about you for the next several months at least. I have had great difficulty with this and at 2 months post op I am now crying over it several times a day. I'm not a guy that is in touch with my feelings. I don't even know how to accept this help. Im trying to make peace with it somehow. My friends come over in pity and feel bad if they don't. . .which is the last thing I want for/from them. G2G speaks the word.

I am 8 weeks out. Firstly, prepare to be essentially unconscious or at least 100% non functional for 3 weeks. I had my surgery Dec 11, I don't remember Christmas or New Years. My mom, a nurse, was with me until Christmas eve and my wife gives great daily support. If you do not have anyone, you need someone you can call and you need to get meals etc prepared for you. You will be able to shower etc, but it and other hygiene activities will occupy a majority of your waking day.

I cant emphasize this enough. . .you need a hard-nosed med savvy advocate for you at all times when staying in a hospital. I've lived everywhere and I just stayed in one of North Americas premiere hospitals. . .and they got my menus wrong. It happens, you know it does and why it does. You need someone to make sure that if you are immune to dilaudid (like I found I was) that they hook you up to some morphine ricky-tick post op. You need to make sure they don't give you something you are allergic to or the flat wrong thing. I've had multiple relatives killed or stroked to near death by mistakes. . .all in "great" hospitals. Your care is the simultaneous responsibility of many humans, pressed for time and resources. You need an advocate and that person needs to be willing to sleep in a chair at your bedside if that's all the hospital offers. And if they don't allow even that pittance. . .go the heck elsewhere, because that is not a good sign. It is not enough for this person to "just be there." They need to be in your business, asking everyone what they are administering, what and when are your next injections, when do you get food, etc. . .and they need to facilitate these things happening across shift changes etc.

Whatever sadist installed my Foley used the 50 grit variety. By the time I got to my room I found that it was extraordinarily painful to pee. In 20 minutes I got about 3 drops. The nurses alerted on this and brought in the ultrasound. My bladder was beyond its measurement capacity. . .heh, dad was a trucker. Anyway, my wife was holding the vessel for about 20 minutes while I scrambled to get out a very painful 500ml. . .they were in the room to cath me again when I convinced them not to. Within another thirty minutes I had produced another liter and they were off my case. Urination was exceedingly unpleasant for the next week. . .again, world class hospital put that Foley in. Obviously I was unconscious. I'm sure you've done a lot better in an ambulance racing down a bumpy road with a conscious patient.

I ride in a car and walk in the snow to doctors appointments etc in a hard collar for extra protection. I will be at least 12 weeks 24/7 in a soft collar. You get a special hardish collar to use in the shower. Shaving is a chore. My voice and throat were fine in recovery, I even ate in recovery as the kitchen was closing before I got a room. Just remember soft foods only, they screwed that up in my chart. That said, my esophagus is permanently narrowed and I must always eat with water at hand. Food catches below my epiglottis so it is a discomfort, but not life threatening as I do not technically choke. Still, it is freaky.

At 8 weeks I cannot imagine any of the activities you listed, although I enjoy(ed) them all. LISTEN TO ME HERE: do not lift ANYTHING. I have at minimum triggered significant pain by lifting a 20lb coffee grinder 2 days ago. It is tempting for us do it yourselfer rely-on-no-one types, and in my case unavoidable, but just avoid it anyway.

One thing has been a great help for my laptop. My wife found this articulating aluminum table that I can recline fully and adjust so I can see to type this. Got it off Amazon for $35 or so, well worth it if a tad flimsy. My laptop is light.

Honestly at this point I cannot imagine when I could fire say a .300 Mag of a .44 or .500 pistol. I could fire a 22 or a 9mm though. . .I'd just need to rest my neck in 15 minutes or suffer significantly. I don't think its in my best interest to do those things but I field stripped my Glock yesterday. When will you be able to deadman carry a 200lb dude? Man, from here 1 year seems optimistic. But don't let me bring you down, in my other thread I mention a guy who is doing OK. . .but the procedure did not fix his problem. I think you should prepare for this possibility mentally, I'm sure a person like you is.

In any case I wish you the very best of luck, may your surgeons hands be steady, his judgment good, your nurses great, and your recovery, attitude, and mental state strong and stable. This surgery is definitely no joke. I believe it to be substantially worse than my near death medi-flighted accident with a compound tib-fib and a lacerated liver. . .a lot less painful, but much longer recovery.

Oh yeah, always make friends with your anesthesiologist. Mine let me push my own drugs. I once had one that let me check them out individually. That was better, because I only got halfway through the propephol or whatever it was in the big syringe before it was wakeup time again.

Godspeed to you.

Post Edited (therabidweasel) : 2/10/2014 12:44:54 AM (GMT-7)

Hello Everybody,

Thank you all for the valuable information and insight, I appreciate it very much. I had my "pre admission testing" with Anesthesia today and that all seemed to go well. I have "pre surgical clearance" tomorrow with my PCP tomorrow.

I have no problem speaking my mind and when I cant my wife who is a nurse and EMT will be my advocate, and believe me when I tell you she has NO problem speaking her mind! She can be sweet as pie or she can be as angry as a hornet. She has gone toe to toe with doctors before and she has no problem telling them where the bear craps in the buckwheat!

Keep the info and comments coming folks, I appreciate it!

My surgery was on my lumbar spine, but I wanted to pipe in for a second with some thoughts.

I personally believe that a very important component, (at least one I'm electing to do), is to respect the hardware and what it's intended purpose is.

Avoiding trying to bend or twist, not trying to stretch/stress the surgical area (and adjacent structures),...and above all, not trying to move like you could before,...these are important factors which I think contribute to keeping the spine stable.

If you remain cognizant of the fact these fusions are in there and that your body will adapt and attempt to move along those familiar patterns,....take heed and adjust first, before you move. Be aware of the structures above & below and move to respect the new loads being put upon them, and don't force any movement...

I'm only a year out from my spinal surgery, but I do my best to be thoughtful of how I move.



M.