2nd Surgery, 4-Level ACDF after C3-4 ACDF

Greetings all,
Began having extreme pain issues 18 months after C3-4 fusion. (details leading to that will follow)
I’d returned to work last Feb and weaned off all pain meds last August (gaba).
All seemed ok until two weeks ago; extreme pain and much loss of mobility right arm.
New imaging showed no significant change from post-op imaging.
New neurosurgeon recommends 4-Level ACDF.
I’m 60 and in good health otherwise.
Needless to say, I’m not happy about this, but I’m hoping it’ll relieve the pain long enough to continue living a normal life for awhile.
Are there any 2nd neck surgery folks here?

S.

I have already begun that process, Straydog, thank you.
And I agree about surgery for pain alone; when I lost mobility in my right arm is when I sought another neurologist.
18 months ago I’d lost function of my left hand… I cannot open the pinky, ring, middle fingers and the others are very weak.
The neurosurgeon then said he needed to stabilize C3-4 first, and although the neck down to C7 was moderate to severe, C3-4 disc was gone and C4 was directly impinging on the cord. Fast forward to now..
The new neurosurgeon recommended taking care of the rest of this mess.
I’m not happy about it, but I’m running out of arms.

I did notice most of the posts on this subject were a few years old.
I thank you for continuing to monitor and also for the super fast reply.

Hi ocean,
Thanks for your personal feedback.. and sound advice.
I too feel deep pain under the upper portion of my shoulder blades.. and on down the arms.
My Doc gave me Lyrica instead of Gabapentin this time. Both tend to reduce pain somewhat, but I’m not agreeing with ‘nothing state’ it leaves me in, so I’m stopping that now.
Not even a fan of the opiates, although I have used them to sleep.
Bad part is, when pain slams home full on, I will eat anything within reach to ease that monster.
I guess I still wanting feedback so I (think I) know what movement brings on the worst. Eventually I resort back to Naproxen and Acetaminophen…

I do know this, when that pain arrives, I’m the biggest fan of the surgery (and drugs); when it subsided (as it has so far every time), the surgery scares the hell out of me.

Have you found anything that works satisfactory for you (pain wise) up to now?

Options…
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll need to settle for some uneasy side effects sometime soon… but I’m fighting it.
The temporary loss of mobility with the right arm a couple times in two weeks leaves me thinking I’ll need to make an unpleasant decision.
The last two EMGs show cervical issue.

Hearing of your post op issues suck. But I am so appreciative of your honesty… and your willingness to share the toughest section of road in your journey.

S.

hello again Stray,
I had been back at work since last Feb (post C3-C4 fusion).. trying feel somewhat normal again. An electrician by trade, much of what I do is overhead. My employer and coworkers were sympathetic, that allowed me to work easy, I always had help available.
That said, there was no one event that I can point to. One day (recently) I woke up in pain and could not move my right arm.. it did kind of feel like a rotator cuff impingement along with deep armpit pain. Trip to ER to check the heart.. all ok. Pain drugs, ice, anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxers.. eased things up for 5 days then it happened again. Back to ER, CT Scan, MRI, and an added trip to neurologist a couple days later.
Diagnosis:
Neural foraminal stenosis of cervical spine.
Cervical radiculopathy.
Spondylosis with myelopathy.
..and lately, just regular bad attitude.

S.

Thanks ocean.
Yeah, we weren’t the same a short time pre-surgery, either… and I understand where you’re coming from. There were and are decisions to be made, sometimes none that are very good… but still need a makin.

I shall try everything I can, that’s real good advice.
I’m coming to the realization that I’ll need to find new favorite things to do since i can no longer do many of the old favorites.

And while waiting for the 2nd (&3rd) opinion, I’ll wean off the Lyrica (again) to see if that’s the cause of the spasms and twitches…then maybe see about that Robaxin (thanks Suzie).

Aside from that, it’s raining here on the north coast… a great time to head out to the shop and putz around with the stuff I can reach.

Kindest regards,
Scott

O,
I’m still in a middle stage of acceptance, something we all deal with, I suppose.

I have a little airplane at the local airport I haven’t flown in two years, another one (unfinished home built) in the garage/shop.
Cannot/will not fly on the meds, but want to once I’m ‘clean’ again…
I really want to enjoy the old favs that I can, and put away those that I can’t.

It’s not looking like I’ll have a chance if I delay the surgery.. I may have that chance if I proceed as recommended.

Still have a guitar that I can’t play.. but I’m working at it.. (my wife says I never could play even before this happened, bless her heart).
Still have the drum kit .., that’s stays, the grandson likes to pound on it.

Funny how the strength of dreams and passion can influence any decision, tho… it certainly can allow one to justify damn near anything.

In the interim I’ll look (and make room) for new favorite crap to do.. but I’ll wait to see how neck issues progress post op.

I gotta tell you Ocean, thanks for responding. Chatting with you helps me put thoughts to paper (so to speak). I feel it allows me to see a bit of a path… mirage or not, it’s hope.

What about you, Ocean… you’ve already had to make many life changes I’m still denying or delaying..
Fishing from the pier instead of the vessel, perhaps?
Don’t mean to pry, and I apologize if I am.

It just seems the psychological part of the injury, the stuff in our lives that need to change because of the physical change of our bodies, is gargantuan. “I’ve always wanted to use that word ‘gargantuan’ in a sentence, but one seldom has a chance to”.

Ok.. I’d been at this long enough, I’m rambling.

Thanks again, buddy… really.
You’re helping in ways you can never fully know.

S.

Scott, sometimes just speaking out to unknown people helps a person. Nothing wrong with trying to absorb the drs news about another surgery. Get your various opinions & proceed from there.

You are young & have a very good chance of correcting your problem. I'll be honest with you, having your head on right about surgery plays a big role in the recovery process. I worked in the legal field 25 years, many of our clients had various spine surgeries. The ones that were not mentally ready for surgery had a very difficult time with recovery because of the thought "I will never be the same again". The mental makeup does have an effect on a person.

You are intelligent enough to to know what questions to ask of each dr. We have had members in the past have 2nd surgery on both their necks & backs and they did well. You have a nerve issue & getting the pressure off of the nerve should bring relief.

I have a dear friend that is 76 years young, lol. Almost 3 years ago she took a fall messed up her hip & shoulder. Prior to this fall she was to have another back fusion. The surgeon went in & tried to pin her hip back together & after 2 weeks of being in the hospital the pins came loose & she developed an infection. She also needed a shoulder replacement surgery. She needed a hip replacement but had to wait 6 months for the infection to clear. She gets the hip replaced, then the shoulder replaced. Post op xrays showed the shoulder was not healing right, so she had another replacement done. Once cleared by all prior surgeons she had her back surgery done. She had many, many weeks in the hospital with each surgery. Today, she is doing great, pain free & getting on with life. I asked her, how in the world did you keep your head on your shoulders with so much surgery. She said I found the best drs I could find, my goal was to get fixed so I could go to the lake house & have a great time.

Do what you need to do, you will get there.