O..K. I saw the thread for you guys with L-5 trouble. The Dr. Wants me to have surgery on a SPUR? at disc #C-5. Pressing on a nerve and numb in my whole left shoulder area. Anyone know anything about the operation??
Don't know much about the c5 but I'm interested, have the same problem in right shoulder and numbness down to the fingers, I've had L4,L5 and S1 discs removed and have a T7, T8 disc thats inoperative. Assume you've read that post. Have heard that they go in the back of your throat to get at the cervical discs..... not lookin forward to that.
raffman: Can you still walk? Sounds like you'e had a rough time. I'll know Thursday what they are going to do. Had a friend do the through the throat thing ( it was actually just to the side of it). It' rough getting old!
Yes it is... The only walking I do is to the garage and back.. but seriously a part of pain management is staying in shape, don't let pain control you.
ASK YOUR DOCTOR! If you are not getting adequate description about the procedure, you need to ask more questions? You probably ask more questions when you are buying a car, so why not do the same for your body? There are lots of ways to treat a spur and nerve problem. Some doctors will shave bone, while others will never touch bone and only deal with the nerve. One treatment is nerve ablation, in which the nerve is killed so that you don't feel the pain. VERY DIFFERENT ways of treating the same problem, so make sure you know what you are getting into.
Try having those same symptoms, but having to deal military docs...whose line is: "Here some Motrin...shut-up and color." I had some severe numbness in the left shoulder extending all the way down to my little finger and severe lower back pain after a pretty bad accident. All kinds of x-rays/MRI's/and the dreaded nerve conductive study. Nothing like being stuck with a needle and shocked 20 times, once a month for three months. The only thing I've been told is that there was some injury in the ??C7 / T2 area ??, but there's not much they can do...it might go away, it might not??? After all is said and done I am being medicaly retired from the Air Force after a brief 12 years, 8 years shy of full pension, as a B-52 Bomber guy. Oh well, I guess I'll have to open up my hot rod shop a little earlier.
If you haven't yet, go see a chiropractor. Your best choice of non-invasive spinal treatment. Rather have that then go under the knife.
DO NOT SEE A CHIROPRACTOR I have spent 10 years working in Neurosurgery and have seen some devistating results from chiro's. Not saying they dont know what their doing , but have seen some major stuff ups such as a 25 yo with a stroke from deep tissue massage that occluded an artery to the brain. the C5 surgery from the front besides your throat is called an A.C.D.F which stands for Anterior ( front) Cevical ( area of the spine being operated on) Disc ( yep well) and Fusion ( where they need to fuse this area of the cervical spine to make it stable) chances are butch27 that they will only need to do a rhyzolisis if I'm reading what you wrote right, as it sounds like you have had some errent bone grow in the cannal that the spinal cord passes through, its is pressing on the spinal cord and causing you , your neuropathic pain/numbness. No amount of pain killers will take this away, as its not muscular pain, its neuropathic. You do mention pressing on the nerve, if this is the case then it may require a discectomy if it is actually the disc that is protruding onto the spinal nerve. Any which way you cut it, its an operation these are dangerous, as in , it doesnt matter if its your big toe or your brain, there are risks involved. The other thing is, that depending on the amount of damage done and the length of time you may never completely regain all your sensation. I lopped the top of my thumb off most of the way and 18months latter and its still got numb sensation. what ever you do, speak to your surgeon. and make sure its a Neurosurgeon not an orthopaedic, as your talking high on the spinal cord and also nerve invovlement, this is not your lower back. post op, it can be a long haul back, if an ACDF is required you end up in a philladelphia collar for usually 6-12 weeks and a right pain in the neck. some times you swallow can be out for a few days due to the tube they put down your throat and the fact that they have anatomically shoved stuff out of the way to get to the front of your spine. speak to your doctor and make sure you like what your hearing. think of your body like your car, you wouldnt leave your car at a business that you didnt trust to do the work!
Mostly good info above. Do not see a chiro for this problem. They can make it worse. I am a neurosurgeon in Austin and happy to chat with you. Pm me your phone # and I'll call ya. dp
I would go straight to a good chiroprator! Twice in my life I have had back problems and both times was told I would have to have surgury. The first was a lowwer back thing. After about 4 trips to the chiro, and a month in a brace it was cured and has stayed that way for 15 years. Now I had a L-5 problem. A torn tendon and a disc that slips, causeing a funny feeling down my arm. The Doc again said surgury. I went to the chiroprator, and he gave me a once over once, and schooled me on how to care for it, including ice when I irratate it, and No more funny feeling and when I over do it the ice takes care of it. Off the subject but, another story: My Mom had heal spurs, she almost cried when she walked. The chiroprator worked with her about a month useing altra-sound. She has been pain free for over 5 years now! I don't want to tell anyone what to do, but I would think long and hard about all your options.
Get as much info and opinions you can - my father is now disabled due to a botched spinal surgery - has worked his entire life and is now facing poverty for his retirement years - what a reward. Make sure you plan for as many variables as possible...
Here is the deal kids! My dad put off his back surgery until he couldn't take it any longer....he thought that was the way to go...DUMB MOVE!!!...he is now a cripple....his doctor told him a back is a good thing to listen to(too bad he had ignored it for 30+ years... Get it done! The sooner you do it the soon you will be healed....and the older you get, the longer it takes to recover.....
Good points, flatoz, but as a neurosurgeon, I'm sure you can give as many if not more stories about botched surgeries for back pain as stories about chiropractic mishaps. All that chiropractic offers you is a less invasive way to fix a back problem. The goal of the treament would not be to affect the bone spurs but alleviate some of the associated malpositions and hypertonicities of the spine. The reason I offered the option was that as any medical professional knows, back surgeries in any area of the spine have an efficacy rate of around 5%, and any patient should be aware of that number. If I was a betting man, I wouldn't bet on the 5% chance. Not to say that some people aren't perfect candidates for back surgery, but they should exhaust less invasive treatment options before chancing a risky surgery. Risk of associated problems with chiropractic treatment of the neck is on the order of 1 in 3,000,000. Documented and tested numbers. To put it in perspective, risk of complications with one pill of Tylenol is 1 in 3,000. Hope it helps.
Well I will add my large bit.To me the most important person is the one who puts you to sleep and wakes you up. I always have a long talk with that person. If he screws up you are in deep shit. Too much and you dont wake up and not enough well you know. Check their past record and how many times they have done it and if any one has died because of their screw up. I have had 2 people I know die from this. One other thing if you have operations on arms legs ask for a bearblock. you are awake but the lim is asleep. The last thing is check out the therpy after the operation. I have had water and land. also watch for large scar tissue build up. Allways get a Doctor {surgon} that you are confortable with and that you have trust in.I always offer a gernous tip if they do a good job.. but none has ever been taken. Its very important be sure to let every one know if you take any drugs {legal or for Fun }}they will not turn anybody in. One other thing make sure that no one is able to question you while under the antishia some still use sodium penithol or truth serum. Due to my securiry clearance I had to have a goverment agent present during the whole procedure the last 2 surgerys I had... GOOD LUCK and I hope all goes well.. You learn the medical names of what you break or screw up. I cant spell them but I can come close 12 thorasic 3rd lumbard,fibia ,tibia. pattella,sternam,radius,diviated septum, oh the easy one ribs is ribs, compound is not two or more breaks its when the bone is sticking out of the soft tissue...Good Luck again and a speedy recovery.... Bobby....
Thank for all of the input. Saw the neurosurgeon and he wants to operate Monday on a herniated disc. ( Remove it through the front of my throat and FUSE my spine ! I really don't like the idea of fuseing it together. Thank you all.
First post, go with the surgery. I had c5/6 fused a few years ago, should have done it sooner. The hard thing was sleeping with the collar for 6 weeks. I also used cadaver bone, no pain and much easier.
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