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Afraid to have spine surgery ...running out of options
Spine Health | Last Active: Mar 27 12:32am | Replies (14)Comment receiving replies
My husband has recently been diagnosed with collapsing stage DDD. His MRI indicated bone spurs, bulging disks,etc. He can not turn his neck and his fingers and foot are numb. He suffers(mostly in silence) it's heartbreaking to watch helplessly as this disease progresses. He has tried PT , steroids, injections, etc. and nothing has helped. I recently read a recent post here that recommended Dr. Shen in NY. He is considered a phenomenal surgeon and reviews from patients on Healthgrades indicate this to be true. We live in Florida but are willing to travel if he can help. Other doctors have suggested cervical fusion with rods, plates and screws and no guarantee of recovery .. Daniel is 67 and has always been in excellent health. He plays golf every weekend and managed to get a hole in one last month! I am proud of him and can not bear the thought of his favorite hobby being taken away and becoming sedentary the rest of his life.
Replies to "My husband has recently been diagnosed with collapsing stage DDD. His MRI indicated bone spurs, bulging..."
@danyysienna111 I know it's not easy to be at this stage of a spine condition for your husband. This needs to be discussed with what choices he will have for treatment, and it sounds like he will be offered surgery. Is this a problem just in his neck?
I remember being so scared that every morning when I woke up and thought about needing spine surgery, I panicked and my blood pressure shot up. I was measuring it. I tried to get my head around this and I didn't want to become disabled, but I was really afraid of surgery. I learned as much as I could and then I asked myself why I was doing this to myself? I wondered if I could get my fear under control. The first thing I tried was to see if I could lower my blood pressure with listening to music and deep breathing. That was working, and for the first time, I was learning to control my anxiety.
I had spinal cord compression from a disc that collapsed and herniated into the spinal canal causing bone spur growth. It had collapsed by 50% and was causing pain all over my body. A lot of surgeons missed understanding my pain symptoms, and I did travel to Mayo in Rochester for surgery. That was worth it, and they exceeded my expectations. I needed a fusion at C5/C6 which I did without hardware, and I stayed in a neck brace until fused. That solved all my pain, and this surgery was done before it had advanced far enough to cause permanent damage. My head turning range is normal, and it wouldn't limit me if I tried to golf, but I have no talent for that. I can cause neck muscle spasms by lifting too much weight or sleeping with my neck in an unsupported position. I do need to stretch out the kinks and I've learned a lot from my physical therapist of how to ease neck spasms.
It's good to get several opinions if you can before choosing a surgeon, but get the best surgeon you can. Mayo also has a campus in Florida in Jacksonville. Rochester has a bigger department with a lot more spine surgeons. I read a lot and looked at the research papers from spine surgeons I was interested in before scheduling appointments to try to find a surgeon who was interested in my particular problem.
You may be interested in this patient's experience with surgeon Dr. Fox at Mayo Jacksonville.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1012459/
You may also want to look at my discussion about facing fear. One of the benefits of my journey was that I learned how to deprogram my fear about surgery, so now that does not control me. I have had other procedures since then, and sailed through it with ease.
Just Want to to Talk - "How can I defeat my anxiety about medical tests and surgery?"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-can-i-defeat-my-anxiety-about-medical-tests-and-surgery/
Do you have questions that I may be able to answer?
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Hello @danyysienna111,
I combined your discussions on your husband's spine surgery and the fears that go along with it into one discussion:
"Afraid to have spine surgery ...running out of options"
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/spine-surgery-1/
Here, you met members @elizabeth75, @jenniferhunter, @melanie001, @dlydailyhope and others who may appreciate seeing the extra detailed you shared in your new update.