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Cervical disk replacement surgery: What helps with the pain?

Spine Health | Last Active: Aug 31, 2022 | Replies (15)
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@grandmar

Hi Sherri
Welcome to the group and nice to meet you!
I didn't finish my PT. I only got half the sessions done. My husband got sick and I couldn't leave him. Then, 7 weeks ago, he passed away.
I did very well with the disc replacement I had for about 2 years. Then. I started getting headaches, but only when I slept. Guess it has something to do with the position because when I got up, it would be gone within an hour or so.
However, I now get HORRIBLE pain from my shoulder blade to my fingers. I also get the clicking in my neck.
My last MRI showed that I started growing new bone around the surgical site and they are fusing. This is NOT what should happen!!!
I need another surgery to remove the artificial disc's. My insurance company said no surgery. They said my spine looks good and PT should be done.
Don't get me wr, I am blessed to have a great insurance plan, but they hire these 3rd party people to determine authorizations and they are idiots!! Each time they say to get PT, I leave in worse shape than when I started.
Anyway now the paingets so bad, that I actually went to the ER.
I am currently waiting again, to try to get approval for surgery.
We'll see.
How are things going for you now???

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Replies to "Hi Sherri Welcome to the group and nice to meet you! I didn't finish my PT...."
Sherri | @sheredwrds | Aug 29, 2022

Thanks so much for responding and please let me say that I’m so sorry to hear that you lost your husband. I hope you have a support system to help?

Well, so far I’ve gone a few days without a headache. I’ve read the results from my latest MRI and CT scan and there does not seem to be any issue with the discs. My neck is full of foraminal stenosis and severe arthrosis and some bulging of my C4 disc which I’m sure will need to be dealt with down the road. As for now I’m not experiencing any radiculopathy or extreme issues as I did before my 2 level disc replacement. I’ll speak with my surgeon tomorrow and get his take on my CT scan results and see if he sees anything weird with the disc that would be causing the notching I feel when turning my head. He also has suggested a neurologist to help with these headaches. When I see the condition of my neck the headaches could be coming from so many things, it was just weird that they started at the same time I started to feel the notching (clicking). My lumbar L4-5 is another issue and can be resolved with a disc clean up surgery. That area has caused numb toes, pain on the top of my feet and pain in what feels like every little bone in my feet. Occasional numbness down my leg.

This has all been a shock to me as I’m not someone who suffered for years with a bad back. I figured my neck was some arthritis coming on earlier than normal. Holy cow was I surprised when my MRI of cervical and lumbar came back in 2021. 😵‍💫

I hope you get an answer soon from your insurance co. Would injections help you at this point?

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