Metal hypersensitivity post acdf surgery. Anyone else?

I am 12 weeks post C4-7 ACDF. While I didn't develop a specific metal sensitivity, I experienced extreme sensitivity to many outside stimuli. I vividly recall one day a few weeks post, and as I gazed out the window I felt as if all the natural outdoors colors were amazingly vivid. Food tasted differently. Sound was more intense (in fact, I have almost stopped wearing my hearing aids). I have assumed that - since my neck spinal cord was tightly restricted for years (and years and years) - the sudden "release" created by the ACDF produced an explosion of pent-up sensory input. But I'm just surmising as I'm no scientist or doctor. In the passing weeks, the over-sensitivity has slowly moderated to the point where now - either sensory input has reverted to "normal" or my brain has fully (almost) adjusted to "more intense". Summary: Have patience. The brain is complex and it takes time for it to adjust to your new normal...

@web28 I have had metal sensitivity after receiving surgical implants, but not for spine surgery. I had developed problems with sensitivity to pierced earrings, and had to give them up, so I had concerns. I asked for an ACDF with no hardware, so mine (C5/C6) was done with just a bone spacer disc, and I stayed in a hard collar until fused. I had dental work with metals, and all my old silver fillings had been replaced, but I had old crowns and root canals that were failing. I did have all that removed and got ceramic dental implants. As soon as all that metal was out of my body, my health improved and so did my asthma, until I broke my ankle and became the owner of titanium plates. My asthma got worse again, and I had pain, throbbing, and I was getting hives all over my body. I had to stay on antihistamines all the time, and after a year and a half of healing my ankle, I had the metal removed and improved again. With spine surgery, it isn't always easy or possible to remove hardware. I think it just ads to total allergy burden of my body.

There is a practice that treats metal sensitivity from surgical implants in Texas, and part of that is treating other allergies to lower inflammation. Here is a link for information: https://www.ehcd.com/

Has your spine generated pain and function improved since your surgery?

My metal hypersensitivity doesn’t seem to be based in my spine but is primarily in my hands where the cervical compression symptoms had originally started. The nerve damage there becomes really accentuated there by contact withe metal and will radiate in bands up my arms, especially the left arm which was affected more by the compression. The muscles throughout the body will stiffen too. If the metal is near another part of the body such as my back it is more of an uncomfortable tingly sensation. I had an 11” rod with screws placed in the humerus of the right arm after shattering it about three years before of which I’m wondering helped cause metal overload on the badly damaged nerves. I realize it’s still early days post surgery and I just need to be patient but am hoping someone else has had, and recovered from, a similar symptom.

Hi web28:
I had an unusual case.
My symptom was excruciating pain in the thumb, severe on the left side.
I was diagnosed with Myelomalacia and went through ACDF at HSS in NY.
After the surgery, my symptoms got worse and it didn't get better even after 3 months.
My surgeon wanted me to see a hand surgeon. I went to a hand surgeon in Miami and was told there are no problems whatsoever - no tendonitis, no carpal tunnel syndrome, and maybe very slight arthritis. There is nothing he could do surgically to help me.
I decided to go to a different hospital and a different neurosurgeon and he ordered a nerve conduction study and EMG again. The doctor who did these tests said I have severe carpal tunnel syndrome more severe on the left. I told him why they didn't do the carpal tunnel syndrome surgery as my main symptoms were hand and especially thumbs. He said that there is something called double crush syndrome. A nerve can pinch two places at the same time. It might have pinched in the neck and also in the hands. Finally, when I saw my hand surgeon, she said I had severe carpal tunnel syndrome on both hands ranked 6/6. I went through carpal tunnel surgery on both hands at the same time and after the surgery, the pain became more excruciating. I couldn't lift my cell phone. My hand surgeon assured me that it will take 6 months to 2 years. She also said I have arthritis that has damaged my CMC joint in the thumb, and without the trapeziometacarpal joint surgery, I will never be relieved of pain. Now after 6 months, the pain has considerably reduced and I manage with Aleeve when the pain increases otherwise I just ignore the pain. I'm not sure of wanting to go through TMC as it takes longer to recover.

I’m so happy for you that your carpal tunnel symptoms are receding and hoping that you won’t have to have the tmj surgery. Also admire you for persisting until you got a diagnosis that made sense. I’ve heard of double crush syndrome but doesn’t seem to apply to my post acdf surgery. The MRI’s show that I’ve had multilevel disc disease for at least twenty years(all levels) but had developed myelomalacia at c4 with severe canal stenosis. Also pretty severe kyphosis with foraminal narrowing. Most of my symptoms developed very quickly within about 4 months prior to surgery with extreme sensation sensitivity but extreme weakness too where I couldn’t pick anything up or hold anything. That’s gone but the sensation sensitivity remains 24/7 and is aggravated by contact with metal. I know I need to practice patience in that I’m only 6 months post surgery and my surgeon(he’s both a neurosurgeon and orthopedic spinal surgeon)never thought I’d walk again. Need to stay offline but find it hard to do regardless of the pain it causes!

I need to know if blood tests exist with specific names for these tests that detect hardware metal (stainless steel and Titanium plates) TOXICITY IN THE BLOOD used for ACDF Surgery I underwent in 2017. Needless to say, the long-term symptoms have turned my world upside down due to allergic POSSIBLLE Toxicity for ACDF Spinal neck Fusion Surgery. The symptoms include but are not limited to.......bloodshot eyes and eye swelling, Vertigo, dysphagia, muscle leg tremors and Symptoms and memory loss.

I’m dealing with some similar symptoms after cervical surgery, acdf c3-c6, in November of 2020. I’ve done a lot of research on my case. To begin with there are two blood test companies(basically out-of-pocket charges)for all of the various metals, bone cement, etc. used in implant. The first is Orthopedic Analysis in Chicago(312-733-7121) which does Lymphocyte Transformation Testing which is metal allergy testing for orthopedic implants. I did both panels, 1 & 2, but out of the 40 things tested for none registered as reactive. The other test is the MELISA test in Germany which seems to be the gold standard but the logistics of sending them blood samples is more complicated. From there I started with a patch test dermatologist-39 metals-applied on my back-which was negative for all, too. He sent me to a neurologist and a rheumatologist who each spent an hour with me and ordered extensive blood tests, a new cervical MRI(neurologist) and X-rays of my hand/wrist & feet(rheumatologist). Rheumatologist thinks the solution will be found in the neurological realm and is conferring with the neurologist who I’ll be seeing again next month. Our body’s reaction to our implants is rare and not well studied. There are a couple of Facebook support groups that can be useful for information (but need to be careful about some of the member’s solutions!). One that has worked for many but is difficult to achieve is to have all metals implanted removed(I have not only cervical cages and pins but 5 teeth implants and an 11”rod with two plates and numerous pins in my upper arm(humerus). Having all of that removed is not going to happen! Hope I’ve helped get you started on your search though.

@web28 @jacorona I can empathize. I know from my personal experience that old dental work with root canals, crowns with metals, silver amalgam filings, and surgical titanium plates from an ankle fracture all affected me. I only know this because I was able to later become metal free and my allergic asthma got a lot better. It took years for all of this to develop. I broke my teeth as a kid which stared the issues with root canals and capped teeth, and many years later, the root canals began to fail causing an infection in my jawbone. I had all the silver fillings replaced because they were leaching mercury which according to my environmental medicine doctor was causing an autoimmune thyroid problem, Hashimoto's. My antibodies against my thyroid were off the charts. After removal of all silver fillings, levels were in a low range and readable. It was later with the failure of old root canals, that I replaced those teeth with Zirconium (ceramic) implants and a Zirconium bridge. I had a blood test done for Hashimoto's and I no longer have that diagnosis and would be borderline.

When I had my cervical spine fusion, I asked for no hardware because I knew that foreign materials and metals had been issues for me mainly because I used to have pierced ears, but that got to where I could not tolerate any type of metal in the earring even if I was covering the post with a plastic tube sleeve. Since this was possible to have a bone disc fusion without hardware from my surgeon, I was able to take that uncertainty off the table.

After my spine surgery was when the root canals began to fail and I became metal free for awhile with getting dental implants until I broke my ankle a few months later, and I got titanium plates. 6 months after that surgery, I developed hives that could be anywhere on my body in large patches on my arms and legs and I had to stay on antihistamines all the time. After a year an a half of healing from the fracture, I was able to have the surgical plates removed and return to being metal free which solved those issues.

Not everyone can have surgical implants removed. There are treatments for this from environmental medicine doctors and it usually involves treating all the allergies a person has to lower the load of inflammation in the body.

The practice that started this field of medicine is the Environmental Health Center Dallas which you can find at this website. https://www.ehcd.com/

There is also a provider search at https://www.aaemonline.org/

Some people are just sensitive to implant materials. I did have a blood test done at Orthopedic Analysis which said I was not reacting to anything, but it might take a period of time of exposure to something before a person reacts, for example the 6 months it took me to develop hives from titanium plates. Those tests may be of limited value unless a patent has already developed a sensitivity.

Jennifer

@jacorona Welcome to Connect. I have had vertigo caused my neck muscle spasms that were twisting my vertebrae on their own. Muscle spasms can be common with spine issues . Since my ACDF, the spasms have calmed down unless I do something odd that may trigger it like sleeping with my neck in a bad position of not being properly supported.

I worked with my physical therapist on this and I can usually stretch and massage away a muscle issue and keep my neck aligned as it should be. The reason it happened was the rotation of vertebrae stretches the vertebral artery inside which is part of the blood supply to the brain. All I had to do is look upward when my neck was out of alignment and it caused vertigo immediately. I wasn't aware that the rotation had happened. I do get other symptoms like one sided headaches on the back of my head or a pain from my neck into a shoulder blade on one side. This is because muscles are being stretched because the other side contracted with a spasm. This is when I know to check my neck for alignment issues.

Jennifer

I had pretty severe muscle spasms before my acdf. I remember fighting the urge to arch my back to try to relieve them. Luckily no vertigo which is so debilitating. I’m glad that you know how to avoid them now. My husband thinks my nerve problems go beyond metal hypersensitivity now as I’m becoming more and more sensitive to other things such as clothes, furniture fabrics and leather. He thinks plastics and wood will probably be next. If the problematic element comes from contact with my fingers I sense it fairly quickly but with fabrics ect it can be delayed by an hour or two and then my joints will stiffen, increased p&n in my hands and feet and painful bands around the muscles in my arms. Often I can feel it almost immediately as a weird cold burning sensation & know to change clothes or sit elsewhere. I found a good research article today about neuropathic pain on neurosurgerypaedra.org that seemed to nail it(chronic refractory neuropathic pain possibly) but the chances of effective treatment are bleak that’s my diagnosis. I’m being treated at the Cleveland Clinic and trust them but am keeping in mind the environmental hospital in Dallas too.