Hi leigh123,

how are you?

I feel so sorry for you. I know the pains you are going through, they are inhumane.

Less than 12 months (age 65) ago I was happily and capaciously riding 60km with my road bike on the weekend.

Then came August 2022 and when I felt the first neck pain I have declined from that point over the last 10 months. They tried injections and couldn't locate the source of the pain.

The car accident insurance (Transport Accident Commission Victorian State department in Australia) have not paid for advanced physio therapy that could have helped me improve. I have paid myself for therapy. The above accident insurance is hard to deal with. I always have to fight with them to get my procedures approved, what a joke!

Unfortunately I had 2 rough manipulations in my neck by a physio and osteopath which made me more painful therefor I decided to to be touched anymore.

Additionally my lumbar pain has increased over the last 3 weeks due to compressed nerves and am finding hard to walk. At night time I can't sleep despite strong opioids.
I am using Nortriptyline at night which is not doing much. I tried Gabapentin but I am allergic to the product.

As far as your operation goes, I believe that it is very important to have a top surgeon.
I am not fond of fusion. I prefer laser disc repair. In Australia we don't have minimally invasive laser surgery therefore I would have to travel to the US.

I would have to qualify for this type of surgery because I do not know if I would require stabilization of the neck and lumbar spine also.

Currently I have very deep seeded inhumane stabbing pain in my neck (causes me headaches and ear aches) especially on the right hand side. When I bend my head toward the right I also feel an increase of sharp pain in the right leg. Also getting shoulders, arm, hands and fingers referred pain. I have nerve issues as well as facet joint arthropathy .
Same thing happens in the left hand side. I can't understand why my neck pain is also causing leg pain. From my research this could happen if the bulging disc is so protruded that presses against the spinal cord in that cervical cord segment. Don't take this as gospel because I am not a doctor.

My latest MRI shows this:

C1/2: No impingement.
C2/3: No impingement.
C3/4: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen. There is
foraminal narrowing on both sides with impingement of both C4 nerve roots.
C4/5: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
foraminal narrowing on both sides impinging both C5 nerve roots and further
cord contact.
C5/6: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
bilateral foraminal narrowing impinging both C6 nerve roots.
C6/7: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
bilateral foraminal narrowing impinging both C7 nerve roots.
C7/T1: Annular bulging and endplate osteophytes with facet hypertrophy. Foraminal
narrowing worse on the right impinging the right C8 nerve root.
There is no significant soft tissue abnormality in the neck.

I read that fusions can be quite invasive because they fit hardware in your neck or back to stabilize the spine therefore there is a lot of muscle and tissue cutting according to what I read.

My feet, calves, Achilles' tendons are burning constantly,

Last night I took Targin 10/5 which only helped me a bit.

Someone recommended that I should do traction with special decompression machines first and use ultrasonic shockwave therapy. I don't know if this would help.

My doctors have not recommended anything apart from pain medication which is a temporary mask to the pain. I am not able to lie down for MRIs due to the extreme pain when I lie down.

I also read that people are trying alternative therapies such as PRP injections, Stem cells, prolotherapy. I told my doctors this and they don't know about it.

I hope that your pain will subside for you. Perhaps it is taking longer for you to heal.

I am not healing because I do have a structural and impingement problems in my spine.
The last 10 years of riding left a mark on me because I was a victim of 2 nasty car accidents where I was run over by 2 cars while riding in the bike lane.

I have just published my Gofundme fundraiser 4 days ago for the intervention.

Best regards

Alfred