Cervical Spine Operation

Thank you, Upstatephil. I am now 6 weeks post-surgery - posterior C2-T2 decompression and fusion. I am doing well now…minimal pain and feel like healing is going well. The first two weeks, however, were very difficult. I was sent home after two nights in the hospital. We had a 3.5 hour drive home…that took 5 hours due to required rest/walking stops. My condition kind of spiraled on the way home. In hind sight, I was kept very hydrated at the hospital and on the trip home, my hydration slipped and not sure how timely we were with pain meds - the car ride took a lot out of me. By the time we got home I could barely move. We managed - with a neighbor’s help - to get me upstairs to my bed.

The first two nights (Fri & Sat) we had a terrible time with pain management and over the weekend had several calls to Mayo’s on-call staff to try and improve the situation. The best help came on Monday after talking with my doctor’s nurse. Wish we would have had access to my doctor’s office over the weekend - or that they had called us before end of business on Friday to check on me.

For the first week home I needed help with all activities of daily living (ADLs) - eating, toileting, showering, transferring from bed to chair, etc. Thankfully my husband and two adult daughters were there to help day and night with my needs and medication administration. I could not have been home alone for the first 8 days…it was tough. (Let me make a caveat: I also suffer from Fibromyalgia. I believe part of my problem was the Fibromyalgia’s backlash from the surgery. I believe it really complicated pain management and my mental and physical strength.)

Through that first week I did walks up and down the hallway with a walker and followed the doctor’s orders for pain management and physical improvement. My incision took about 4 weeks to heal completely.

My helpful suggestions are:
- Have your laundry done and a collection of easy-to-wear (not too tight) clothing in one, easy-to-reach place.
- Have a bed rail support bar, shower chair and a grabber reacher.
- Have help planned day and night for at least the first few days until you know you can manage your medications and mobility. If you are on strong paid meds - Oxycodone, etc. - plan to have someone there. I had bad dreams and minor hallucinations (that required emotional support) until we were able to taper off to just Tylenol and Tramadol.
- Be prepared for your dignity to take a hit - you may need help with toileting, showering, dressing, and even eating for a few days.

Now 6-weeks after surgery I am doing fine. My before surgery pain down my arms and neck have greatly improved. At a couple different points each day I need to lie down…my head starts to feel like a bowling ball sitting on my neck and I need to take the weight off. I’m having 6-week post-surgery x-rays done today, and hopefully the doctor will allow me to start phasing out of the brace and begin PT after seeing the x-rays. I hope to be cleared to drive and free of the brace completely by the end of October.

As a friend said…This surgery is not for wimps….LOL.

To all who contributed to this thread, especially Jennifer and Upstate Phil, I want to give you an update. I had my C4/5, C5/6 ACDF fusion operation a week ago this past Thursday. So far so good! Thanks everyone for help in preparing for this surgery beforehand and understanding what to expect afterwards. My incision is completely healed. I go for a check up with my doctor this Wednesday, and overall I feel pretty good for someone who had major spine surgery a little more than a week ago. One thing that really helped me was my doctor wanted me to get ahead of the pain so he recommended that I take the Percocet pills every four hours, waking up in the middle of the night to keep on schedule. This was great advice, because I didn’t experience any pain at all. Fortunately I am one of the people who can take this painkiller without negative reactions. I call it Percocet Paradise! Sadly, I had to come off of it after five days, mostly because I didn’t want to get addicted. 🤣 I haven’t had any stabbing pains at all. Just general discomfort in my neck region from time to time after finishing the Percocet that two Tylenol seem to relieve. So, I’m feeling pretty confident in my recovery so far and hope to be doing even better after I get out of this neck brace, which I have to wear for three more weeks. Thanks again to Jennifer, Upstate Phil, and many others who had great suggestions to help me prepare for and get through this surgery. I really appreciate it! And I appreciate this Mayo Clinic blog that connects us all. Best wishes to everyone!☘️

To clarify - my family DID speak with doctors from spine surgeons’ office over the weekend. Guess I was a little too loopy to understand at the time. Looking back over my husband’s note, I saw who they actually spoke with.

And now I am 9 weeks post-surgery. I met with surgeon at 8 weeks post-surgery to review xrays. All looked good. I was cleared to begin phasing out of collar (and don’t need to use while sleeping), allowed to drive (hallelujah!) after a practice loop with someone else in the car. And I was sent instructions for stretches to do twice daily before starting PT at 3 months post-surgery. Neck gets tired and I still need to make sure I don’t over do. Only restriction from dr. is weight - no more than 20 lbs, use common sense…if it hurts…don’t do it. I’m pleased with recovery so far.

Dear Donna Mc - Maybe I still have some surgical PTSD...but I read your note with tears in my eyes! I'm so extremely happy for you!!! It's so important for you to share your experiences with those who are contemplating such a surgery. Please continue to do so. And be certain to follow your doc and later, PT restrictions. You feel great now but don't get too giddy and too far ahead of yourself. You have a better, pain-free future ahead...

@dmccartney53 Donna, this is wonderful news! As you come off of pain medication, you can think of this as "healing pain" and a transition to your recovery. This isn't the same as pain caused by a spine condition before decompression, and that is gone. I had trouble with constipation on pain medication and was nauseated by it, so I stopped taking it, and it was OK. I was able to handle the discomfort just by resting and I didn't have expectations of no pain. Just take it one day at a time. Some days are better, some are worse, but all of it is progress. I remember how hard it was to wean out of my neck brace after 3 months because my muscles were weak from wearing it. Hopefully, that will be better for you with less time in the brace. I know you have lifting restrictions, and for good reason because all those shoulder muscles are also attached to your spine and will pull on your neck if you lift something. This is your time to just relax, rest and heal. Just wait... because the day will come when an X-rays shows the begging of bone fusion which will be exciting for sure!

Keep up the good work!

Jennifer