Anyone who has had Cervical spinal compression surgery

Thank you for replying and telling your story. I also have bone spurs clear down my entire spine along with fibromyalgia and neuropathy. I have the numbing down my arms and hands also down my back/buttock/hip/leg/ foot pain, numbness and weakness. My L4-L5 is completely flat and on top of each other with nothing left in-between. I wanted to try injections first on that area. They told me I need surgery on my neck first due to it being the most dangerous. The numbness in my arms and the pain in my neck has been going on for years. I have horrible migraines every single day!! I have just been in shock since I was told what was going on. They found it when they did my MRI of my thoracic spine. They saw the lower three discs on my cervical spine. With having two total knee replacements in the last 3 years with being down in those 3 years and the pain from it when they talked about going in through the front of my neck, removing discs, cages, rods, plates, and screws all I could imagine was going through all of it all over again. I have worked so hard losing 76 lbs in the last year thinking I would get my life back and they told me about all the things wrong I didn't want to have to deal with anything else is why I delayed the surgery. I didn't want it to take away more time from my life. So I have been scared and angry since I was told the news. I have been swimming everyday for a year now so one more thing has been so overwhelming I just didn't want to stop especially over the summer. They told me I had to wear the neck brace 24 hours a day for the full six weeks to make sure what they were doing did not damage what they planned to do. It would be great if I didn't have to do it for that long. I will say a prayer that your surgery on your lower back goes well and your recovery goes well. My mother had the same surgery they want to do for both of us and I will tell you that after the surgery she healed and the issues she was experiencing did go away and she did not have any problems after she healed from the surgery. Please let me know how you are doing after the surgery. Thank you again for taking the time to reply and telling me your experience!

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate your explanation and it does help to put me more at ease. I am having the same problem with L4-5 but am going to try injections for it first. My neck is the main thing right now as a high risk of parallelization. I think you explained it better than the actual doctor. Although, I am not sure what all they said after I heard surgery, cages, plates, screws, rods, fusing, and one wrong move right now and I would be like Christopher Reeves. My mind was going a million miles a minute after that. They wanted to do the surgery right away but I postponed it until as long as they would allow to be in September. I am trying my best to think positively about it but I have a lot of pain due to many other health issues so that was and is a huge concern. Again I truly appreciate you taking the time to type out how yours went. If I think of anything else I will come back to ask if that is ok? I usually think of things as I am trying to sleep at night. lol.

In April of this year, I went through a 4 level ACDF for C3-C7 (2 neck incisions) coupled with removal of many osteophytes (4.5” incision at back of neck) in a 7 hr surgery. Although I never had previous pain or decline in ROM, my surgeon indicated I was at an extremely high risk of paralysis should any type of trauma occur (car accident or fall). I was in a brace for 6 weeks 24/7, which was frankly, awful. Once the brace came off, I wished I could keep wearing it…due to extremely rigid muscles. PT started immediately and I began to loosen up and gain more ROM. The biggest issues are with my nerves and their fight to figure out how to respond to all this new space…by the way I am an inch taller now! Every day is a different story with different areas of pain, numbness and pins and needles. PT is no joke and must be taken seriously. I am off pain meds for 8 weeks now, but still taking a gentle muscle relaxer for restless legs at night. If I had the choice, I would have never gone through this fusion. I had no choice. Wheelchair bound was not an option! Patience has been very challenging, but I keep my head clear of the negativity. Also, my surgeon recommended an Orthofix Cervical STIM collar, worn 4 hrs/day for 6 mos. for spinal fusion therapy. This increases the fusion success rate for anyone at a higher risk of failure. Best wishes and get many opinions. I obtained six.

@msmith49 You can be proud of your accomplishments with weight loss. That is a tough thing to do. To me, that shows a real commitment to improving your health. News certainly can come as a shock when you think you've been doing OK, and suddenly you're not. It's a warning, and you have a chance to change your destiny and better your life. Fear can be quite challenging, but you can take it apart piece by piece and figure out just why it has such a huge grip on your life. When I think about the things I didn't do or accomplish in my life, often I can trace that back to fear of the unknown or a situation I didn't know how to handle.

You can take control of your fear. You do that by educating yourself about what the problems are and how to best improve on them with your doctors. I knew if I didn't have spine surgery, my spinal cord would eventually be damaged and I didn't want that. I had the risk of paralysis. I was a caregiver to my own disabled parents in wheelchairs and I did not want that future for myself if I had the ability to choose my future, and I was lucky that I had the choice. Some people don't get to choose and become disabled. Disability causes financial issues too when a person can no longer care for themselves or be able to take care of their needs for life. I didn't want permanent spinal cord damage. What helped me was to focus on my future and everything I had yet to do. I am an artist, and loosing coordination in my arms was hard to accept because that is what I love to do and express myself by making paintings. Spine surgery gave that back to me.

I learned a lot about myself in this journey. I know you are worried because of past surgeries that caused pain. I understand that, but also understand that this is different and not the same, so don't expect it to be the same. Clear your mind. Start fresh. If you can defeat your fear, you will find strength in other aspects of your life. Fear will no longer control you or steal away your time and joy. Be your own best friend. You owe it to yourself to try, and to be present for this important decision. You're not alone. I really did deprogram my fear permanently. I have been tested with other injuries and unexpected surgery I had to face, and I sailed through it. That was something I didn't think I could do, but somewhere inside, I found the strength to believe that I could do this.

When you stress over your fear, it just makes pain worse and increases blood pressure. Our brains are wired to react to fear and stress as a survival instinct, so knowing that helps you understand why it happens. Take a break from that. You can learn to control your blood pressure with deep breathing. Listen to relaxing music. I did that, and it was the beginning of me learning how to face pain without freaking out. You can do this, and it will help you cope. I was also visualizing beautiful images with the music and deep breathing, and I could call that up in my head any time I needed it to relax myself. That is control when you learn how to do that, and it helps defeat fear.... Also gratitude and being thankful that you are given the opportunity for the medical care you need. It's hard for your mind to be fearful and grateful at the same time, so you replace fear with gratitude. I suggest keep a journal about this and write down your strategy and what you try. That will help solidify it and reassure you.

Does this give you some ideas on what you could do to cope with or lessen your fear of surgery?

Here's a discussion you may like.

Just Want 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/

@msmith49

I'm so glad you came here asking questions about the surgery so you can really understand it (I can only imagine how your head must have been spinning at the doctor's appointment. I wouldn't have heard anything past those words either.)

I hope two things - that you find the information you need here - I will say this place has helped me so much with my husband's conditions and now with my cervical stenosis.

I wish you the very best with your surgery.

I am a 43 yr old female w/ complex, multilevel facet and disc issues in my cervical spine from C3-T1 (the C7-T1 literally just popped up in my CT I had done about a month ago, where MRI in May mentions no problems) - I do have (typing from CT and MRIs) cervical spondylothesis torticolis and reversed lordotic curvature w extensive facet arthropathy multilevel cervical degenerative disc and facet diseases and desiccation, degenerative subluxation, cervical spinal stenosis & radiculopathy, autoimmune conditions, Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder (although medical community states this is not as extreme as full blown Lupus/RA, I beg to differ & call it “Super Lupus”), Hashimotos, Vertigo, Small Fiber Neuropathy & additional neurological impacts that show no active lesions etc, but feel dizzy, vision problems, balance, etc. - I’ve had pain mgmt treatments of ablation at every level in my cervical spine as well as 1 steroid epidural but since no relief, the pain mgmt doc stated he wasn’t going to proceed w/ the second one and referred me back to a physical therapist (which I already undergo Vestibular Therapy weekly) - I saw a neurosurgeon who recommended the same exact procedure you mention - ACDF at all those levels - you make it sound like it’s actually not as bad of a surgery option as my brain is telling me it is - what is your ROM? Able to look up, down side to side (without feeling dizzy and pass out or fall over? - when i look up or down for more than 1 sec, i feel like I’m being strangled and asphyxiated - which the neuro surgeon said is because my cord is actually being pinched at multiple levels anyway and when I do that motion, it’s restricting it even more. My uncle has had horrible neck problems - different but still bad - and had decompression therapy and said it was life changing, but no one has seemed to offer that as an option to me - so looking for any and all possible non-surgical options 1st, would that be one for me in your opinion? Or if you were me, the full ROM restored and pain constantly was removed after your surgery, so you’d do it again in a heartbeat?! Thank you so much for your thoughts!!! Your initial response and explanation was spot on and what i needed in layman’s terms!

Thank you for replying to my post. I have to say the way you have dealt with everything is very inspirational and positive and it is very inspiring. Fear is very crippling and I am trying so hard to look at the positive side of it. I fight it daily. I do not want to be paralyzed and that is the result of not having the surgery. I have went through a long period of just being angry. I am a strong believer in prayer. I prayed for God to take away the anger and he did. I would never push religion on anyone but I just wanted to share something that has worked for me within the last couple of weeks. I am still scared but after reading your message I have to say it has given me a new insight into how to deal with it. One problem I am having is the Doctors assistant is not very friendly. I will not get to see the Doctor again until the day of the surgery. Any time I have had to call the office she is very dismissive and doesn't really answer any of my questions. So, I am not sure how to deal with her or how to get my questions answered. My family physician is very supportive but she does not know the ins and outs of the surgery I am going to have. I see her next week and plan to discuss with her how to go about finding all the answers to my questions. I have even thought about getting a second opinion to see if a different doctor would be easier to communicate with. I just hate the thought of having to go through everything I have already been through. I have dealt with so much pain for so long that it has just become a part of me. Every part of my body has something wrong with it. From my head to my feet. That is a story that would be a book to type out. If you are interested I can share it with you. I just hate telling it as it is embarrassing and I don't want to come across as wanting anyone to feel sorry for me. I hope that makes sense. Your reply truly meant a lot to me. It did help me to think of things in a positive way and that in itself was extremely helpful. Thank you again for taking the time to write all that out for me.

I had the surgery. I actually had it not work in my case and had to go back thru the backside with a big ole rod and screws and more a few weeks later. I am one year out. Here's what I can say:
In my case it HAD to be done. If it has to be done then relax. Do you have pain and did the doctors say it will relieve the pain?
I know many people thru my experience that have had 100% pain relief and are THRILLED TO DEATH. I know a couple others who had to go back for some revision.
I saw many people over the years who gave varying opinions. I trust my orthosurgeon when he wanted to wait. I got to the point where the pain inhibited everything. He acquiesced. Its my 5th joint replacement surgery. So I am not a newby. But in my case - (you already know - because they are taking your bones out) they did not know my bones were soft - because my DEXAs said otherwise. When they opened me up my bones fell apart in their hands. Good news (always some good, right?) they pulverized the bones and filled the cage with it and did not use other "stuffings" so its the best case for not getting infections, rejections and to enhance healing.
If you trust your surgeon great.
If you can line up good trusted aftercare great.
These surgeries are turning out to be the only time in life I get a vacation from life! I don't have to cook!
Make sure you are in a hospital with GREAT FOOD!
Takes lots of antinausea meds so you can eat the food!
Take lots of pain killers and do exercise.
Ask for them to elongate your neck! (free $100,000 facelift in the bargain!)
(they did with mine - they told me afterwards)
Talk to the patients in your ward and get tips
Set your home up properly to aid you afterwards
Make sure you do exercise before surgery and get deep tissue work if you can afford it,
We are each different so take everything with a grain of salt. I had to have mine in order to function.
but my biomechanical problems were myomuscular in nature as well (from several auto accidents and arthritis). to tell. you the truth, I wished they had taken more bones out and replaced because I still have some arthritis issues.
Consider yourself LUCKY because I know people whose doctors won't do the surgery because you have to be engaged in your healing process.
I've had two hips and lumbar replacements as well as some other things. At each major surgery I got so much better and got my life back afterwards. None of them were straightforward. I am happy taking the Percocet to get thru the first couple months. I have no addiction issues - I HAVE PAIN ISSUES and I don't believe in suffering. Talk to your doctor about pain-relieving modalities. I have an arsenal! Good luck!!! You'll love it when you are finished. I couldn't move a stitch. I couldn't make the bed. Each time before surgery I am "ready" when they wheel me in, the pain is so great. I hope yours is really successful!