Does any one have problems with fusion surgery in the neck?

Hi there Ronnie. I think that is called the Uvula and it is there to lubricate the back of the mouth and to direct nasal secretions to your throat. I had to have my removed when I was 22 years old. Haven't missed it yet. Nice to see you posting. It has been a while.
Chris

Hi Ronnie, I have osteoarthritis, severe spinal stenosis in back and neck…I turned down the surgery in my neck like you have had and have used exercise, exerstriding (from advice by my therapist)50 minutes 5 days a week with a combo of gabapentin & small amount of Vicodin, I have a great quality of life, I feel blessed this is working for me…I was afraid of surgery & heard it doesn’t always work, God’s Blessings to you..

@tomas7
Good Morning,
I am so happy that the combo of meds and exercise is working for you!!!
I also have osteoarthritis up and down my spine, with stenosis in cervical and lumbar spines, too.
I tried Gabapentin, PT, exercise, shots, chiropractics, massage and other things I can't think of.
Sadly, for me, they didn't work at all.
When the shots stopped working, that is when I decided on surgery.
I did LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of research to find the right doctor and I found him.
We decided to do the surgery on the worst area in each place.
Both worked very well.
The problems I currently have has nothing to do with the surgeries.
As a matter of fact, the problems I have with my legs is because I waited too long and developed permanent nerve damage!
As for my neck, we have to see.
My insurance company is rejecting my MRI.
Still working on that.
Well, good luck to us all!!!
Ronnie

@artscaping
Hi Chris,
Yes on both counts.
It's been a while.
I usually just get on when something is directed towards me, which is not very often.
Hope you are well!
Ronnie

My cervical fusion story goes a bit further back.
Found out I had a neck issue in '01, and tried PT, and injections, anything conservative as I feared spinal surgery.
After over a year with pain getting worse, Discogram and Myelogram ordered, and they could see my spine was a few millimeters from collapsing on itself at 3 levels.
Emergency surgery that week.
3 disks anterior fusion, titanium plates, and carbon fiber cages where discs should be.
Decent range of motion, about a 3 on 1-10 pain scale for about 15 years.
Pain slowly grew worse and worse, and due to a degenerative disc condition, a 4th level was fused and caged.
So now as we begin '25, I have C 3-4, C 4-5, C 5-6, C 6-7 fused, but with much higher pain daily.

Add in 2 autoimmune conditions I was diagnosed with, and advanced case of DISH syndrome (all your soft tissue in spine, and the tissue that connects ribcage to spine, so breathing deeply causes pain daily), and Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is my body's fun but growing little bone spurs on my spinal cord irritating nerves constantly.
Been in such pain, thrashed myself out of bed, fell to the floor cutting my eye and bending my head backward and forcing it to bear my bodyweight impact.

Oh, did I mention my first surgery was when I was a 30 year old multi sport athlete?

This has completely ruined anything physical I enjoyed.
Even books and movies can only be tolerated so long because pain and discomfort my normal stare of being.
I don't know if the fall has damaged hardware (literally happened within the hour, and i stumbled on this trying to decide whether to go to the ER or Ice and hope for the best), but I am not sure I can recover from another multi level fusion.
Degenerative condition has moved into my thoracic spine, and according to the surgeon, the procedure and recovery might not be worth the recovery.
Of course that's based on me, and having athletic endeavor taken from me before I was ready, and being physically infirm in my 50s (told at 30 I had the spine of a 50-60 year old) isn't something I want to put family through.

I know someone out there has it worse than me.
I'm not here to diminish anyone's pain, and this isn't a contest for who has suffered most.

But with spinal pain you have to make a daily conscious choice to keep going. For someone or something. That gratitude list can be profound. There's a lot to live for in the people around us, and we do live in interesting times!

But the real key is fighting to stay strong when that gratitude list becomes something you resent.

Dr.s can't or won't take the amount of pain seriously, I have a documented, inherited trait from my father where I metabolize medicine quickly or need more than a normal dose for my size.
And before the drug seeking speculation begins, I woke during the anesthesia for my multi level neck fusion, several anesthetised spinal injections, and opioid medications only dull the pain (which is admittedly better than nothing. A 5 is better than a 7.5-8 on the pain scale), but not enough that the pain is still constant and keeps me from ever truly relaxing.
Regenerative sleep is a distant memory. 3-4 hours of interrupted surface level sleep is having to do, and sleep deprivation catches up.

Super long comment to say : the tech sounds like it's gotten a bit better, but invest in yourself.
Stretch daily. Not aggressively, but enough that range of motion deteriorates slower.
Get supportive sleep gear. The right pillow configuration can be everything.
Try to keep the neck relaxed if it's s cervical fusion you've had, neck muscle tension can overcompensate and cause you tension and worse, migraine headaches (at least that was my experience).
I personally love heating pads saunas and hot showers for pain relief, my Ortho recommends mixing in ice, but I've gotten so cold intolerant.

Speaking of cold, I hope none of you experience worsening pain with the onset of cold and rain.

Sorry for the novel, just been suffering for 3 decades at this point, so a lot to get off the chest.
Hope you folks with newer tech are getting good results.

Oh yeah, and forgot to mention, transmodulation nerve simulation unit placed correctly can substitute that pain signal with a TENS sort of sensation ( there are other programs less aggressive) and it has helped.
I can only imagine I'd be at a 9 or higher daily without it.
But beware, it substitutes the pain not negates it. Your body is still taking a toll. And if you have to crank it way up like I do, it can overstimulate the muscles around the area and make things worse.

Best of luck out there fellow soldiers, this war on pain isn't ending anytime soon, and government has knee-jerked in the direction of under medicating those with a chronic pain condition of more than 5 years, so please try to find something that keeps you going.

You mean something to someone. Don't let giving up be the lasting impression you leave.

However, if you've suffered long, I'm casting no stones at those who would go out on their own terms.

mareanne @mareanne, I hope I'm not crossing a line, but are these plates anterior or posterior?

I had anterior in 3 (ultimately 4 levels) of my cervical spine.

The way it was explained to me was that plate and hardware removal was possible, but not terribly common, and obviously with more chance of failure.

I'm sorry to hear about your lack of mobility.
Considering I had fusion surgery in about '02-'03 I actually am thankful fit the amount of motion I retain.
It's a bit harder to look left over my shoulder, but this could be worse.
You really have to push yourself to stay consistent with stretching and strengthening exercises they give you to recover.
After all this time, 30-45 minutes of my day is still neck stretches to try to maintain range of motion. Not going to lie, it's been slowly getting worse, but that's entropy for you.

Hopefully there's some new treatment that will allow a removal or change in your hardware to improve your quality of life. Again, my surgery was so early in the aughts, I can't help but think you'll have a shot at options.
Little things like turning your head to see are easy to take fit granted until you can't do them.

Best of luck in your journey. Try to think about all the good things that make the pain worth enduring and hang in there.
New technology could be announced any day, we live in interesting times!