Post surgery from cervical myelopathy timeline of recovery?

Also… does anyone know of a virtual support group I could join that meets on line? Thank You:) I get so stuck in my head lying in bed.

Hi did you talk with your neurosurgeon about issues what you experiencing.
You need to talk about that!!!

@lovecaliope Welcome to Connect. Your body is telling you to slow down and take it easy. Right now, your energy is being directed toward healing and you can't rush that. Please give yourself permission to take a break. Would your daughter be willing to help you during your recovery with chores and meal preparation?

You will get past this, but it takes time and you can't rush it. You need to be very careful with lifting weight right now so you can heal properly. Patients who did too much after similar surgeries often regret it because they either haven't healed well or have continuing pain. You are very early in your healing and it may take up to 3 months. A fusion takes that much time to begin fusing, and after that you may need some rehab physical therapy to rebuild strength. I remember how tired I was and I just slept a lot. During healing, there is a lot of inflammation that is part of that process. You may feel pain for 6 weeks continually, and all of a sudden it gets better fast just when you thought it would never end. Use this time to relax, sleep, listen to music or watch TV or videos. You will get there, this is all normal right now. It's your first experience of major surgery and healing from that. If you are concerned, do ask your surgical team.

Have you considered PT?

@lovecaliope
I can relate with your situation.

I am in my 50s and a single parent with a teen son plus have cervical myelopathy. I was misdiagnosed for over 5 years so my ACDF surgery on c5-c6 was delayed (had it in 2022 when my son was 12). Before surgery, I had daily headaches, neck and shoulder pain/stiffness/tension, arm/hand weakness/numbness (dropped things and my handwriting worsened), bladder control issues and walking difficulties (legs felt very heavy and I was moving slowly even though I used to walk fast). I was told by my surgeon to have surgery as soon as possible to stop the progression and that some spinal cord injury could be permanent. After surgery, my symptoms improved about I was left with residual arm/shoulder/hand weakness. Only stayed overnight in the hospital but would have been released sooner if my blood pressure didn’t drop during surgery.

I had another herniated disc at c6-c7 so had my 2nd ACDF surgery last month (June 16). Many of my symptoms returned but were slightly different (wanted to walk forward but would fall backwards at times). I went home the same day.

Why were you in the hospital so long? How many levels did you have surgery on and were you fused with hardware? I am now fused with hardware c5-c7 (plus had L3-L5 fused in 2024). Even with my very painful lumbar decompression/fusion surgery, I only stayed in the hospital 24 hours (released once drainage reduced to a certain point).

I was told to not lift more than 5-10 pounds and not to twist my head/neck. I only wore a soft collar the first week to try to remind me not to move my head. Did you do anything that could have injured your neck post surgery? Have you had post op appointments with your surgeon? I had one 2 weeks post op to get incision checked and X-ray and go back 6 weeks (beginning of August) and 3-4 months post op. It is important to not use NSAIDs, not to smoke, etc. to help with bone fusion. PT should not be started until doctor releases you to do so. Have you had an X-ray since you had surgery to check alignment? Did you have a neurologist do an EMG/nerve conduction studies before surgery and what were your symptoms before surgery? Once spinal cord and nerve roots are decompressed, your body will try to heal what it can and it takes a long time for nerves to heal. The spinal cord compression injury may not fully heal.

@lovecaliope
One other thing to keep in mind is that major surgery and being under anesthesia can make you depressed during/after recovery. It did for me. I was in the middle of going through perimenopause/menopause and had 6 surgeries 2022-2025. I also lost my job and have no family support. I sank into a deep depression so you may be dealing with some of this, too. If so, you want to make sure to talk to your doctor/psychiatrist about medication to help with anxiety/depression and get counseling via telehealth at home. Make sure to ask for help from others, daughter, friends, family, neighbors, church, etc. because you can’t do this alone and need help. Don’t try to do it alone. You are not supposed to work through pain and do not need to be Wonder Woman. It is okay to take care of you right now.

My neurosurgeon said anything I want to discuss or need meds for is/was the responsibility of my PCP. It’s hard not to take this personally… I am so tired of the lack of care or accountability… my PCP has no idea why nor have they been contacted by the neurosurgeon to request this:(

Thank you! You have no idea how helpful it is to hear somebody outside of my head. This all occurred following a car accident in January. A week before my surgery on June 12 my job realise this was a Workmans Comp claim and wanted me to stop the appointment and start the whole process over with their doctors in another city. There was no way I could do this given my surgeon said I would be paralysed if I waited any longer so I ended up paying an exorbitant amount out-of-pocket and using my personal insurance. I have been completely drained financially and now neither my Insurance nor Workmans comp wants to be accountable for this. Workmans Comp is refusing any mental health referrals. I just don’t understand how this could be possible. I grew up in the system of medicine being about first do no harm, taking care of pain and the patient. I am just so saddened and depressed by this whole situation.

@lovecaliope
You may want to talk to your personal health insurance about how to get your workers compensation insurance claim filed and paid for. You may still want to file a worker’s compensation claim for work related injury and then work with your personal insurance company on “subrogation.” A workers compensation attorney may need to be consulted to see you have a valid claim and how to go about getting reimbursed for some of the out of pocket expenses.

AI definition of subrogation:
“ This process is commonly referred to as "subrogation." Subrogation occurs when an insurance company seeks to recover costs from another party that may be responsible for a loss. In this context, if multiple insurance companies are involved, they may dispute who is liable for the claim, leading to negotiations or legal proceedings to determine responsibility.”

My husband had anterior in May 2024 and I had posterior May 2025. He had a rough recovery but had other issues with his shoulders and arms that he needs addressing also outside of the surgery. He has some swallowing issues but it's improved. You have to take it easy if you can. I am 12 weeks out and though not in pain I still have some of the symptoms, i.e., tingling in fingers, feelings of something crawling... tolerable. My head still feels like it's 100 pounds but not as much. I had to rest A LOT... very tiring walking, standing, sitting still at times but much much better. Having good posture is mandatory after these surgeries! I wish you well... please take it easy.