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I had fusion done 7 months ago at C6-7.MY headaches arent any better and my right arm has gotten progressivly worse (pain numbness etc.). my surgery was done by a orthopedic spine doctor.recently he sent me to a pain clinic where they go in and burn off the nerves in the back of the neck,this procedure made my arms worse so they said I probably have carpuls tunnel.I dissagree and went to see a neurosurgeon who looked at my MRI that was taken before surgery and he suspects nerve damage,one reason is because my spinal cord was about 70% compressed.I didnt have surgery for 5 months until after my injury.I am still taking vicodin for pain,which barely works because i am on the same dose as when i started taking it.When the doctor who did the surgery found out that i went to a neurosurgeon he was quite upset with me .I dont know what to do! HELP!E-mail me directly- thanks- ken p.s- all suggestions would be greatly appreciated
In Reply to: C6-7 cervical fusion posted by ken on June 15, 2001 at 07:56:38:
it always amazes me. if you look hard at the stats the majority of spine surgeries dont work. i wonder how much this one cost?$40K. yet these docs continue to do laminectomies,discectomies, fusions etc , they shouldnt be allowed to keep the money. i always suggest 1/2 to 1 year of non surgical treatment eg chiro, othe body work, as doc stoll calls it s/r ( biofeedback is great for pain and more successful than surgery btw), accupuncture, cranial sacral. hindsite is 20 20 though. get another mri now to see whats going on in there. you may have to go to a doc who specializes in failed spine surgeries( i wouldnt settle for anyone besides a top notch doc at this point- the cleveland clinic in clevland oh has a few) dont get carpal tunnel suregry either, i dont think you have it per what you said, and that surgery has an even bigger failure rate.
In Reply to: Re: C6-7 cervical fusion posted by doc bob on June 15, 2001 at 17:31:31:
thanks for the infomation DR. BOB.MY surgery was a discectamy/fusion with a metal plate.After i wrote to you the other day,i met a new neighber of mine.We got to talking and i discovered he had the exact same operation as me.He had his done several years ago and said it has all been downhill since then. he"s even had problems with his liver because of all the different meds they have tried over the years.I just dont understand why there arent somekind of disclosier laws where if the DR.s dont tell you all of the risks and the success rate of these and other surgeries before hand they will be held liable, somehowe.the main reason i had my surgery was because they told me i was at risk for paralasys if i didnt have the surgery. KEN.
In Reply to: C6-7 cervical fusion posted by ken on June 15, 2001 at 07:56:38:
Hi, Ken.
Any pain clinic that only would recommend cutting the nerves is not really a pain clinic.
It is too bad that you did not have the opportunity to learn from the archives about spinal condition options BEFORE your first surgery. It is not too late to do these things even now even though you now have permanent damage from the surgery.
Let us know what you learn.
Walt
In Reply to: C6-7 cervical fusion posted by ken on June 15, 2001 at 07:56:38:
Hello.I had another mri done and the Dr. said that the fusion seems to be taking, but i continue to have severe headaches and neck pain,my right arm has been completely numb for three days now.the numbness used to come and go but now it just stays numb all the time.As i stated before they did a EMG and said i have carpell tunnell,but i disagree because before the numbness in my arm would come when i had my neck a certain way and if i turned my head another way it would either make the numbess worse or completely diminish.I got a copy of my surgeons reports and it says that i have Martin Gruber in my left hand.They never mentiond this but i read it in his report, what is it and should i go to a pain clinic to try and get some relief and stop wondering why i am still having pain,because the Dr says there is no reason i am still having pain and trouble with my arm.thanks for any advice. KEN
In Reply to: Re: C6-7 cervical fusion posted by KEN on July 19, 2001 at 10:01:57:
Hi, Ken.
What have you learned from the archives about bracing and about spinal problems? See the glossary for any unfamiliar terms.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: C6-7 cervical fusion posted by Walt Stoll on July 21, 2001 at 08:46:09:
What have I learned!Well first off-pick your DR. wisely.this could mean the difference between getting better,getting worse or no improvement at all.And try to find a doctor who will still care down the road months after surgery after he^s done spending the $20,000 to $30,000 he made to disect you.If you have spinal surgery don^t expect any kind of a myrical becauase that just isn"t going to happen!And be preparred for the risiduel effects of surgey,and if the DR.tells you there won"t be any, run- like hell while you still can !I saw 3 surgeons and still got screwed.Im not the kind of person who goes calling and crying to their DR. Daily,but i called last week because both arms are now going numb,and I hav'nt heard from him yet!They treat you like a mental case like you have nothing better to do but to sit around and complain!yeah right.This time last year I was a healthy working (2 jobs),energetic happy 44 year old male.Today i am a depressed unemloyed can't feel my arm's with severe headaches still on pain pills 50 lbs. heavier getting ready for the poor house 44 year old male! whats the moral of this long boring story!READ STUDY READ STUDY AND THEN READ STUDY AND RESEARCH SOMEORE!There is no such thing as to much knowledge.DR.s love dumb patients but aren't to fond of one's with some medical knowledge- because they ask too many guestions! To this i say oh Well! -KEN-
In Reply to: Re: C6-7 cervical fusion posted by KEN on July 25, 2001 at 10:24:20:
Thanks, Ken.
Only a monopoly could get away with such practices!
Remember that the alternatives described in the archives will still help.
Namaste`
Walt
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