What a pain in the neck *Post-Op AAR*

Know what you are experiencing because I went thru the same thing nearly four years ago.  Had a surgery to replace herniated C3-C4-C5 disc after a nasty fall on ice.  I consider myself bionic man now... here's the proof.  Hang in there...

Though a lot less serious, I've been having an issue with lower neck pain and numbness/tingling in my right hand. Stupid MD tried to tell me carpal tunnel syndrome, but the symptoms aren't really entirely consistent with that. Just saw a chiro today and he agreed...going to have a look at the x-rays tomorrow, hopefully he can help me out. So far the impact on my model work has been minimal, but still some discomfort. Hang in there.

My mom slipped a disc in her lower back, and though that was years ago, I can STILL remember how much pain she was in. It still gives her a lot of trouble.  It'll lessen with time, but that really sucks. Maybe a more supportive chair could help ease it at the bench? Hope everything goes good!

It's all such great fun, I got a herniated disc in my lower back which presses the sciatic nerve. I get anything from my right foot going completely numb to my upper thigh feeling as if I was holding a blow torch to it. It only bothers me when I sit, stand, walk, or lie down. I alway fear surgery, so....

It's hard to be heroic when you're walking hunched over like a gnarled old man... I'd keep my head up if I could.

Jimbot, I don't know if surgery is a possiblity for you, but when I had mine 6 years ago the relief was worth the expense and worry.   

Grr....

Saw my chiro today and I was right about questioning my MD's "diagnosis" about my condition. I saw the X-rays and it's definitely not carpal tunnel...I have a pinched nerve in my neck and, oh joy, degenerative spinal disease. Even I could see that clearly in the films. At least it's in a treatable stage that won't necessitate surgery in the near future, provided I begin therapy soon. The fun part is paying for it, since I don't have any insurance.

I can't believe the idiot MD didn't even order X-rays to see what was actually going on with my neck, in this case C5-C6, even though I complained about stiffness/soreness with accompanying finger numbness. A lot of those guys apparently don't know crap about spinal stuff, but this guy didn't even try to find out what might be going on in those vertebrae. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that, as his receptionist indicated, he limits his appointments to 20 minutes.

I feel like mailing him an egg timer for his exam room as a (rude) joke, along with the bill from my chiropractor. Jackass.

Dre...

Wishing you the best possible outcome. Had a C4-5 fusion in November and so far, so good, but the symptoms and stages of diagnosis and treatment were prolonged. I was lucky to have very good professional help. hope you do too. The price we pay for enjoying longer life sometimes seems too high, but the other side of the coin is dark. May you find that there is relief for your pain that you can afford and accomplish!

Best regards;

mike 

Oh, chiros are (sound a duck makes). Stick with the MD's.

http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2003/05/4635/chiropractic-treatment-neck-can-be-risk-factor-stroke

Picked up the front of my girl friend's (now wife) car when she got it stuck visiting me at college (1982) and blew out the first three discs in my lower back.  My orthopedic surgeon recommended a vertebral fusion but when I went in for X-rays the doctor said that my spine had already fused itself in that area and they wouldn't touch it.  Now I just live with the pain.

I have always had good experiences with my chiropractor and usually get quite a bit of pain relief after a treatment.  Besides he's always a good guy just to talk to.  His name is Joe Bradley.  His father was John Bradley, one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima.

                                                                                          Pat.

bondoman

Oh, chiros are (sound a duck makes). Stick with the MD's.

http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2003/05/4635/chiropractic-treatment-neck-can-be-risk-factor-stroke

No they're not. That's a ridiculously generalized and innaccurate depiction of chiropractors. They're licensed just like MDs/DOs. Their scope of practice is different, but they're effective for a number of conditions and are recognized as such by the allopathic community. One study is hardly conclusive of anything, and that particular one you cited had it's limitations according to the accompanying editorial in the same issue of that journal.

I could cite all kinds of studies and statistics too, showing just how dangerous MDs can be to your health. Like for instance unnecessary surgeries, operating on the wrong site or leaving instruments inside of patients due to sheer negligence, prescribing dangerous drugs, the rising incidence of infection and mortality in clinical environments due to nosocomial infections, ordering unecessary and expensive diagnostic procedures, and on and on.

People don't generally die from chiropractic treatment. People DO die all the time under the "care" of the allopathic practitioners. The chances are good that you will end up in worse shape in a hospital than when you went in. That's not an exaggeration. That's why they now advise for instance that all elderly patients be vaccinated against pneumonia because pneumonia is frequently contracted in clinical settings and is also frequently lethal to those patients.

Chiropractic has become generally accepted by the medical community in recent years, although there are still debates surrounding scope of practice and procedures the MDs feel should remain within their domain, or as in the case of the study you cited the perceived safety of certain chiropractic therapies. But don't kid yourself, a lot of it is good old fashioned turf-battling on the part of the MDs who see the chiros as encroaching on their lucrative practices. Surely you aren't so naive as to believe that the MDs are solely motivated by concern for patient welfare?

I sympathize with anyone who experiences back pain. There is nothing like it. One bit of advice that I would give anyone facing surgery is to get a second opinion and put it off as long as you possible can. I've read that 80% of people that have back surgery will have more than one. And every person except one that I have talked to that has had it, has continued to have problems.My story is below and no I don't think I would have do it again if I could get a do-over.

In 1998 I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis. It was affecting L-2,3,4,5. I put up with pain until 2009 when I had them fused. I've had problems ever since. Right after the surgery my legs were very weak and sore. The surgeon said that this was normal and would get better. Now almost two years later and I can barely walk 15-20 minutes before the pain gets to be too bad. The surgeon has recommended more surgery. This time he wants to go in from the front and add shims to the discs. So far I'm resisting. After going through hip replacement surgery in 2010, I feel like they/ve cut on me enough for now.

You guys are making me hurt just talking about it.
A number of years ago I sneezed and hurt my back in some fashion. I fell down it hurt so bad, took me breath away. I was in misery for a couple of days, the only relief I got was in my complexe's swimming pool.

Looks like I'm in for surgery Friday morning...  yay.

Know what you mean, hks.  Sometimes a good soak is all that helps.

Good luck on the surgery.I had L4-L5 microdiscectomy this past November, after 3 1/2 years of steadily increasing pain/disability.It got so bad last summer that I couldn't walk and going to the bathroom was a world of hurt. I resisted the idea of surgery for a while, but I am very glad I had it.Now, I am dealing with a problem further up the back, but will not put off the surgery.

BTW, I saw a chiro. for a while.Good for temporary pain relief, but no way to fix the problem. And BTW also-xrays often do not show the problem, only a misalignment.You probably need an MRI to find the cause of the problem.

Friday came early, as I was able to have my C6 operated on today at 1:30 as an outpatient.  I was discharged and sent home at 5:30, floating on a cloud of really strong pain meds.  Ah, the wonders of modern medicine and skilled pros when they can do something like this on an outpatient basis... 6 years ago they required me to stay overnight for observation (and for the room-rate).

So, I now have 6 weeks of home-based recovery, I've totally screwed my cow-orkers by being out of action for the race here in Bristol in 2 week's time (1st race that I'll have missed in 16 years) and I've got a metric butt-ton of models in the stash to work on.  Tomorrow's my 42nd B-day, I feel like I've aged a bit more than that and today I got the Squadron A-10 Walk-Around, a Trumpeter 1/32 Me 262 A1-a and season 1 of Spartacus:Blood and Sand to watch. 

I'm sore, my nerves are on fire as they regain function and I look as if I've been strangled because my neck is a lurid yellowy-orange from some sort of antiseptic wash (oh, I'm weathered up quite nicely).   

To anyone who may need this sort of thing, I can only say consider it well as other options may be available to you that weren't open to me.  But... if surgery is your option, then fear it not and get it done.  You'll feel rough for a short time, but it quickly gets much, much better once the cause of the pain is gone. 

Thank you all for your support and sympathy, this round's on me.

Drinks on you? I'll have a root-brewski...

Glad to hear it went well! Praying that there are no other unforeseen complications!

Have a speedy and full recovery!