Out Of The Truck

For a while anyway. Going in for a fusion on c3-c4-c5-c6 in another couple weeks. Tried all the non-invasive options (pt, steroids, and my wife's suggestion that I lose 25 pounds of ugly fat ). The spine guy has already told me absolutely no CMV work for minimum 3 months post op.

Has anyone on here had spinal fusion of this magnitude and been able to get back to doing this? The vibration and vertical pounding (I94 in MI comes to mind) are what worries me...

Thanks

For a while anyway. Going in for a fusion on c3-c4-c5-c6 in another couple weeks. Tried all the non-invasive options (pt, steroids, and my wife's suggestion that I lose 25 pounds of ugly fat ). The spine guy has already told me absolutely no CMV work for minimum 3 months post op.

Has anyone on here had spinal fusion of this magnitude and been able to get back to doing this? The vibration and vertical pounding (I94 in MI comes to mind) are what worries me...

Thanks

I know I lost 120 pounds of ugly fat back in the late 90s. She got the house and the nicer car. 🤣😂 I have some issues with c4 c4 and c6 as well as l5 l6 l7. No fusing but I wondered myself about how the road bumps and vibrations would be. So far its tolerable. I wish you luck as I would not want to be in your position. May you heal perfectly.

Oops make that l3 l4 l5 and c5 c6 c7.

Oops make that l3 l4 l5 and c5 c6 c7.

Thanks, Mikey. I have been dealing witj this since 2017, had mri then and only had some minor stenosis and disk in tje 4-5 area. Fast forward to now and moderate to severe there and moderate the other areas, with generalized dessication of all disks. It sux, but gotta stay upbeat. MD says "weight loss is good" (down over 20 in the past 4 mos), but the cspine is "less affected by body weight than it is genetics and environmental factors... " so ive got that going for me... which is nice..

Oops make that l3 l4 l5 and c5 c6 c7.

Thanks, Mikey. I have been dealing witj this since 2017, had mri then and only had some minor stenosis and disk in tje 4-5 area. Fast forward to now and moderate to severe there and moderate the other areas, with generalized dessication of all disks. It sux, but gotta stay upbeat. MD says "weight loss is good" (down over 20 in the past 4 mos), but the cspine is "less affected by body weight than it is genetics and environmental factors... " so ive got that going for me... which is nice..

I will, on occasion get both cervical and lumbar spinal injections if it gets to hurting really bad but haven't had one in over a year. I have something called myofascial pain syndrome from repetitive motion injury over the years at the Post Office. It affects my neck and upper back/shoulders. I just got 14 lidocaine/cortisone injections for that as the muscles on my right side have been acting up and sending pain down my right arm and hand. Hurts like hell to hold the wheel but the injections help for a while. All in all I'm just glad I'm not to the point of needing surgery or fusions. I would try anything possible to avoid surgery and so far have been able to. I find that the shock absorbing seat cushions much of the road bumps. So it's not as bad as I initially was fearing it might be. I'm assuming you have been through all other options prior to opting for fusion? I hear once they start cutting it's a continuous process of repeated surgeries down the line. Just make damn sure you have a great and qualified surgeon, the spines no place for the bottom 10% of medical school practitioner even if they are still called Doctor. Lol..yet not lol.

Latest update on the post-op process, for anyone interested:

Today was one week post procedure. My earlier post was inaccurate, the fusion was C4-C5-C6-C7. Almost COMPLETELY off the Percocet, stuff gives me whacked out dreams. Relying on tylenol during the day, Flexeril to sleep at night. The pain is certainly manageable, only a dull ache in the sides of the neck and tops of the shoulders at this point. Using ice packs helps to some extent. Tried heating pad and it didn't seem to improve anything.

The numbness in arm and fingers seems mostly gone, although the surgeon said it's possible that I may have cyclic recurrence of the nerve numbness / tingling for up to a year.

One more week before the first follow up, xray and eval. Should know more after that. I'm spending a lot of time out walking the hood, keeps me active and limits likelihood of clots or pneumonia.

Glad to hear you are starting to mend!

Best wishes on the recovery process.

Good to hear your on the road to recovery Mr. C!!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!