Surgery Scheduled for Pro Disc C , Scared

ajspine · #1 (**permalink**) 04-08-2013, 10:53 AM

Hello,
I a new to posting on here but I have been "lurking" for 2 weeks now, LOL. Mark fixed my user account so I can now post, Thank you! I am a 34 year old wife and mother of 2 girls(16 and 10), about to Graduate from UWM, and a disabled Navy Vet. I am having surgery within the next two weeks(at the mercy of VA scheduling) to replace the disk at the c5/6 level. They will also be removing 3 bone spurs, 2 of which are compressing my spinal cord. I can't feel my left thumb at all anymore and my left arm just goes to sleep out of the blue. My headaches are sometimes unbearable. There are also 4 other herniated disks in c spine but they are not as bad I guess.
I didn't have a specific injury, i just woke up one morning 2 summers ago and couldn't move my neck and with a headache so bad I ended up in the ER.
We have tried PT and meds and I am allergic to steroid injections so those were a no go. They have recently changed my meds from Vicodin to Percocet, because they want me on the later throughout the surgery and recovery. But now there is a possibility of surgery being delayed until September because I start my new job May 13th. If I have to postpone it, I will be devastated as I feel my life has been put on hold. Always in pain, so I never feel like being out with my family. I am also scared that is we postpone I will no longer be a candidate for the Artificial Disk and they will have to do a fusion, if we wait 4 months will it get significantly worse?
I guess my question for you guys is, if I have the surgery on April 22nd, and I start work on May 13th, is plenty of recovery time? And on the medication, if they have to postpone it will I become addicted? and do I have a decent chance of getting my hiking, soccer playing, Kayaking life back? I thank you all in advance for your answers.

Maria · #2 (**permalink**) 04-08-2013, 05:26 PM

Hi there and welcome!
Is that the University of William and Mary? If so my brother got his masters there.. I graduated from UVA many moons ago (undergrad).

It sounds as tho you're really pushing your schedule mentally. I haven't had ADR surgery just two discectomies. The first one was a big open one at L5S1 back in '89 and recovery was long but good. 2nd one was a percutaneous discectomy back in '92 and it failed.

From 2003-2006 I had ADR 2 levels (lumbar)and ADR and fusion (hybrid) surgery authorized but never went thru with it because I just couldn't bring myself to do another surgery and I had already retired from working (early at age 47) due to my back probs.

All I can say is each person's surgical experience and recovery is an individual experience so you can be given guidelines in terms of how the surgical recovery should go however you will find it's quite an individual thing.

I like to err on the side of caution when it comes to surgical endeavors (had 2 back surgeries, 2 right knee surgeries, 2 bunionectomies, hammertoe surgeries) and all I can say is giving one's self the appropriate time for recovery is really important.

Having adequate time to recover w/o having to push one's self into too much sitting, walking, standing or whatever when the bod is needing rest and recovery time can make a huge difference in how the recovery goes. Can you even drive safely after a few weeks recovery from C spine ADR? I don't know the answer to this. I have heard that recovery from C spine ADR is easier than Lumbar spine ADR tho I still think things are very individual.

I do wish you all the best with your surgery and hope you will have wonderful results and recover beautifully however just remember you are in this for the long haul. If you don't start a job now it would not be the end of the world.

If you screw up your surgical results it will feel like the end of the world. Then again I have no idea what type of work you'll be doing so what I'm saying may not apply to you if you are able to work at your own pace of perhaps from home or something such as this.

Let's see will you become addicted to the drugs if you don't have surgery right now.. well you probably are already physiologically dependant to some degree tho perhaps not. I have have migraines that I use Fioricet for and my c spine has some probs tho not considered necessary to do surgery yet. I do take a low dose opioid medicine daily for low back pain and have been on it for 12 years now and yes I am physiologically dependant on it however I probably was not long after starting it because it's a strong opioid pain med. It does work for me and has given me great relief however and I will take that over having to lie in bed every day crying my eyes out and needing a bunch of other meds on top of that which I do not now need.

What else did you ask...will you get worse if you wait 4 months or wait.. that depends on how bad your cervical area (what's going on and what you do in the meantime that might further make things worse) well really are you ready for the surgery because if you are then probably you should do it now while you've got all the information needed to go with it and before other things change which can happen (surrounding structures). That happened to me within the span of a few years with regard to my lumbar spine because in 2003 I was a candidate for 2 level ADR and in 2005/2006 I was told that there were changes in the facets around L5S1 so a fusion would be a better option there. At least these were the opinions here in the states and WC would have paid for my surgery here not abroad otherwise I would have gone to Dr.Bertagnoli back then.

I'm sure I left some of your questions unanswered or said more than you want to read or here tho I just wish you all the best with everything and please keep us posted! One thing for sure is if you're having Mark help you out you're ahead of the game already and you will have a wonderful spine advocate there for you! Maria

jsewell · #3 (**permalink**) 04-08-2013, 08:07 PM

Hi,
Soiunds to me like you are ready for the surgery, You seem to have too many worries about waiting. Will you get worse and will you still be a candidate for ADR.
I have had a lot of fusions as i was never a candidate for ADR do to bone density issues.
I have no idea of the expected recovery time for an ADR. My first surgery was fusion of C4-7. I had one month before school started (i was a teacher), my surgeon strongly suggested I take another month to really heal properly and he convinced me to. You only get one chance to heal properly and you do not want to blow it.
As far as when to do the surgery, my fingers were getting numb , but when my arm became weak, my surgeon said not to wait any longer. You do have the chance of having the nerve stuff become permanent if you wait too long. Especially you have mentioned nerve compression.
As an example in my lumbar spine i had surgery (fusion) in aug. it was terrible as i woke up in horrible leg pain and actually could not even put weight on my right leg. Well the surgery to fix it came 6 weeks later . I now just had an EMG to test the nerves and muscles in my legs and sure enough by waiting those 6 weeks i have permanent damage to my leg muscles in my right leg. I did just go hiking , a little, for the first time yesterday and it was rough. I do think you will be able to get back to your activities. After my neck surgery i did everything as before, i was still trail running , which was my favorite. life was good and will be for you too.
Let us know what you decide
judy

mmglobal · #4 (**permalink**) 04-10-2013, 05:20 AM

After my 4-level cervical ADR I started working again about 10 days post-op. maybe not the best idea, but following a single level procedure with a good recovery, returning to work in 3 weeks is very doable. Of course, even for smaller procedures, some patients will not have the easy recovery and 3 weeks may still be early. There is no way to know in advance. It is easier to plan on that if you have job that is not physically demanging. (Actually I would not plan on 3 weeks for a demanding job.) Also, if you'll have the flexibility to take breaks, change positions, work partial days or go home early if needed... that also makes the decision easier to plan the early return to work.

Obviously, we are not doctors here and you'll be having this discussion with your surgeon. Whatever you decide.. good luck and please keep us posted.

Mark

ajspine · #5 (**permalink**) 04-10-2013, 11:15 AM

Hello Everyone,
I thank you all for your answers and advice. I guess I should have been more specific on a few things, lol. First on the job, I will be at a desk and driving to different work sites for meetings as an IT Project Manager. As I am a Senior at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee's School of Information Studies and I was an IT in the Navy for 5.5 years, IT has always been my field. I think that is the cause of all of my neck problems, the constant sitting and staring at a computer and then, before I got my degree so I could move up into management, I was a on the technical side which meant moving PC's and large Servers. Work is really hard to come by these days and just like Maria, I am on a low dose of pain meds daily that my surgeons are not concerned about. I spoke with her about addiction and she said that they will wean me off of my current level slowly.
I tend to take on too much at once. I need this job but I also need my neck to heal. I am also carrying a full load this semester and 6 credits this summer along with 2 very active kids.
So, I have made the decision to wait until the end of September as they can not get me in for surgery until the first week of May and that will not be enough time to heal. When I spoke with my surgeon I voiced all of my concerns about the meds, and especially it getting worse and no longer being a candidate for the ADR. She said that the cause of my problems was osteoarthritis and that 3-4 months wouldn't make any difference. But then she said I should take it easy over the summer, no high impact activities, and if I suddenly fall while walking or lose bladder control to get the the ER right away. Well, that scared me!
I thank each one of you for taking the time to read my story and give me advice and I will stay on the boards from now until surgery and even after! Thank you once again!
Jenn

carm829 · #6 (**permalink**) 04-10-2013, 11:25 PM

Hi ajspine, while I did not have ADR I have had lumbar & cervical fusion. Lumbar was much more intense and a much longer healing time. As for me I was in a hard brace for 3 1/2 months and then PT for another 3. There was no way I would have been able to return to work. You need to take time to heal properly. If you don't you could be setting yourself up for failure. Be careful and listen to your Dr. and your pain.

Maria · #7 (**permalink**) 04-11-2013, 09:33 AM

Jenn,
You are so busy! My neck hurt just reading about your schedule!

Re postponing surgery a bit if you can do it at least until you've settled into your new job that sounds like a reasonable plan.

I still think when requesting your future leave of absence for surgery you should err on the side of caution and go with maximum amount of time that one can take off. I think w/my lumbar surgeries I took an 8 week leave for both and had to extend it both times and in fact return to work part time first and graduate over a few months back into full time hours.

Anyway the most important thing to consider after you have the surgery is how you handle the recovery so do yourself a favor and give yourself the best opportunity to heal well after surgery.

And like your doc said if you've got bowel or bladder incontinence or loss of extremitiy function/sensation (numbness) get to the ER for evaluation STAT(immediately) or if you've any new severe unrelenting pain that is not alleviated by your normal relief measures.

Meanwhile stay well and good luck with all. Hope the new job goes well for you! Maria

Ash77 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-12-2013, 11:08 PM

I have had a pro disc since 2001, yes one of the first in the FDA study. I can tell you recovery was easy had prior lami that was more difficult. Within a few months I felt good. I have had pains here and there but pro disc remained as implanted and fine mostly any nerve pain prior to the pro disc. That said it was a success....issues I wish I knew before, if ever to be replaced or it failed that secondary surgery can be dangerous, no I have never needed a second surgery but that does put some fear in me though I am still unclear if it ever did fail could they just fuse by putting instrumentation in back of spine to lock a pro disc in place...question I never get a clear answer on...thus this issue is one i often wonder knowing now would it alter my choice...

But the pro disc has been good to me no issues in surgery or its performance...but I have given you an objective view from likely having this the longest of usa patients though euros have had it about nine to ten years before me...

I wish you an educated decision and good luck...and yes my pain in that area caused by my disc never returned nor any collateral issues to that disc area...