Facing 2 Level Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement vs Fusion

[Poncho]

Well, I have been down this road before with the lumbar spine, now the cervical spine. I believe I had mild symptoms with shoulder blade pain that would come and go for months, but had no idea at the time it may have been related to bulging or herniated discs in the neck. I appears C-5- 6 is ruptured and C6-7 bulging with stenosis at both levels. Mainly, left upper arm and shoulder blade pain extending down to the thumb, index finger and middle finger.

So, here I go again down the road of taking NSAIDS around the clock, 2 rounds of oral steroids which did not work, physical therapy that did help maybe a little, but only temporary, and now looking at epidural spinal injections in the neck, which I don't have much faith in. In the interim, trying to get an appointment with a neurosurgeon both locally and in Cincinnati, Ohio thus far, (due to insurance) but again have a bit of a wait to obtain my first appointment. September 28th is the soonest I can get an appointment locally unless someone cancels their appointment (I 'm on the cancelation list) and the one in Cincinnati - I have been referred, and I believe they just received my information, records films, etc. They have a process where they have the surgeon overlook the medical records and films and then make a decision on next steps before they even see you. For some, they will make an appointment to see the surgeon, for others, they make other conservative recommendations, then if those things don't work, then schedule the appointment to have face time with the surgeon.

The pain is hard enough to deal with, then the waiting which seems like forever. I know I can manage this, especially when I dealt with chronic pain in the lumbar region for at least 2 1/2 years before going overseas receiving a 2 level Prodisc ADR.

Anyways, this is where I'm at. I'm sure there are others out there that can identify with me.

If any of you know of any spine surgeon in the Ohio area (that performs ADR)Ithat seems to have good outcomes, I'm all ears. I may be looking at the Texas Back Institute as well. We'll see.

Sending less pain / pain free vibes out to everyone.

Sincerely,
Poncho