Confused on cause of pain after 3 level cervical ADR ?

[Jarrod]

Thank you all,

I guess im just depressed about my situation and what i thought would be a fix to my cervical situation, but unfortunately I am now the product of pain and aches in my very lower neck and uppper back. I am always complaining about my ache/pain and now it is starting to affect my relationships with others. I seem to never want to do much these days and cannot muster up the energy to travel far away from home. I am not as bad off as before the herniation but still in alot of discomfort now and I am 6 months post op from my 3 level cervical adr surgery in Barcelona Spain.

As I sit here late night with an ice pack on my upper back typing I have made up my mind to go ahead with the myleo ct to see if the nerves are being compromised at the operated levels. I can still remember the email Dr. Clavel sent me back after I told him my troubles and pain. "Jarrod we made sure we throughly cleaned out the c7/t1 disc space and made sure we took extra time to decompress that level because we knew this is where the herneation was, we did this before we placed the m6 disc so there is no reason for your pain execpt that the nerve is upset about being herniated in the first place and then touching the nerve again during the decompression".

Im very worried that this is a failed adr surgery as I was hoping to get rid of my symptoms, and I just cant understand why when I walk I can feel this stupid nerve moving or when i flex my head forward It feels like the nerve is stretching along with the upper back muscle (the one close to youir spine). The pain is much better in the mornings but gets more intense as the day goes on so at least laying down relieves it. Also Sometimes when Im relaxing I am ok, but sometimes like a wave the pain comes along and can be gone in a matter of min or hours. I am just hoping that the myleo ct shows the nerves to be ok in disc area where the adrs were placed, but then again if that is the case then where is the pain and dull ache comming from??? Guys Im gonna worry myself to death if this continues and Id like to find the problem sooner than later so more damage cannot be done. If I have to get a fusion or revision surgery I think ill die knowing that It might not help. So this is the hand Ive been delt and I just dont think I can handle it, with no end in sight it makes my days and nights numb and is turning me into a hermet. My friends and family are out on the boat, vacationing and enjoying the summer and hear I am sulking and in despair. I went from a 35 year old healthly athletic man to nothing in less than a year, and with a revision (if need be) another year down the tubes with no promise of a pain free life!!! So very mad, yet hoping that the throbbing wavelike pain in my upper back just calms down before the year is over.. I feel like all I have is hope anymore. I am so grateful for the forum and all who respond and tell there stories, thankl you all.

Sincerly, Jarrod

[Maria]

Jarrod,
I'm sure I told you how I felt after my 2nd spine surgery with an outcome that was so unexpected (terrible) and pain I could never have even imagined could happen and for every single stupid day ... it just made me think really bad things like how to end the pain.

Truly the thought that kept me going was knowing that every new day was a day that could possibly bring relief. No one expected that pain, no one could really predict how long it would last if they couldn't even accurately explain what it was or where it was coming from exactly.

So try to keep in mind that just because you feel the way you do now with the pain you have now that does not mean you'll always feel this way.

Hang in there Jarrod.. it's a tough tough place to be and I know that well from my own experience post surgery that did fail (not saying yours has as it's still early for you) however with time there was a big improvement and I hope that you will experience the same thing.

Keep focused on your goal to be better. Every new day is a chance for that...

[dshobbies]

Jarrod,

How easy it is for us to tell you to hang in there when we have some semblence of a life. Having walked in your shoes, I know this really doesn't help because there's always a but at the end of all our stories. Either we've improved or we haven't. Waiting to improve is too long and not improving is unthinkable.

But one thing you do have in common with just about every fellow spiney is your depression which is quite evident in your postings. Aside from any other meds you might be taking for pain, you need to immediately get on an anti-depressant. I know how everyone tends to fight this, perhaps due to a feeling of entitlement that you've earned your depression or you aren't really depressed, just in a lot of pain. Trust me, you're depressed and whether or not you improve with time, whether or not you need revision surgery, your life will be greatly improved with anti-depressants. This is not a one size fits all and it may take trying various combinations but your outlook on life will improve and you'll find yourself able to tackle what comes next with a better sense of moving forward.

This is not something you should do, it's something you need to do. If you take away one thing from everyone advising you different things to do or not to do, please heed this advise.

Dale

[jsewell]

Jarrod after reading your last post , i was going to say just what Dale said. it is so true. I have been dealing with undiagnosed medical stuff for like 8 years and back about 7 ago i got on antidepressants. It was the best thing i ever did for myself. I am still on them and don't really care anymore that i am. I did just about shut everyone out. I came home from work, went to my bedroom and closed the door and i have 4 kids!

Now i have been battling spine pain in all 3 areas and by the way i don't know the date of your surgery, but my neck fusion and osteotomy was on Jan. 7th, I am still in a neck brace and now just get twinges of pain although this was not my most painful event by any means.

I had horrible , horrible thoracic pain for a few years, had surgery finally to remove a disc, the surgery somehow damaged my phrenic nerve which controls your diaphragm muscle. So i was left and it is permanent with only 50% lung capacity. I too was extremely athletic and live just to exercise some times. That is all ruined, but i am kind of ok do to antidepressants.
In that surgery, it took a long time for the pain to go away, i think nerves remember how to aggrivate us long after they are decompressed. I think i took about 5 or 6 months for that pain to totally go away and that was from a disc.

That neck surgery was surgery #10 for me in 3 years and Monday will be #11 as my toe became totally arthritic and now that i hike instead of run the mountain trails, it became too painful to even do that. I am stubborn and going to go for one last hike today , i hope i am not limping down like last Saturday, before another period of rehab.

Almost my whole spine is fused, from C4 thru L2. is. It is all pretty recent and i know i am still not totally heeled but every new pain or twinge gets me scared a little. I can not lay on my stomach or back really , but wonder with more time if i will be able to. My bones are way too weak for me to even have been considered for an ADR and i am getting along now better than without all the fusion . so it is not so bad.

All this is so you will get some hope and some help. I just recently saw my husband became very depressed and i sent him to a psychiatrist. it took him 6 months to believe me and go , but he is back to his old self now after lying in bed for most of the previous 6 months.
by the way i am on a few antidepressants.
Please, please get help
judy

[ADR seeker]

Originally Posted by Jarrod

Thank you all,

I guess im just depressed about my situation and what i thought would be a fix to my cervical situation, but unfortunately I am now the product of pain and aches in my very lower neck and uppper back. I am always complaining about my ache/pain and now it is starting to affect my relationships with others. I seem to never want to do much these days and cannot muster up the energy to travel far away from home. I am not as bad off as before the herniation but still in alot of discomfort now and I am 6 months post op from my 3 level cervical adr surgery in Barcelona Spain.

As I sit here late night with an ice pack on my upper back typing I have made up my mind to go ahead with the myleo ct to see if the nerves are being compromised at the operated levels. I can still remember the email Dr. Clavel sent me back after I told him my troubles and pain. "Jarrod we made sure we throughly cleaned out the c7/t1 disc space and made sure we took extra time to decompress that level because we knew this is where the herneation was, we did this before we placed the m6 disc so there is no reason for your pain execpt that the nerve is upset about being herniated in the first place and then touching the nerve again during the decompression".

Im very worried that this is a failed adr surgery as I was hoping to get rid of my symptoms, and I just cant understand why when I walk I can feel this stupid nerve moving or when i flex my head forward It feels like the nerve is stretching along with the upper back muscle (the one close to youir spine). The pain is much better in the mornings but gets more intense as the day goes on so at least laying down relieves it. Also Sometimes when Im relaxing I am ok, but sometimes like a wave the pain comes along and can be gone in a matter of min or hours. I am just hoping that the myleo ct shows the nerves to be ok in disc area where the adrs were placed, but then again if that is the case then where is the pain and dull ache comming from??? Guys Im gonna worry myself to death if this continues and Id like to find the problem sooner than later so more damage cannot be done. If I have to get a fusion or revision surgery I think ill die knowing that It might not help. So this is the hand Ive been delt and I just dont think I can handle it, with no end in sight it makes my days and nights numb and is turning me into a hermet. My friends and family are out on the boat, vacationing and enjoying the summer and hear I am sulking and in despair. I went from a 35 year old healthly athletic man to nothing in less than a year, and with a revision (if need be) another year down the tubes with no promise of a pain free life!!! So very mad, yet hoping that the throbbing wavelike pain in my upper back just calms down before the year is over.. I feel like all I have is hope anymore. I am so grateful for the forum and all who respond and tell there stories, thankl you all.

Sincerly, Jarrod

This may sound simplistic. My neck is a mess. When I was living in a different part of the country I say an atlas orthogonal chiropractor. I had seen chiros for may years with mixed results. I had been in constant pain for 5 years straight with no relief.

I saw this guy and he did x-rays and when I came back the next day he said he could help me. He did the adjustment and their was no typical manipulation. I just heard a soft click from the machine. I didn't feel anything. Within an instant the pain was gone. It stayed gone for 8 months.

The relief was instantaneous

All he did was pop my atlas back in place. If the atlas is subluxated you can have all sorts of problems.

Watch this video YouTube - ‪Upper Cervical - Montel Williams‬‏

This in NOT hocus pocus.

It cost me $25 for the x rays and the treatment was $37.

YouTube - ‪Upper Cervical - Montel Williams‬‏

This treatment is not like the neck cracking other DCs do. It is safe and I don't think having had surgery will be a problem.

Your neck/atlas is probably out of alignment. MDs are really arrogant when it comes to DCs. MDs get really retarded when it comes to spinal neurology just like they are retarded when it comes to nutrition. This treatment can't hurt you.