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Posted: 10/1/2014 8:17:36 PM EDT
First dr says I need to have them fused. Going to another dr tomorrow for a second ipinion. Help me with your experiences. I'm 40 and no injury that caused it.
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Exhaust any other treatments you can before surgery.
Stay the hell away from chiropractors. |
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Nevermind.
Read thread title as "I have two blue dicks in my desk." Take care if that, would ya. |
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Quoted: First dr says I need to have them fused. Going to another dr tomorrow for a second ipinion. Help me with your experiences. I'm 40 and no injury that caused it. View Quote I had 2 disks in my lower back fixed, but the arthritis was from damage I had done in my 20s 30 years ago. |
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I have a bulging disc in my neck also. C5 I believe. every now and again it will act up and put pressure on the nerve that comes in from my arm and make my arm hurt like crazy. it's weird, my arm will hurt but if I rub my neck the pain will stop. I think it started when I was moving around in bed and somehow while I was shifting my weight I guess I lifted my shoulders using my head and I felt it pop. It's been bothering me lately so I've started going back to the gym. steady exercise seems to keep me loosened up and keeps the pain down. Aleve helps a little also.
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I've been doing PT and it has helped some. My shoulder hurts and my arm and hand gets tingly, no loss of motion but it sucks. It's c5-c6and 6-7. Right side pain.
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I had a fusion between my C5-C6. I was at the gym one day and my arm and leg started going numb. Went to a doctor who referred me to a neurosurgeon. An MRI showed a bulged disc impinging on my spinal cord. It has been a little over a year since the fusion and I'm pretty much back to normal, aside from slight range of motion issues in my neck.
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Good luck to you. I had two ruptured discs in my neck pressing against my spinal chord. The pain in my arm was too much to take, seriously, it was so bad I just wanted to die. I had to have the surgery. They removed two discs and fused me together with cadaver bone. The operation was a total success, I can not tell any difference at all. I am good as new, this was back in 2007. I was really nervous about getting it done because I had heard horror stories. I had to do it and am glad I did, no more pain and I have all my movement. There is a doctor in West Palm Beach Florida named Dr. Robert Brodner, this guy is amazing, look him up and do some research. If at all possible for you, I would not let any other doctor do it, even if it meant the travel to Florida. This guy is that good. You have to look real hard to even see a scar on my neck, he put it right in the crease, everything was done from a 2" incision in the front of my neck. I have a titanium plate screwed in there as well. You have to do just as they tell you during recovery, which is 12 weeks. It's tough because you start feeling good, better than before and you want to start doing stuff, but don't do it. That is serious stuff if it goes wrong. Do what your doctor tells you and you will be fine like me. Try to get Brodner to do it, if he is not practicing anymore have him make a recommendation for you. I know it's a huge decision, but definitely look him up. Hope all goes well for you.
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Quoted:
I've been doing PT and it has helped some. My shoulder hurts and my arm and hand gets tingly, no loss of motion but it sucks. It's c5-c6and 6-7. Right side pain. View Quote I have degenerative disk disease and arthritis in my upper spine. I have the same symptoms you have. It sucks. No surgery option for me, too many disks involved. So far I am ignoring it |
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Traction device.
Slow and steady does the trick. <---------serious bulged disks from car accidents and too much BJJ and MMA. After you "get right" you'll need to work your neck out. I may not have a "tree trunk" neck but when I joined the army I was in great shape and had a 15 1/2" neck. After training and making it strong I have a 17 1/2" neck. No problems. |
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Quoted: Ever I had 2 disks in my lower back fixed, but the arthritis was from damage I had done in my 20s 30 years ago. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: First dr says I need to have them fused. Going to another dr tomorrow for a second ipinion. Help me with your experiences. I'm 40 and no injury that caused it. I had 2 disks in my lower back fixed, but the arthritis was from damage I had done in my 20s 30 years ago. |
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Quoted: I had C-6-7 fused in july..I have 3 more in the neck and 1 in my lower back that are bulged, all from a fender bender in 3-13...mine is slowly getting better but still hurts pretty good most days..I tried everything to avoid surgery including PT, injections, rest..nothing helped. Doc says I will deal with mine for the rest of my life due to damage done that they can't repair..Besides the constant pain I also deal with numbness still. I am getting scheduled now for further surgeries on my wrist and shoulder from this same accident and hopefully I will eventually be able to get in the gym and strengthen the core enough to make life livable again.... Whats left of my truck.... http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii265/AKSNOWRIDER_2008/denali/1619794710518089523_zps8ea7fdb7.jpg View Quote |
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I had 4 vertebrae fused in my neck. My surgery used bone from my hip. It's a freaky operation but when you need it you need it and relief is instant - at least in my case. Get an experienced doc.
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By the way, it seems like i respond to a thread like this about once a month. Do some reading of prior posts on the topic, you'll probably get some additional info there. Good luck!
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Get a second opinion, ask your surgeon about Cervical Disc Replacment if it goes to surgery. I had it done back 1 year ago, and it's great!!!! My recovery was minimal, and I felt like going back to work the next day. I still had to sit out a month of work though.
Cervical Disc Replacment |
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I have degenerative disk disease with two bulged disks and various other problems. They haven't recommended surgery due to my young age but unfortunatly it's a 24/7 problem so they sent me to pain management and physical therapy. Hopefully you can make it without the medication daily but pain management might be an option if you are willing to wait for laser type treatments to catch up which is what I'm doing.
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For those in similar situations, ask your doctor about Gabapentin. It's a fantastic nerve blocker. Worked much better than the hydrocodone that they gave me the first go-round.
Also, ask your PT or doc about McKenzie exercises. I have a bulging disk C5-C6 (Like the OP, it hit when I was 40 and out of the blue, no trauma or anything, probably cause by sitting at a desk on the computer all day hunched over) and the Gabapentin got me moving and the McKenzie exercises got me back moving. I had the worst pain ever down my right arm. It was crazy, it sent me to the ER. I still have a little numbness in my right hand trigger finger, but no real loss of feeling, it's odd really. I figured, if I can avoid surgery, all the better. If the pain comes back, I'll have it done. Until then, I'll just continue the McKenzie and see how things go. It's been over a year now off all meds. I had a bit of pain last week, I had to work on my sleeping position (added a pillow) and started up the McKenzies again. Now, back to no more pain. |
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Quoted:
Get a second opinion, ask your surgeon about Cervical Disc Replacment if it goes to surgery. I had it done back 1 year ago, and it's great!!!! My recovery was minimal, and I felt like going back to work the next day. I still had to sit out a month of work though. Cervical Disc Replacment View Quote I have one similar to this, but no screws. The doc dug out a little trench on the upper and lower faces of the vertebrae and tapped it in (shallow ball and socket configuration). That was four years ago and my arm hasn't been numb since. It took me almost a year of doing physical therapy that only relieved the pressure when I was in "the Rack" to make the decision. It was absolutely the right thing to do. |
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Quoted:
I have one similar to this, but no screws. The doc dug out a little trench on the upper and lower faces of the vertebrae and tapped it in (shallow ball and socket configuration). That was four years ago and my arm hasn't been numb since. It took me almost a year of doing physical therapy that only relieved the pressure when I was in "the Rack" to make the decision. It was absolutely the right thing to do. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Get a second opinion, ask your surgeon about Cervical Disc Replacment if it goes to surgery. I had it done back 1 year ago, and it's great!!!! My recovery was minimal, and I felt like going back to work the next day. I still had to sit out a month of work though. Cervical Disc Replacment I have one similar to this, but no screws. The doc dug out a little trench on the upper and lower faces of the vertebrae and tapped it in (shallow ball and socket configuration). That was four years ago and my arm hasn't been numb since. It took me almost a year of doing physical therapy that only relieved the pressure when I was in "the Rack" to make the decision. It was absolutely the right thing to do. Sounds like you had prestige cervical disc replacement surgery. I think the makers of pro disc bought the rights to prestige. Like I said in my first reply, ask your doctor about it, if you're going to surgery. He'll probably tell you that most insurances won't cover it, but for me it was worth waiting the two weeks for pre-authorization. |
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Steroid injections may help calm things down. I have injections for years in my lower back and when they stopped working I was in bad shape. Taking oxycodone and hydrocodne two hours apart and I would be in tears after ten minutes of walking.
Had a microdiscectomy (sp) and that cleared up 95% of the pain. Doc already warned me I will be having fusion surgery down the road. |
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I had to use one of these things for a few months. http://www.apemedical.com.au/shop/image/id/959/size/lrg/ Got the feeling back in my arm, eventually. Pretty sure I had the same look on my face, too. View Quote That medieval contraption was awesome. As soon as they added the right amount of water, instant relief. As soon as they drained it...well |
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I've been living with the same for 21 years. Mostly ok except for the times you do something wrong and wake up the next day with an impossibly painful headache. Would not get it fused.
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Quoted:
I have a bulging disc in my neck also. C5 I believe. every now and again it will act up and put pressure on the nerve that comes in from my arm and make my arm hurt like crazy. it's weird, my arm will hurt but if I rub my neck the pain will stop. I think it started when I was moving around in bed and somehow while I was shifting my weight I guess I lifted my shoulders using my head and I felt it pop. It's been bothering me lately so I've started going back to the gym. steady exercise seems to keep me loosened up and keeps the pain down. Aleve helps a little also. View Quote My tricep in my right arm is non existent since some nerve issues in my neck started up in February. As well as numbness in my entire left arm. Can't even pull my bow back for deer hunting this year. |
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Surgery is a last resort..
At least thats what I was told after my MRI. 1. see another Dr 2. physical therapy to include a fancy bag of water, rope, pulley setup to relieve pressure from your neck. 3. potential surgery |
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Quoted:
My tricep in my right arm is non existent since some nerve issues in my neck started up in February. As well as numbness in my entire left arm. Can't even pull my bow back for deer hunting this year. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
I have a bulging disc in my neck also. C5 I believe. every now and again it will act up and put pressure on the nerve that comes in from my arm and make my arm hurt like crazy. it's weird, my arm will hurt but if I rub my neck the pain will stop. I think it started when I was moving around in bed and somehow while I was shifting my weight I guess I lifted my shoulders using my head and I felt it pop. It's been bothering me lately so I've started going back to the gym. steady exercise seems to keep me loosened up and keeps the pain down. Aleve helps a little also. My tricep in my right arm is non existent since some nerve issues in my neck started up in February. As well as numbness in my entire left arm. Can't even pull my bow back for deer hunting this year. When my C5/6 flare up I get the same thing to include numbness in my thumb and pointer finger. |
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What kind of therapy have you been doing with the PT if you don't mind me asking? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been doing PT and it has helped some. My shoulder hurts and my arm and hand gets tingly, no loss of motion but it sucks. It's c5-c6and 6-7. Right side pain. What kind of therapy have you been doing with the PT if you don't mind me asking? Mostly stretching to correct my posture. My shoulders are too forward from the pain. Also some traction. It has helped. |
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