Tell me about your Cervical Herniated Disc -- any advice

In My Humble Opinion
1

Unfortunately, I have been diagnosed with two herniated cervical discs and I’m interested in hearing about anyone’s experience with this, whether personal or a family member. Horror stories are also welcome, so I know what to avoid.

Has anyone had the surgery? This has been going on for several months so I’m pessimistic about avoiding surgery. I always swore I would do anything to avoid spinal surgery since it so often seems to go poorly or result in even more pain, but I’m currently in a substantial amount of pain that is disrupting my sleep and generally screwing up my life.

Thanks to anyone who wants to discuss this.

2

This is a Very painful condition, so I’m going to tell you something unfunny so you can practice Not laughing:

No, the farthest I ever threw the disk was 45 feet (and that was in High School).

Cervical disks? You can SHOOT with that thing? Day-um. Impressed

“Honey, I’m almost done…”
Ka-Sploot
Wall-Slam
“No. You’re done… Now…”

3

13 years ago I herniated the disc between C5 and C6. I saw a surgeon who wanted to fuse that section together. I declined to have the surgery. I did a few months worth of PT, and it eventually got better. I do have a little less strength in my left arm, and occasionally have an ache in my neck. I avoid lifting too much weight so I don’t strain it.

My father in law also herniated the same disc maybe 8 years ago. He elected to have surgery and something went wrong. He has had problems ever since, and has had two additional surgeries to try to fix it. He pretty regularly has discomfort or pain.

If I were you, I’d get a second and/or third opinion, and find out if PT might help you improve.

I feel for you - it’s a terrible thing to deal with.

4

Thank you so much for your reply. How long were you in pain? Your FiL’s story is exactly why I’m so loath to have surgery. It’s such a delicate location and I was planning on using my spine for the next 30 or so years. I’d hate to screw it up when I’m only in my late 30s. It’s just so hard to deal with the constant pain.

5

I had a bilateral C4-C5-C6 fusion about three years ago. It was only performed after much, much consideration. There are indeed alternatives to surgery; it really all depends on the severity of the injury. Mine was(is) pretty bad. Whiplash from a car accident and then a failed pullup. The damage was so bad that this layman could clearly see the herniated bulges in the MRI image.

Chirporactic, Massage and Accupuncture, helped, but once I could not play the piano any longer (no fine muscular control) and would burn and or drop things, I decided to have the surgery.

The surgery itself was OK…some people will suffer some nerve contusions due to the technique (they approach the spinal column from the front, push the esophagus and trachea out of the way and work on the discs and vertebrae in that position) I had to wear a stiff cervical collar 24/7 for 6 weeks and the first few days after surgery was brutal…mostly due to the fact that the doctor seny me home with pain medication that only works in 50% of the population-I not being one of the lucky percentage, followed up by a prescription for morphine, which, lucky me! I’m highly allergic to… followed by the freak Halloween snowstorm and incipient power outage …

The benefit----immediate restoration of motor control, paresthesia (pins and needles) completely gone from both arms, and thank God, no return of THOSE symptoms. I’m forbidden from participating in activities that can cause neck issues (including Roller Coaster riding, horseback riding, etc). I’m fused, but the fusion can fail. I also suffer from something called “Failed neck Surgery Syndrome” which means that I get to enjoy a different kind of pain in my neck, shoulders and mid back region. It’s pretty awful, but controlled at times with Meloxicam and Tramadol and trigger point injections into the cramped muscles and tendons.

Would I do the surgery again? Yes…I would have done it sooner. There is a real real risk of irreparable nerve damage to the cervical nerves the longer one waits. Again, it all depends on your condition.

See a neurologist, see another one, then see a neurosurgeon who specializes in Anterior Cervical disc Fusion. In the interim, you can get substantial relief from a device that you wear around your neck and inflate with a rubber bulb. It pulls the neck vertebrae up and relieves the tension. Some people purchase a cervical traction device that attaches to a door, but that looked kinda scary.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me via private message.

6

I was probably in that debilitating, constant pain for 3-4 months. After that it became much more manageable. If you aren’t already on them you might try pain killers and muscle relaxers.

As far as surgery, a former coworker had a fusion and he was glad he had it done. I haven’t talked with him in several years so I’m not sure how he feels about it now.