New Member - C5/C6 ADR/ACDF in Future
Hi, new member here... been lurking for a while though and learning along the way. About two years ago, I developed serious neck pains, that originally could only be described as a non-stop "stiff neck". I also had terrible knots in my upper back almost daily, and a few months later I developed occasional numbness/tingling in my fingers on my right hand. I visited the Ortho, who ordered an MRI. I don't have the results with me (they are at home, I'm at office) but long story short, I have severe DDD at the C5/C6 level. No other apparent degeneration along the spine. Our assumption is that the damage occurred during a wakeboarding accident, as there have been no other recent "impact" injuries. Regardless, Ortho #1 prescribed me Meloxicam, which provided no relief. He also tried facet joint injections and another cervical steroid shot, which also provided no relief. He referred me to a neurosurgeon that could perhaps do more.
Doc #2 (Neuro) recommended neck traction, but I only got relief while wearing the device. He said he believed my primary problem (neck pain) was due to non-stop muscle spasms, so he prescribed me Robaxin; however, I got no relief. Neuro recommended ACDF of C5/C6. Said I would be a good candidate for ADR, but he no longer did it due to too many insurance issues (insurance companies not paying even after they had approved surgery, apparently). I passed on ACDF, sought new options. Doc #3 was an Orthopaedic Surgeon that specializes in spinal (both cervical and lumbar). Said he could do ACDF. He said he didn't currently do ADRs as he'd recently switched hospitals and had not done one at his current facility yet, but he also recommended I see a chiropractor before doing any surgery (good idea, not sure why, but I hadn't thought of that yet). Four visits with a Chiro - no change - yet she did make my back feel better than it had in many years (although it didn't feel "bad" to begin with)... I did thoroughly enjoy the chiro visits, but it didn't fix my neck issues. She referred me to a different spinal surgeon. Doc #4 - Spinal Surgeon - Confirms what all others have already said. C5/C6 is bad, needs to be replaced. Currently scheduled to have surgery Dec 11th in Hunstville, AL. Dr. Larry Parker is my surgeon. He said his favorite disc is the Prestige LP, but he'll also take a Mobi-C in the surgery room and put in whichever one seems to be a better fit. He also said he is only 70% confident I'll wake up with an artificial disc, and to realize there is a 30% chance he'll have to fuse it. He said he won't shove a square peg in a round hole, which I appreciate. He said his primary concern is that after he removes the osteophytes from the front & back of the vertebrae, that there could potentially not be enough bone left to safely install an artificial disc. Sounds reasonable to me; how about the rest of the community? A little bit more info. Neck pain is still my primary problem that I face 24x7 it seems. Some days are better than others. Some days I think, "Hey, I can live with this. I don't need surgery." Other days it is so excruciatingly painful that I wish I was on my way to the hospital to have it fixed. Is that normal? Outside of the "pain", I do still get tingling in the fingers from time to time, but not near as often as I did before I started taking Gabapentin. Also of note, the fingers that tingle are my middle, ring, and pinky of my right hand, which the doc noted is not typical for the C5/C6 issue, but he also said we are all wired a little bit differently, so it is possible that the problem is related. I also had a hamate fracture in that hand last December, so it could be attributed to that as well. I still get inflammation in my wrist from that from time to time, so the finger issue could be non-neck related. I mentioned Gabapentin. The primary reason I take Gabapentin is because of BRP. I suffer from brachioradial pruritus (google it if you are interested), primarily in my right arm, but sometimes in left, sometimes both. It is a maddening/painful feelings. 300 mg Gabapentin, 3 x daily seems to keep it in check for the most part. I still have outbreaks that require me to put an ice pack on my arm and numb it in order for the pain/itching to go away. Anyone else on this forum suffer from BRP? If so, did your BRP symptoms go away after ADR? Sorry for the long post. Looking forward to interacting with the community. Feel free to ask me any questions! Edit: One more thing - I'm a 36 y.o. male if that makes a difference. Definitely feel too young to feel this old :). Edit #2: I should also mention that I have tinnitus in my right ear, and I also have a 40% hearing loss in that ear as verified by tests at ENT. ENT says it is possible that it is cervical-related, but not to count on it. Just curious if others have attributed tinnitus to cervical DDD or similar? My tinnitus started around the same time as the disc issues is the only reason I ask... |
Check out smccory on YouTube he had 4 cervicles done at pro spine n is doing well
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Hi Jeep,
Sorry you are on this board but the upside is there is a wealth of information here. Quote:
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The last 2 months I found weekly massage helped the most with spasms and pain. it isn't a long term fix and expensive but it helped. Quote:
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Take care, Runner |
Thanks, Runner. Your response was helpful :).
I see you were scheduled to have surgery last week. How'd it go? |
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Hello Jeepbrew,
First of all everything is connected when it comes to spine, and nothing is done in a day because it happens gradually when it comes to DDD especially in cervical spine. In my humble opinion spasms comes from chemical reaction from protruded and degenerated disc and then nerves became inflmed and here it goes than...... I advice you not to go to chiropractor because they can mess up the rest of your cervical discs, the right path is massage and NSAidS and mild streching....in the end operation is with very good outcome when it is good indication and exelent doc that you are confident with... Could you post some pics of your cervical MRI? Sorry for my english if there are any mistakes :wiggle: |
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Keep the info coming.
I can't post any pics from the MRI today as I am traveling on business, but I do have some x-ray pics with me. See attached. |
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X-ray pics are now in post #7. |
5/6 looks like it has some major height loss (compared to the others). The MRI will give a more accurate picture, though. Don't read the radiology report. They put a lot of scary sounding things in there that your spine surgeon may find irrelevant.
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Jeep Brew, your situation seems similar to mine except I have two blown discs, C6/7 in addition to C5/6. I am currently scheduled a double level Mobi C up with Dr. Su in the bay area this Dec 14. I had a surfing neck injury 2 years ago that was probably the start of this, but the flareup that got me an MRI started Feb of this year after some overboard concrete countertop lifting.
Your post caught my eye because age and that your injury came from wake boarding. I know how fun that is and also how worked you can get when a rail catches at landing. For myself, if at all possible, post surgery/rehab/healing, I want to scratch my way back up my normal pre surgery physical condition, and return to surfing, mountain biking, and wrestling my 7 and 4 year old boys. When I tell my doctor this he was honest in saying he has not seen the data that compares a successful cervical ADR with a successful cervical fusion. He said a professional football player would for sure opt for fusion. Im no football player, but I to want to be able to take a hit, as sometimes life deals you one no matter how careful you are. The above has got me searching for posts and info of cervical ADR patients who returned to moderate/high impact sports once healed, and how their hardware has held up over time. So you are a young guy, Im sure you have hopes of getting right back into it, did you come across any ADR data showing how much they can take, what physically would have to be done for one to fail, and what options would one have if their ADR did detach or break? I hope Im not sounding skeptical, but Im a realist who just wants a straight answer, without our health what do we have, so lets get it right the first time. My best to you and your future... |
Mwells,
There's a lot of pro athletes who have ADRs, many in contact sports (fighting, rugby, etc). They can take a hit. |
C4C7 thanks, just had surgery consult with doc this afternoon. He said it takes pretty extreme impact to dislodge the adr. He said if it did fail it would be at the connection of metal plate and polyethylene spacer. I’m going to Keep searching for athletes with clerical adr, it would be great to see their stories.
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There was a thread on this a few years ago.
http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11602 With that said, this is the only body you'll ever have, so why take major risks if you don't need to? I'm still pretty active, but I don't do anything crazy (mountain climbing, contact sports, etc). |
Mwells,
My Doc certainly said if I plan on joining an NFL team, ACDF is the way to go. That being said, he felt confident the ADR could withstand the abuse I put my body through, minus perhaps landing on my head while wakeboarding. That probably means no more backrolls and tantrums, but if I play smart while on the board, I should be OK. |
Re strength of implant
Assuming successful recovery (so far so good) my doc indicated my ADR's will likely outlast me and they are stronger than my original disks.
2 months post recovery I am allowed to try a little jogging....easy short runs at 3 months. No contact sports for 9 months...for me that means no rope. If all goes well I am told I can resume my long distance running, backpacking and high altitude mountaineering etc. TBD activities will be road cycling and rock climbing. The potential issue is the "head back" position aggravating my neck. This was the general assessment I received from all of my consults. My physio is echoing the same sentiment but with emphasis on posture improvement during recovery. Hoping they are right....Runner |
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Btw, to anyone who might read this, I am a proud new owner a Mobi-C in C5/C6. I'll make a post in the Outcomes forum in the near future. So far, so good.
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Wow!
It is a relief to have made a decision isn’t it? No more obsessing over what to do.... All the very best, take it slower than you think you should and you’ll avoid the self induced back spasm. :laugh: I look forward to hearing more! Best, Runner |
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