[ShanB]

Hi all.

I began my back pain journey in 2011 when I herniated L4-L5 while moving a patient in a medical setting. The herniation presented with intermittent back pain, leg pain, and foot pain and numbness.

Since the original injury I have had several epidural steroid injections and multiple rounds of physical therapy. My symptoms never resolved, but I have found them to be mostly manageable.

In late 2018 I started having intermittent neck pain, arm pain, and hand numbness. Because it never lasted long, I dismissed it as "not a big deal". A couple months into 2019 I realized that it was a bigger deal than I originally thought. The pain and numbness became constant and over the next several weeks I had progressive weakness and loss of fine motor function in my left hand. I had an epidural steroid injection and physical therapy, but my symptoms continued to worsen.

I had cervical C5-C6 disc replacement using a Prestige LP artificial disc on Friday, August 2, 2019. For the most part, I feel way better than before surgery, even just a few days out. My arm and hand pain are gone. My numbness is gone. My fine motor function in my left hand has returned.

My only real complaint is that I feel like there is significant pressure on my throat. I am curious about the experience of others here. Did you have the feeling that something was squeezing your throat? If so, how long did it last?