[Tatonka_usn]

As it’s been many moons since I last visited the forums, I guess I should (re)introduce myself to the gang around here.

My name is Alan, and I’m a 45 year old who has been dealing with spinal issues for many years. Back in 2003, I was involved in a pretty significant MVA. Walked away from it intact (just slight cervical whiplash), but the fuse has unknowingly been lit on a ticking time-bomb. In 2007, while on active duty in the Navy, I badly herniated L5-S1 (L). Was shipped back to Walter Reed (from Japan) for a discectomy with one of the Army’s top neurosurgeons (Dr. Michael Rosner). While I had decent initial results, the index level re-herniated within a year. Since that point, I’ve run the gamut of virtually every conservative treatment out there…..physical therapy, massage, traction, fluro-guided injections (ESI’s, nerve blocks, facet blocks), prolotherapy, PRP, acupuncture, chiropractic…..you get the gist. Though it all, I’ve managed to stay “stable” and “functional”, while I continue to experience periodic residual symptoms (and have never really gotten back to close to my standard of “normal”).

Fast forward to this year, and I’m now confronted with neck problems for the first time. Just after the new year, I woke up one morning with slight numbness in my right thumb. While it persisted for a couple days, it dissipated before I had cause for concern. Toward the end of the July/early August, however, I woke up with what I thought was a tight trapezoid. Assuming I’d just “slept on it wrong”, I went through the usual assortment of stretching I’d learned over the years. Unfortunately, not only did things fail to resolve, they have gradually increased over the following months (beginning to radiate down into the shoulder and arm). The base clinic (where I was stationed on reserve orders in Germany) didn’t really do much more than toss me some motrin & flexeril, sending me to physical therapy as a perfunctory gesture. While there, I went through a bit of dry-needling (something I’d had following hip surgery in 2014) and given the standard battery of stretching/strengthening exercises. No imaging (of any kind) was done, though it was acknowledged that I had some sort of “nerve impingement” (gee, thanks….really!). Coming off orders the end of September, the Navy (and military medicine) pretty much washed their hands of me….giving me round of prednisone, gabapentin, and some hydrocodone (referring me to the VA).

Now that I’m back to being a civilian, I have my choice of the VA and Blue Cross (though my “regular job”). The former has already declined to even offer and x-ray, despite the clear progression of my symptoms (“call me in a couple months if things don’t improve”….gotta love it!). Getting ready to head to my primary care doctor tomorrow, in hopes I can get THEM to authorize some sort of imaging…..so I can figure out just how bad the damage is. In the meantime, I’ve seen my wonderful chiropractor a couple times already, and she’s doing everything she can to keep me in one piece. Initial goal is to loosen up some of the immobility in my neck, using gentle ART and dry needling during our sessions. She wasn’t initially too concerned about the immediacy of things (from a surgery perspective), but 1) determined that C6/7 is clearly the “worst offender” (though C4-C7 are all affected), 2) acknowledged that there is at least a bulge (quite possible herniation) and 3) noted that there is a decrease in grip strength in the affected hand (the right, my dominant). While I was averaging 50-ish psi with my left on the dynamometer, the right was down just under 40psi. From what she advised, the dominant is typically 2-3psi HIGHER than the non-dominant….indicating there is clearly an issue.

So, where does this leave me now? Well, while I don’t relish the thought of more surgery, knowing enough about the way spine issues work (from years of reading), I really don’t want to lose the remaining quality of life I have (especially with tweens in the house, and me having JUST returned home). It’s clear that I’m now in a game of balancing conservative treatment (in hopes of “healing”) with taking the plunge to “fix” the problem. I have ZERO interest in a fusion, which I’ve steadfastly avoided over the years whereas my lower issues have been concerned. Had done quite a bit of research into lumbar ADR’s, so I’m pretty familiar with how their development (and the growth of “medical tourism”) is concerned….a function of the FDA slow-rolling promising designs. Now, as I shift gears into considering the possibility of a cervical ADR (maybe more than one?), I’m hoping to learn from those on here who’ve been through the experience. I will obviously have to await some sort of imaging to get an idea of where things really stand, but any feedback/guidance you (collectively) might have would be GREATLY appreciated. Ironically, I was just in Stuttgart for a year, which would have made the logistics of potentially getting this done MUCH easier/cheaper….but now will be stuck both paying out the nose AND having to travel a great distance (if it comes to that).

Thanks, and very best regards!
Alan the squid