My "discomfort" is some degree of nerve irritation at the C5/C6 distribution. It flares when I move my arms around to much. This started after my Stenum surgery.
I'm actually now fused at C6/C7, C5/C6, C4/C5 and ADR at C3/C4. I guess I should be grateful that my symptoms are manageable. My surgeon believes in time my nerves will calm down more. We all want our normal selves back.
Funny part is I was in much better shape before going to Stenum. Because my fusion at C6/C7 in 2002 was no problem and recovery was a breeze, I thought the same would be on the Stenum ADR surgery. So I went to Germany with very minor discomfort. And came back in very rough shape. So I "screwed up".
Getting the C3/C4 ADR in the States, again no problems, recovery was very quick. Also the revision to fusion was a breeze at C5/C6.
So my frustration is that if I was just patient and stayed home I would be so much better off physically and financially. But the world of "ADR" sounds so sexy, I jumped on the band wagon.
As for the Stenum nightmare stories. Stenum really is a nice hospital and the staff is outstanding. The problem is the surgeon. Very quick procedures and in some cases that may be OK. However, in more complex, multi level, or stenosis the risk factor increases regardless of surgeon. But the "Stenum, pedal to the medal" surgery opens up for a greater risk for problems.
As Huey Lewis and the News would say "All I want from tomorrow, is to make it better than today".
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