flare up

[kmevans]

Well after just saying a few days ago how well I was doing I have had my first major post surgical flare up. I'm 5 and a half months post op adr at c5/6.

The only thing that I can think that would have caused it is I helped move a (empty) bookcase and helped lift a mini fridge at work on Tuesday. early Wednesday morning i woke up with a severe pain in my neck going into my head. I got up and ttook a half of a percocet and a half of a flexeril and it was better by the time i got up later that morning.

it was only on Wednesday, a bit achy and stiff, but not bad, same on Thursday. This morning I right after i got to work I got the same thing i had Wednesday morning except worse (and on the opposite side), i ended up coming home from work about lunch time and have been sitting in the recliner the rest of the day, I took a half a percocet and a whole flexeril, the headache part comes and goes but my neck pain is pretty constant.

I've also been slightly dizzy/vertigoish all day, but I'm apt to contribute that to my horrible allergies.

[Katie]

When I overdue things and my C4/5 & 5/6 start burning & throbbing, and the morphine doesn't do anything, I reach for the bag of ice. Ten minutes on, ten minutes off, and within two or three tries, the inflammation has gone down a lot.

I also have much greater pain in the lumbar area, and the medication that will help there does nothing for the cervical area. Strange, but no one can explain it.

I hope this helps and that this flare up is just temporary, and will disappear forever very soon.

[Maria]

Just with the motion of lifting something a bit cumbersome that the C5/6 disc area and surrounding musculature is going to be involved. If you've done nothing in awhile in terms of lifting anything to sort of work yourself back into lifting anything of a rather bulky or large size if not even heavy weight perhaps you're experiencing some severe muscle spasms.

I have a small C5/6 disc bulge that seems to give me far more grief than the doctor thinks it should and when this happens I usually have to sleep or lie with neck in the horseshoe pillow for support (this is all the time when lying down) take 1-2 Fioricet for headache of migraine nature and a Skelaxin (muscle relaxer). I take Methadone low dose daily for low back pain but it doesn't ever touch the cervical pain which has made me think it's largely muscle spasms.

When I do lifting of a fairly light nature but still more than my neck cares to have me do it seems I pay with flare ups that last several days and then sitting and/or having to just be active can further exacerbate the cervical pain even if I'm not doing anything directly to flare it up.

I don't use ice too much for the cervical area as I seem to hunch up my shoulders more and create more muscular aching/pain/knots in this area but to each his or her own in terms of what works.

Good luck and I guess you will be reporting this to your doctor if you've not already.

[kmevans]

It seems to have calmed down today. I sat in the recliner with a squishy pillow holding my neck in just the right position most of yesterday and last night. I took my meds and did pretty much nothing. I got a good night's sleep and feel better today. Still a little pain and soreness but not bad.

I will take it fairly easy this weekend and see what happens. My next dr. appt is my 6 month followup (which will really be 6.5 months) the first week in June.

Last appointment he told me as long as the pain didn't last longer than 2 weeks that it was just normal healing process.

The rain has finally stopped today, which I think has helped, I know its crazy but my neck aches more when it rains, and its been raining constantly for over a week.

[fuzzy]

I had some pretty stong flareups about 6 to 12 weeks after my lumbar surgery. Very painful and disabling but they cleared up by rest (about 1 to 2 weeks each) and seemed to come form the level above the surgery but I also "over did" a little and think it was muscle related pain getting those unused muscles used to working again.

Listen to your body when it hurts then rest for a couple of days and no lifting small appliances this early in your recovery