Reasonable expectations from cervical ADR

[sahuaro]

It looks like I may be having 2-level cervical ADR (c5/6 and c6/7) in the not too distant future. It seems to me from reading about others' experiences, that the successes have been remarkable. But I would like to have some sense of whether my hopes for the relief of specific symptoms are reasonable, so I would really appreciate your comments on whether you have had similar symptoms which were alleviated post-ADR:
(1) arm weakness, nerve damage: I am aware that this may not be reversed and Mark has posted repeatedly that people have unexpectedly recovered while others do not. At the very least, has there been a stop to the progression of weakness?
(2) tingling, numbness in hands
(3) electrical "zingers" down arms
(4) muscle spasms and guarding in neck muscles
(5) postural issues: my head is constantly in a forward position and slightly tilted to the right and I think this is getting worse; will ADR put my head on straight?
(6) decreased range of motion of neck
(7) problems with what seems to be proprioception: without visual guidance, I have trouble knowing exactly where my hands are (e.g., if I don't take care to watch what I'm doing, I will reach for something and end up with whatever is next to it)
(8) problems with fine motor skills including writing

I'd really appreciate any thoughts and comments!

Barbara

[sahuaro]

Okay, now the lack of response has me really freaked.
Is it that ADR doesn't relieve any of these symptoms--or that none of the cervical ADR recipients here have had any of these symptoms?

[mmglobal]

Barbara,

Sorry for the delay... I'm still recovering from a grueling trip to NY last weekend for Ethics conference. More later about that.

I've seen many people with the symptoms you described relieved by cervical ADR. I wouldn't say that people unexpectedly recover except that some doctors are too quick to say that nerve damage is permanent and you'll never get it back... I don't understand how or why they think they know that except when spoken in the context when they want to demotivate you regarding surgery.... it's already permanent. See JackH story on GPN website.

The (cervical) people I know who did not get relief or got much delayed relief were people who were very bad going into surgery. Obviously, this is not to say that something is not possible... I'm just relating what I remember from my experience through the years.

Hopefully, ADR will restore normal kinematics, but it's not magic about putting your spine back in perfect alignment. This may be one area in which sooner is better than later, when the result of disc collapse, endless muscle spasms, etc.... results in deformity, lack of spinal balance, etc...

As we discussed, number 7 and 8 may represent a serious change in the landscape.... those types of issues may be related to delay of signals to the brain and should be taken very seriously. Get evaluated by a neuro and discover if these issues might be spinal cord related instead of exiting nerve root.... this might change one's decision from a 'quality of life' decision into an 'avoid further spinal cord damage' decision.

There was in interesting discussion on Braintalk here:

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/...ad.php?t=13647

[dshobbies]

Don't freak Barbara. It's Tuesday. Wait a few days until everyone gets a chance to catch up on their week.

Speaking from a lumbar perspective, 1-4 can be relieved with an ADR. And from what I've read, cervical patients do much better and with quicker results than with lumbar. So sit back, maybe Mark is out of town again.

Please take it easy, Dale

[sahuaro]

Thanks so much, Mark and Dale!
Wow! I hadn't really connected my "clumsiness" with possible spinal cord involvement--I also have the heel-to-toe difficulty described in the BrainTalk thread. So my laid-back (no pun intended) schedule for seeking surgery may just have been escalated.

[mmglobal]

Remember... nobody here can make a connection.... just suggesting that you let your medical team know the symptoms so they can assess the urgency.

Mark