Can this really be happening?

Cheryl · #1 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 12:53 AM

I saw the spine doctor Mark recommend for a second time this morning. This was a 3 month post op for LUMBAR ADR in Germany. My low back is okay, xrays look good there is still some pain and soreness but the real problem has now become pain my neck. I can barely hold my head up for the day. I can't cook, read or do anything with my neck held down. He xrayd my neck which shows some degeneration at C5-C6 but HE doesn't think that is the source of the pain. He feels that the degeneration shown on the xray is consistent for my age. I'll have an MRI on May 27th which may or may not give us some more insight. If that is inconclusive then he'll order an EMG. He firmly believes that the low back surgery had NOTHING to do with my neck problem. He says its purely coincidental. The bottom line is that he says I have bad back genes.

I have been trying so hard to keep positive that this pain was a side effect of my ADR surgery and that it will go away but actually hearing that its unrelated to the surgery has made it harder to believe that.

I know the feeling and I believe this is exactly the same pain as my low back had. I believe it is coming from the degeneration

I follow up with him on June 5th so we'll see where that gets us.

I’ve done Pt for 6 weeks now with no good results. The muscle spasms have decreased but the pain hasn't and fear I’m going down the same path as my low back.

I just last week committed to coming back to work for one shift beginning June 4th. I can barely hold my head up but my job gives me some sense of purpose so I really want to get back to it. Unfortunately its like everything else the mind wants to do it but the body is not agreeing.

I just cannot believe this is happening again. Its unreal.

Cheryl

Lil E · #2 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 01:01 AM

I had that happen after my discectomy. One year after it my neck started hurting. Turned out to be three herniated discs. I had surgery on the most painful one but it didn't help. Its like a never ending bad dream. Hope the MRI shows something that can be helped.

dshobbies · #3 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 01:16 AM

Lil,

What a horrible circumstance but one that is not uncommon. Mark himself, a two level adr recipient some 5 years ago also has neck problems. My husband first had neck problems and then graduated to his lumbar spine. Fortunately, he's doing well but too many others aren't as fortunate.

We have hopes and dreams, make plans and then the other shoe drops. I'm truly sorry.

I wish you the best and my fingers are crossed, Dale

Maria · #4 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 01:31 AM

Cheryl,
When my neck started to bother me back about 7 years ago I had several episodes that started out just like my low back. Splicing pain across my neck and then I couldn't move it hardly in any direction. The first few times I also had some problem with numbness in arm, problem using keyboard/fingers and so forth.

So about the 5th time my neck was giving me probs I heard after xrays and MRI that I had "bad genes" and DDD throughout my cervical spine like my lumbar and the cervical spine was going to go the way my lumbar spine had.

I heard it from my OSS last year.. and then last fall I had this really awful episode with my neck where I couldn't even roll my eyeballs downwards without severe neck pain let alone move my head from side to side or in any direction.

It took about almost 3 months for my cervical symptoms to really subside nearly totally. I will admit that I had posted here and at another forum and because the people with cervical problems urged me to go to the ER or Urgent Care I did end up in Urgent Care upon the 3rd week of pain and got a shot of Toradol which helped greatly, then I was seen by an OSS for further eval. Now I believe what I was told re the DDD and my cervical spine having similar probs as my lumbar spine even if not quite as progressive yet. I'm just hoping that I will get to deal with my lumbar problem first before having to deal with the cervical one since I've been a "lumbie" now since 1982.

I'm sorry to hear your cervical spine is giving you problems and hope the symptoms will let up at least so you can hold your head up to cook and also to function as painlessly as possible.

Hang in there and get the best diagnostics/opinions you're able which it sounds like you're doing. Glad to hear your lumbar ADR is doing OK meantime.

Jim M2 · #5 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 06:40 AM

Cheryl,
Many of us seem to go down same path. Lumbies become cervies, and cervies become lumbies.

I had neck pain flare ups when I entered the land of lumbar collapse 6 years ago. I think the neck problems were from a chiropractor and some weird positional things I tried to relieve pressure on the lower back. Now I have classic chronic cervical pain that I attribute to DDD and radiating pain all the way to the finger tips. The chronic DDD component never stops. The radiating component comes and goes.

One more thing. After three years of fidgiting and doing variations of handstands to relieve weight from the lumbar, I developed wrist and elbow pain. I don't think it's related to cervical nerve compression, it feels orthopedic. They x-rayed the wrists last month and said everything looked fine. They sure don't feel fine.

Cheryl · #6 (**permalink**) 05-09-2008, 12:28 PM

Thanks everyone. I agree it is like a bad dream.

Jim my symptoms sound just like yours.

fuzzy · #7 (**permalink**) 05-10-2008, 04:05 AM

Thats exactly how I felt when I went to Germany last year to have my lumbar thoroughly checked out and suddenly the neurologist concluded that my NECK was the source of the problems in my feet and I should have that worked on FIRST even though my back hurts really bad and I can hardly walk.

The mechanics (the spinal surgeons) all agree that my original complaint which is rather obvious on all the imaging should be addressed first as the change of sucess is higher and it is obvious where the pain comes from but agree with the neuro that there is a chance I would still have the problems in my feet.

I can walk much better now but I still have lots of problems in my feet, they seems to still come from my lumbar (bending! maybe too much motion in that Activ-L???). But at the same time when I sit on easy chair with my neck bent forward (like right now, typing) it makes the problems in my feet worse, tingle tingle. 2 problems?

I to think I have bad back genes.