2 1/2 weeks post op pain?? - Spinal Cord Disorders Message Board

wastefulltick · 05-25-2004, 10:04 PM

hi
i had acdf w/donor bone and plating on c5 6 and c 67 and still in alot of pain is this normal at this point im having shooting pain in neck across back and into rt arm with a constant aching pain in my rt arm before surgury my pain was in lt arm and now thats gone replaced by a burning pain in lt hand also getting jolts of pain that shoot into my back from neck i am still having difficulty swallowing and incision site is numb i am now in soft colar dr says this is all normal and it will take time to go away i also asked him if i could go back to work but he said fusion has not occured yet and he does not recommend it so i asked him if i could go into work for couple hrs a day to help close the end of the month and he said it was up to me but he doesnt recommend it but if i do no more than a couple hrs and to stop if i have any increase in pain what do you all think am i being impatient trying to go back to work and am i going to cause a delay in healing im feeling like a prisoner at home and guilty for not helping to close the end of the month i am concerned that im placing to much of a burden on my coworkers and i am going crazy at home i was going to go in monday and my wife didnt wake me up to go with her so she could drop me off she works across the street she thinks im crazy to go into work at this time because of the pain im in so i talk to her tonite and she promises to wake me so i can go in for 2 hrs im going nuts at home and i want to get out into the real world and see how i feel please let me know what your thoughts are ineed some feedback thanks
bob

CTmom · 05-26-2004, 10:56 AM

Hi!

Your postop pain sounds completely normal to me. I had ACDF C5-C6 back in February and had all the same symptoms - including the pain in the opposite arm from the one that was a problem before surgery. I was convinced something was really wrong, but with time (it's been almost four months now) 90 percent of my pain is gone. It was a long and at times discouragingly slow recovery, but things did improve.

In terms of going back to work - first, be really grateful you seem to have an understanding doctor who has a realistic picture of the recovery process. My surgeon wouldn't give me any pain meds (other than Tylenol) after surgery and said I would be completely back to normal in two weeks including being back to work! Actually, I work a desk job at home and was working about 4 hours a day at three weeks, but I took it real slow and took lots of breaks. Everyone is so different in what they can handle. My advice would be to really listen to your body. It will tell you when you are overdoing it. The need to take it slow can be frustrating, but I believe your body does need a lot of time to heal. The fact that you are even thinking about getting back to work at this point is a great sign. Hope you continue to feel better!

CTMom

pattymelt · 05-26-2004, 01:55 PM

I am now 8 weeks postop ACDF and PCDF, bone graft and plating of C2-3, 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6 and there is no way I could have gone back to work doing anything, although I am retired now, for at least a month after surgery. I am still having a lot of discomfort in my shoulders and although the front incision has healed nicely, the back incision is healed but still very tender around the incision for about three inches and it is still numb. I am still in a hard collar (Miami J) and although I don't like wearing it, I'm sure it will be at least another month before I can start to wean off the collar. I am still on one or two Percocet and a Flexeril a day. This is a long hard recuperation as this was major surgery and it takes a long time for the grafts to heal. Everyone I have talked to who has had this surgery says what a hard recuperation it is and how you have to practice patience to deal with it. I do feel better every day and am able to do more around the house now and am cooking all our meals and doing light cleaning, but I also rest a lot. Please try not to feel guilty about not going back to work soon as all it will do is cause a relapse or a longer time to heal - your body is doing all it can at this time to recover from the assault it sustained in surgery.

jbabbit · 05-28-2004, 02:31 PM

I am going to have ACDF of C5C6 on June 7. The NS told me not to be alarmed that the 2nd and 3rd week was the worse with pain...