feelbad

Like everyone else here has told you,you just had a major surgery and should really be doing almost nothing right now and just concentrate on healing,the more you are moving around,the more likely your fusionwont actually take,or will take much longer to actually attach itself to the bone plug.

Just exactly where or what areas of your spine were fused and just where is that spinal cord compression and was that relived with the surgery?i am kind of assuming here that because your head and face was involved,it is somewhere near the c 7 t 1 areas?You do have a c 8 nerve despite the fact that you do not actually have a c 8 vertebrae?but their are a couple of the cranial nerves that do go down from the head and then junction at that c 8 nerve level and go back up into the head again.thismay possibly explain the head and face involvement.I have this too and my spinal cord injury is right under that c 8 nerve levl and my fusion was at the c 6 7.

are you having any sort of actual symptoms below the upper torso area?you really need to find out whther or not the actual cord is still somewhat compressed yet.This alone could still be causing you ongoing symptoms,even if it is no longer being compressed.it takes a very long time for the cord to kind of "right" itself after being compressed and then there is also the possibility,depending on just how severely and how long it was being compressed,that some damage may be present and sort of a permanent type of thing.

I am dealing with some rather extensive spinal cord damage due to a surgery that had to be done on the inside of the actualcord.this surgery damaged three spinal tracts three spinal nerves an also my sympathetic nervous system.I am having one heck of a time in trying to manage the tons of secondary spinal cord injuries and the syndromes that came along with it.Mine will never get better.

In order to assure the best possible outcome now you really DO need to just get used to the idea that you are healing and cannot just go about your normal daily business for a few weeks.despite how good you may feel some days,do not give into it and think that you can actually do certain things or trust me,it will come back to bite you in the butt like it did me.

my fusion never took so I had to undergo a second surgery to place a plate and screws in there.it finally took after about a year and a half.I know for sure that this finally took as when my new NS went into the vertebraes in the back of my neck to do the cavernoma reection,he said he actually visualized the fusion while he was back there.I guess you can't get any better than actually seeing it with your own eyes vs looking at afilm of it.

If I were you,I would take it as easy aspossible right now and for the next few weeks.I would also keep track of all of your ongoing symptoms during the next six weeks or so and definitely report anything "new' to your NS.You just have to be very very careful to not keep "disturbing' that fusing area.did you have any hardware placed or are you also wearing a good solid collar?the collar,tho sometimes a huge pain in the butt,really does help to keep the bone ends much better aligned and really does speed the healing and fusing process.it also helps alot from keeping you from moving your neck into a bad position.or any sudden movement will not affect your neck quite as badly.

Just take it easy for now til things get better healed.I hope all goes well for ya.keep track of your changing symptoms tho,this really IS rather important.I used one of those weekly planner type things?it worked really well.I just kept bringing it to all of my appts with my NS so he could evaluate all of my ongoing symptoms.

please keep us posted on how things are going.good luck,Marcia

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3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.