7 months post 2 level ACDF with hardware, terrible shoulder pain!?
Hey folks, Sorry for not posting in so long. Things have been a little crazy around my house for a good while now. I am having some kind of problem with my shoulder and arm and I'm not sure if it's something to be concerned with. I had my 6 month post op xrays in Dec. Doc called and said he wanted to repeat them in another 6 months because I didn't fuse completely. Not sure what that means....but anyway, I wasn't having any trouble then so I wasn't concerned. About 2 weeks ago, I started having some neck pain and some loss of ROM...called NS, he called in muscle relaxers and said to call him if it didn't improve....then had lots of dental work...infections...and so on.. Afew days ago, my left shoulder and arm felt kinda like I had slept on it wrong...sorta sore and stiff ....figured it would get better with time......now...I can't hardly lift my arm w/o horrific pain in my shoulder tip....and the neck pain is still there..not as severe as the shoulder pain tho....could this shoulder pain be from my neck? And should I be concerned with the "incomplete fusion"? How should I handle this pain? I don't really want to go to the ER, but might it be neccessary?
Thanks for all your help in the past....without this board, I don't know how I would have gotten through the surgery, collars...pain...etc...
Robin
Re: 7 months post 2 level ACDF with hardware, terrible shoulder pain!?
I was told at my 6 mo post-op that my fusion was "on track" and that I had to return at one year post-op to see if the fusion is complete - so that sounds relatively normal.
I suppose the pain you are feeling could be shoulder related but could also be cervical related. I do have some remnants of pain in my neck to upper shoulder, based on where it is my doctor said he thinks it's a natural part of the recovery as the nerves take up to a year to calm down and be less active in terms of pain impulses.
The only way I can sleep now is on my side so I do get shoulder pain each morning but that's more along the lines of stiffness from sleeping on the shoulder.
Re: 7 months post 2 level ACDF with hardware, terrible shoulder pain!?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kross426
I was told at my 6 mo post-op that my fusion was "on track" and that I had to return at one year post-op to see if the fusion is complete - so that sounds relatively normal.
I suppose the pain you are feeling could be shoulder related but could also be cervical related. I do have some remnants of pain in my neck to upper shoulder, based on where it is my doctor said he thinks it's a natural part of the recovery as the nerves take up to a year to calm down and be less active in terms of pain impulses.
The only way I can sleep now is on my side so I do get shoulder pain each morning but that's more along the lines of stiffness from sleeping on the shoulder.
Hi Kross and thanks for the reply. I think that this could be a shoulder problem, except for the nagging neck pain I had before this severe pain in my shoulder started. I seriously hope that this will pass soon.... The thoughts of having to go through anything else just freaks me out. Prior to this, I was doing great... no pain, no more muscle spasms.... just a few minor muscle twitches that are kinda irritating...but now......jeezzzz, this is really distressing pain.
I suppose it's better to err on the side of safety and let my NS know whats going on.... maybe another set of xrays including the shoulder would ease my mind. I will let ya know what happens or if it just clears up on it's own.....
Thanks, Robin
