My husband, age 51, has suffered for years with many symptoms, such as dizzyness, pain, weakness, and has now progressed to not being able to walk very far, memory problems, fuzzy brain, etc. He was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia and is on disability. In our search on the web we came up with Dr. Dan Heffez's name. He used to be in Chicago, but is now in Milwaukee. He has found a correlaton between fibro symptoms and cervical spine problems. He has found a narrow spinal column with some bulgy discs and bone spurs and is recommending ACDF at three levels. We were hoping to find some less invasive ideas and went to Cleveland Clinic on Monday. The neurologist here in Michigan and the NS in Cleveland don't see the problems in the neck being bad enough to be causing problems and do not recommend the surgery. They want to do a CT of the brain and see if there is any hydrocephalus present. That could explain some of the symptoms, but not all. I'd like to know if there is anyone out there who has had this surgery for less severe problems and if they feel it was worth it.
If it were me, personally, I would not have any neck surgery till I exhausted every possible avenue, first. If 2 neurosurgeons told me they didnt think I needed the surgery, I would definitely not have it unless a majority of other Drs. told me I should. Its not a miracle cure. Most people on here that were sure they needed the neck fusion surgery, will tell you its no cure. I am improved, but I still grapple everyday with neck pain (less than it was) and upper body muscle spasm. I am the same age as your husband. It took me 5 years of trying every possible thing, before I gave in and had the surgery. Do all the testing first and then revisit the surgery option when you have alot of more info. IMO.
I underwent ACDF surgery one week ago but have been dealing with herniated discs and cervical spinal stenosis since the late 80's. It wasn't until every other avenue was tried (and failed) that I even considered the surgery.
My herniated discs and compromised spinal cord were severely affecting my quality of life and I was told by three neurologists as well as my neurosurgeon that without surgery I would just get worse and that I was in danger of paralysis.
My symptoms included pain in my neck and shoulder and numbness and burninig sensations in my leg, arm, hand and fingers. I had a great difficulty with my balance and my leg would give out on me, causing me to fall on many occasions. I've broken my hand twice from such falls.
I can tell you that this surgery isn't a snap. The operation took over two hours, which meant I was exposed to the risks of general anesthesia all that time, and it took them almost two more hours more to wake me up.
The biggest issue with recovery for me so far has to do with swallowing. I don't have a sore throat but because the neck muscles were moved in order to get to the discs, they hurt each time I swallow. Finding a comfortable position to sleep in hasn't been easy for me either.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this surgery if your husband's doctors say he needs it, but I would never recommend any surgery as his first option.
Just my opinion, but I hope it helps.
Marge
I ditto the above comments. I was told I needed surgery due to my disc flattening my spinal cord. I tried MANY therapies in hopes of relief that didn't involve surgery...accupuncture, myofascial therapy, osteopathic therapy...I was wiiling to try anything. I was experiencing and still am experiencing a host of neurological problems. My balance is still not right, I have numbness and tingling and twitching issues pretty much body wide. I am 3 months post-op ACDF. I had 2 neurosurgeons tell me I needed the surgery. I had been feeling so terrible I went for it in hopes some of my symptoms would be alleviated. So far, not much change. But...I TOTALLY understand you guys wanting to try it in hopes of help and improvement. Maybe, in time, things will get better for me - I don't know. So far, it's day by day. I would only do surgery if I had several docs recommending it - just my 2 cents. Let us know how things go for you guys. Sorry to hear about his health problems. I won't bore you with my laundry list, but I so empathize and understand where you're at; keep searching - that's what I'm going to do if things don't start looking up. Mona
2 surgeries later, my advice is that surgery shouldn't be the first answer for the issues you describe until some very thorough research and a solid attempt at conservative treatment. Find a really good pain management program. At best, most people that have lots of symptoms before surgery, do improve in some but maybe not all symptoms. It also sounds pretty iffy on pinpointing the exact cause of each of hubby's problems. Make a list of the problems and which ones are the most important to fix and if they can give high assurance those will resolve then you can decide.
Cervical surgeries seem to be good at helping radicular pain and cord compression (myleopathy (sp)). Even after surgery lots of us here still have lots of pain, trigger points, spasm, neck and shoulder pain remaining after surgery. I have a few new things that didn't exist before, now either these were brewing or they have come about because of fusion. Trade one pain for another. Surgery is not always the answer. From my personal physical experience, I agree there is some link between cervical and FM. I don't have FM, but I do have lots of issues that would lead one to think I did, and it is all coming from my neck.
I am trying to learn as much as I can about trigger points, myofascial pain, and links to cervical issues. I am just beginning my own search and although we cannot share links and stuff here, we can reference an author or summarize anything we can share.
When new people come on, I don't want to scare them, but for more complex cases, there is a high probability that surgery is not the holy grail. In simple cases - we hear about much more success.
Find a really good doctor that is a sleuth detective that likes to investigate and stick with stuff. A neruologist is good, you might also find an expert in Physcial Medicine and Rehab physician. If you go to a surgeon you might find a lot of enthusiasm up front, but if your husband doesn't improve after surgery , the interest may fall off and then you are still back to square one. I say that because there are many people on this board experiencing that and the surgeons focus on "the fusion is a success" instead of what symptoms are you still having?
Sorry this is long, the questions you pose are complicated. I hope you find a good doctor for your husband.
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ACDF for fibromyalgia symptoms 
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