Originally Posted by jennybyc

I'm late to the party but would like to join in. I have cervical spondylosis...and all that is, is a fancy word for osteoarthritis of the spine. And osteoarthritis is degenerative no matter where it is and is NEVER a reason not fix it.

I suspect the reason you are not a candidate for surgery is that you aren't bad enough yet. Surgery carries risk, including a 3% risk of paralysis so they wait. Pain means the nerves are alive and kicking and so is a very good sign to a spine surgeon. Numbness, pins and needles, and things like muscles that don't work right are the signs that you need surgery. No spine surgeon cares about the pain you are in. You aren't surgical in 99% of the cases.

I did have surgery but what my MRI showed was severe foraminal stenosis bi-laterally from C4 to C7 and cord compression to under 50% of normal thickness from C3 to C6. I had no neck pain...I was going numb from the neck down. What your MRI shows is that you are worsening but are far from needing surgery.

With recent changes in laws regarding pain meds, most docs now refer you to a pain management doc or clinic as they have the legal ability to dispense narcotics unlike what most docs can do. They know what works best for what and what drugs you need when. They can give you long acting drugs as well as breakthrough drugs when the long acting stuff doesn't last long enough or you're having a bad day. They just released a study that showed that epidural cortisone shots for bad spines do not work....interesting to say the least. But if you are looking for complete pain relief, you won't get it.All they aim for is to make you comfortable.

Since I've now had 3 spine surgeries, I get Dilaudid....seen as the best for bone pain...and my doc just orders a mess of 2mg pills and allows me to take what I need....2,4 or 6 mgs depending on what I need. Since almost all narcotics can(and do with me) cause nausea and vomiting, I've tried just about all the anti-nausea drugs out there and now use only Zofran...it's the drug they give to cancer patients prior to chemo. I take a Zofran 1 hour prior to taking the Dilaudid and it works really well. This past surgery 4 weeks ago was a breeze.

Pillows.....I have found immense relief using a side sleeper pillow. It is shaped like a big U so that it comes down both sides of your body and keeps you from rolling onto your back or stomach and it's made so that the neck stays straight with the head. Found mine in the supermarket....$19.99. Developed by an orthopedic surgeon and has been wonderful. Check out big box stores. Has diminished my chronic pain a lot.

Therma Care neck wraps help. The muscles can end up hurting more than the spine itself and those help to increase the blood flow to the muscles and reduce pain.

But the best pain relief I have found is from taking a good muscle relaxer prior to going to bed at night. I like Skelaxin or Soma...older drugs but good ones. Then I crawl into my bed and use my side sleeper and chances are, I will wake up pretty good. After showering, I put on a Therma Care wrap and I'm good to go. Most days, I take ibuprofen...up to 600mgs 3-4 times a day whether I hurt or not just to keep the inflammation down. And if it gets worse, I don't hesitate to use a soft neck brace or take an extra muscle relaxer. I save the narcotics for really bad days. And at least 4 days a week, I go to a special facility that does aquatic physical therapy and work out my arms in the water(and back and legs)...but for my neck, it's the shoulders. You only use styrofoam "weights" but boy, pushing them through the water is great resistance. It seems to help the muscles relax better. The bad neck makes the muscles over work so working them a different way tires them out and allows them to fully relax at night.

It used to be thought that cervical spondylosis rarely hit prior to age 55 and accounted for only 3% of the cases of spinal problems but in recent years, it has become far more prevalent and starting at a much earlier age. It is fixable and the latest surgery for it(the laminoplasty) has made treatment much easier but you still need to be in a position to need the surgery. If you would like some links to info on that surgery, I'll be glad to provide them. Web and I have both had it.

Fixing the neck is like getting a knee or hip replaced. You just have to wait until your arthritis is far enough advanced to justify the surgery.....no matter how badly it hurts. Stage 1 hurts and stage 2 Oa is very painful. Stage 3 OA will bring tears to your eyes just taking a few steps and some insurance companies will say yes at that point to replacement. You knew you needed the new joint at stage 2 but they made you wait until advanced Stage 3 or even stage 4. Why? Risk management. They run all the stats on death due to surgery, how often people sue, the odds of permanent damage, the chances and types of side effects and complications...they run it all and figure out when the right time is to do surgery. And they do the same for the neck. And somewhere, some chart says you aren't ready to have surgery.

Sad but that is how our health system is run...not by the docs but by the statisticians.

Just had to throw in my thoughts.

Jenny