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counting down the days


pete c

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dec 13 got to go have c5&c6 discs fused in my neck [unsure] they took my hight at the pre op physical Ive always been 6'1" now i have shrunk to 5'11" they say it because of the discs in my neck.

 

has anyone had this done? and how have you been after the procedure ? im a little scared about this

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I have a friend who had two vertabrae fused. Not sure if it was the same ones, but he'd been in some real pain prior to it and commented afterwards that he wished he'd had the surgery earlier, it felt so much better.

 

 

 

Good luck man! I hope everything turns out well for you :)

 

 

[thumbup]

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I met one fellow a couple of months ago who had that procedure as a result of an accident. Actually two. He broke his neck twice in different incidents. Aside from some movement restrictions, he feels no pain anymore at all.

All the best Bonfire.

 

Dave

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thanks for all the good wishes, its very painful, hardly any range of movement and theres no way i could play with a strap,even sitting gets painful after 15min or so. in last year Ive probably had my poor sg out three times. i really hope this makes a big difference. [-o<

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Bonfire best of luck to you. I see people with fused necks 3-4 times daily in my job. It is a successful surgery and most people say their pain was completely relieved after having it done. Any surgery is painful afterwards but most with the kind of problems you described say they would do it again. Should make a very big difference. Again, best wishes.

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I had it done 5 years ago, I had c6 and c7 fused with a cadaver bone and a metal plate and 4 screws... much like a Fender...you should get taller though, they remove your disc and replace it with bone, you need the space between vertebrae.

 

That explains my moniker StiffHand, in my case I had a lot of nerve damage since I had been undiagnosed for years, I still have problems after the surgery but they are intermitent, they come and go. Somedays I cannot play guitar very well, but it was that way before the surgery.

 

This type of surgeries are very common now, you will feel better afterwards but the trick is what you do afterwards. Take your recovery time VERY seriously, follow the Doctor instructions. Buy a memory foam pillow that does not change shapes like a common pillow.

 

The biggest challenge is that when you have a condition like this your muscles and your movements have adjusted to that, after healing you need to stretch properly so your muscles get the message that things have changed.

 

To me the surgery was worth it. Best of luck.

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  • 2 weeks later...

made it through surgery with no problems [thumbup] i would like to thank everyone again for the good thoughts and prayers. been home about 3hrs, pretty much feels like i got punched in the neck. ive got a feeling the pain will be worse tomorrow, after some of the drugs wear off

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Sorry I missed the original...

 

Aye, you'll likely feel beat up tomorrow, but the guys who have been there certainly gave good advice.

 

Chin up and I've a hunch you'll be doing very well very soon - We're there with you even if you've never seen our faces up close and personal. Heck, some of us may have enough bad breath you don't even wanna be all that close.

 

m

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Bonfire...

 

They know. A forum like this is odd in that there may even at times a bit of acrimony but... stuff like this, those who care about the forum and the people on it are with you all the way.

 

All anyone wants is for you to do what's best so you can best get back to the closest to painless pickin' possible.

 

m

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dec 13 got to go have c5&c6 discs fused in my neck [unsure] they took my hight at the pre op physical Ive always been 6'1" now i have shrunk to 5'11" they say it because of the discs in my neck.

 

has anyone had this done? and how have you been after the procedure ? im a little scared about this

 

Bon......on 8/11/08 I had C-4/5/6 fused together due to a rodeo mishap 30some years previous.

Upon waking in recovery I noticed an IMMEDIATE relief from the near suicidal pain i'd been having, and although I was sore the 1st few days after, it was the BEST thing I ever did !!

Once the initial soreness/stiffness subsided (about 3 weeks) there was no pain whatsoever....and since that time I actually forget I had it done, unless I notice the scar in the mirror, or hear someone else talking about it.

 

The only drawback whatsoever was that the surgeon "jacked" my head a bit too far away from my body (to insert the bone implants) and tore a muscle in the back of my neck......I still have occasional discomfort from this, but it's manageable.

 

I hope you opted to use "donor" (cadaver) bone for the implants, because i've heard that the bone removal from your hip takes longer to heal than the actual neck surgery.

 

Would I do it again?? ABSOLUTELY !!!

 

Heres my "new" neckbones......

GarysCam050.jpg

GarysCam052.jpg

 

Best of Luck to you........FOLLOW YOUR DRs ORDERS......& you'll be fine !

Let us know how you're doing, and if you want more details, feel free to PM me anytime.

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day two so far has been the worst as pain goes. i felt great yesterday so i think i might have moved around too much. today couch potato. my wonderful sister showed up yesterday with a blu-ray player with internet tv like hulu,netflix. she even hooked it up for me [biggrin] going to take couple perks, and going to play with the new toy...

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glad you're doing well.........the pain will subside gradually.

I don't know how long your neck was damaged, but you may be left with an odd "perk" that I have from mine.....

mine went uncared for long enough to do some nerve damage, leaving me with a permanently numb index and middle fingertip in my neck hand, I have full use of both fingers, just no feeling, so I can do 1-20-1 slides on any string with no pain. [biggrin]

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