> and it did not help my problem, which is a cervical disc herniation at C3-4.
> Any suggestions to alleviate this problem would be appreciated!
When I was about 12, I fell backwards out of a tree and landed on my
neck in such a way that my hips were thrust into my face.
Some 20 years ago (many years after the fall), I awakened on day one of
the Humboldt Brass Chamber Music Workshop with excruciating pain
radiating down my *right* arm (no heart problems here.) Upon my return
home from a week of HELL, I was diagnosed with bulging discs at
C3/4/5/6/7. I was advised that I could have immediate surgery or live
with it until I couldn't take it any longer. That carried me to the year
2000 when I had a laminectomy at C4/5 and C5/6 - the doc would only do
two at a time.
For the 10 year interval between diagnosis and surgery, I suffered with
gradually increasing pain and varying levels of incapacitation that
culminated in ingestion of vast quantities of hydrocodone. Towards the
end, every 6 weeks or so, I'd wake up in the morning and know that I was
in trouble. A supervisor once chided me because of my "body language"
while sitting in the "cervical glide" position during a meeting. I told
him that when he had any idea what sort of pain I was in, he could
lecture me on my body language. If I hadn't been so doped up, I'd have
decked him. But I digress.
The surgery has made all the difference in the world. I am pain free now
and have been since the surgery, though I have residual paresthesias in
my right index finger, probably due to the nerve compression for so many
years. I've got a 4" or so titanium plate and 6 screws holding things
together. Haven't yet been through a TSA checkpoint to see what sort of
grief that I give them, but the xrays of the "parts" are sure fun to
show around.
As a physician you know all about the risks of surgery, and I'm probably
not telling you anything when I say to live with it until you can't live
with it any longer, and then go take care of it. The one piece of advice
that was given to me was to have it done by a neuro-surgeon and not an
orthopod so I'll pass that on as well.
Hope this helps you in some way.
Sean
_______________________________________________
post: [email protected]
unsubscribe or set options at
https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
