neck surgery question

C6/C7 for me

My pre-op issues were:

- felt like a torn pec
- golf ball under left shoulder blade
- tendinitis in left wrist
- felt like a broken forearm at times

Strange how these things just "felt" that way. It was all caused by that disc

Woke up in the hospital and wanted to eat. Had all sorts of ice cream that night. Had them take the compression off the legs so I could start walking and get home the next day. Oh, the next morning was sore.

Had the brace, but doc said I didn't need to wear it. Had a relative come over to help out for two weeks. That helped me get out of the house a little.

Four days after surgery I was at the gym, but only on a treadmill to get some walking in. The most difficult thing was the trip there and back in the car. Neck wasn't very stable.

Thought I could go back to work in three weeks (desk job). That ended up being six weeks.

Be careful. You don't want to mess up the fusion going on.
 
I had torn meniscus surgery recently, and just before I went into the operating room, they asked me to tilt my head back. I asked why, and they said some disc fusion patients have issues because the head cant tilt back far enough for the breathing tube.

Personally, I think some people are just too inactive post-op, and that messes up their mobility
 
Just be careful and go slow and you will get back to 100%. You can lift heavy after a disk fusion.
 
1badmofo said:
First x-ray today 9/1. On the left is from the front you can see the titanium plate and screws angle into each other. On the right is the side view, you can see the block of bone that needs to fuse. I can do light cardio and some really light stuff now. Next x-ray is in Nov, if the bones are fused I will be all clear for full contact training, no limitations. Can't wait. Glad to be pain free. Weight is 201. Plan on doing one fight at 185 early 2011 before I move back up to 225. We shall see.
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Damn freaky looking. They went in from the front...I don't like that shit!

Glad you are not in pain. Has the Deca kicked in yet?
 
1badmofo said:
no mobility issues because most of your head movement is higher up the spine. I just try not to do sudden or jerky movements.
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My GF had 3 disks eplaced with spacers and a plate on Wedsnesday. She is not taking any meds except at night to sleep. There is an retired cop at my gym that had 4 done. He swears by cardio, and said the Dr told him he was the only one who ever healed totally by 9weeks.
 
1badmofo said:
So, are you back to 100% with the neck now, is there any limitations or things you can't do? I just want to be able to lift hard and roll jujitsu
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Well.... within the past two weeks there is something strange going on. I think it was just a neck muscle that I strained while lifting. Seems to be going away.

In June I went in for torn meniscus surgery, and when I mentioned the neck plate, they were worried my neck wouldn't allow my head to tilt back far enough for the tube. No issues... I can tilt it back.

Some people say there is a 10% loss of motion. I really don't think it is limited.

Ohhhh.... you asked about limitations... well, I don't think standing on my head is in the cards for me anymore!

jujitsu = be very careful. I would hold off on that just to make sure the bones are fused. Probably at least six months

Post op xray's are strange to see. Well, for me they were. The plate, the screws, and the two discs starting to become one. Very strange looking to think that is in my neck
 
1badmofo said:
Reps to you bro, thanks for the input. I'm afraid to do much, because I'm not in pain I might over do something. Right now, I don't move my head to much and if I'm upright for too many hours in a row, the back of my neck feels fatigued. I have a tread mill at home or I might just start walking my neighborhood. Just want to see how the first post op visit and xray goes 9/1. I could probably go back to work now, the hardest part would be turning my head to drive.
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Be careful driving

Having someone drive me around for two weeks was frustrating. They were being so cautious, they would be tapping the brakes all the time..DAMN...CAN YOU PLEASE JUST DRIVE NORMAL!!!! If someone drives normal, you can tense up the head/neck and prepare for the brakes to be tapped. If they just keep tapping them, it gets sooooo frustrating.

One more thing. A few days after surgery I took some sliced ham, placed some shredded cheese on it, and microwaved. Started to eat it, and it got stuck in the throat (which was swelled up form surgery and the tube). I was in the kitchen, and was choking. She was in the other room on the phone. I was panicking. I finally got it loose with some hot water. That wasn't fun!
 
Sorry if this is a repeat question, or if you already posted.

Did the go in from the front?

I have a thin scar at the bottom of my neck where it meets the chest.
 
1badmofo said:
Yep, the front. I'm not worried about a scar, mine usually fade away well. Yeah, I drive just the bare minimum. I had such a stiff neck for many years, so if there was a 10%(probably is), I can't tell. Yes, I will not be getting caught in a guillotine anytime soon. But there are guys in the NFL that have the same procedure, so he said with a good fusion, that I shouldn't worry about hurting it. Then again, that's coming from the guy, who probably makes $5k+ every time he gets to fix me.
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Personally, I feel like my neck is stronger.

There is a click once in awhile when I look from right to left, but I can handle that.
 
My experience has been to get and keep the neck and surrounding muscles strong. No neck problems post surgery since i did that.
 
1badmofo said:
198lbs today lol, first time under 200 in a very long time
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sorry i missed this thread. i had this surgery years ago and i have zero trouble from it.dont remember which disc but they cut 1 out replaced it with a cadaver bone and added a steel plate.
 
Im glad everything is going well, dont worry about your weight loss, you can get it back. What type of meds do your drs have you on now?
 
1badmofo said:
good, that's what I want to hear, same procedure as mine
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i dont remember which c-? it was and mine was because there was bone spurs growing inside the spinal column that was rubbing on the cord which caused pain and numbness [ mostly numbness ] . they cut out a disk and cleaned out the bone spurs and replaced the disc with a cadaver bone and a steel plate. ive never smoked so i guess they used the bone because im older.
 
1badmofo said:
Today was Day 2 in the gym. I did some very light weights/high reps on machines, and then elliptical. I wouldn't really consider it a workout, more like a warm up or physical therapy. Just hoping to avoid further atrophy, while I lean out and improve my cardio. I went during the late morning when it's just a bunch of soccer moms and shit, so I don't have to embarrass myself and look like a complete pussy doing shrugs with 25lbs dumbbells. I'm right handed, and it was my right arm that had the pinched nerve so it is still noticeably smaller and weaker. My next xray is in Nov, so until then it's just cardio and light shit, until I know it's fused up then I can start to increase my load.
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Awesome Mofo! One day at a time brutha!
 
1badmofo said:
I guess this ended up turning into more of a log than I expected. Maybe it will help the next guy know what to expect. Scar is healing up pretty well. It's on the left(my right) between collar bone and adams apple. I'm taking pics just to compare when I get back to where I was. Oh, boy am I skinny now. Leveled off at 196lbs, 10% bf is my guess. All 25+ pounds I've lost has come from my upper body, because I don't train legs really anymore. My legs still look decent.
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Well your not tiny brutha, the neck looks great!
 
1badmofo said:
Big improvements in healing from week6-8. Deca is really kicking ass. I'm able to get decent workouts in, pumps are good, vascularity is ridiculous at this lower body fat.
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glad your improving.
maybe now that your getting more vascular you can update the pic in your avatar.:jump:
 
Get-Well-Soon-Balloon-Bouquet1.jpg
 
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