Cervical spine misery

[Dd852]

Just wondering if any wise heads had advice. DW has had three months of misery (dizziness, muscle tightness, swallowing issues) before finally being diagnosed with c3/4 degeneration that pressed on some nerves. She had steroid shots a week ago and has progressed from agony to discomfort. But not anything like normal. Just wondering if anyone has had experience - how long in physical therapy before you got some relief, any particular sleep or exercise regimes that you recommend? Anything that makes things better? I know every case is different but we are still seemingly grasping for answers and help.

[Bamaman]

Steroid shots must be done via flouroscope. And some doctors are better than others at giving them. We prefer neurosurgeons or pain management doctors over orthopedic surgeons for shots.

If someone is miserable, push for a MRI and/or CT scan for proper diagnosis. It's the only way to really know the proper plan of action.

We have been fighting bad back problems for 20 years for my wife and the one time big surgery is in the near future.

[pacergal]

Another one with C spine arthritis, so sorry your DW is going through this.

I had a flare up 10-2021, much improved, but not completely gone yet. I had an updated Xray to make sure no changes. I did a round of in office PT for a month.
I take OTC naproxen twice daily, do home PT exercises daily, ice/heat neck daily.
Slow improvement, but much much better now.
Luckily did not need injection at this time.
I had to try multiple pillows to find one that seems to help. This one seems to do the trick, as I can adjust the fill as needed:

Saybrook Lion Down Alternative fill.
It has memory foam, microfiber, and gel beads and comes with a case to hold any fill you take out to adjust.

Best wishes to your DW as she heals. It's a life long issue, so finding comfort measures that work is important.

[MRG]

I'm sorry for your DWs issues.

I have degenerative disk disorder, diagnosed in 2000. I've had 5 "events" that resulted in severe pain and numbness down either arm. Three were caused by trauma the other were spontaneous.

For me injections, PT, are the answers I want, surgery in my case isn't a good option at this time. Recovery for me was 3-4 months of PT therapy after the injections, normally 1-2, did their some of their magic. Like Bamaman said you need a good provider with the proper tools. I've had old school injections and nobody should submit themselves to that kind of horror.

ETA: I did get some short term relief form home cervical traction, check with your provider to make sure she's cleared for that. Some doctors don't really think it helps, for me it reduced my misery a great deal.

[Dash man]

I was diagnosed with cervical disc degeneration disease C3-C7 back in 2006. Find a good pain management doctor that will listen and spend time with her. I’ve been going to the same doctor since mid 2007 after trying a couple before.
PT will help with the worst of the agonizing pain. At first I couldn’t lift a pound without excruciating pain. The PT I worked with was great and didn’t push so hard like some do.
Get a TENS machine on Amazon.
The pain management doctor will go through some steps they have to follow for their protocol. Cervical epidurals will give relief of severe pain, but only for a few weeks at best. Usually two weeks for me.
Facet joint injections are pretty good and are given under a fluoroscope. At first I did them outpatient under anesthesia at a surgery center. Later he was able to do them in his office.
Now I get nerve ablations that will relieve pain for 6-12 months. They’re the best thing.
If she consider surgery, think long and hard about it and talk to at least two neurosurgeons and an orthopedic surgeon. The treatments I get are pretty good, and I’ve been told by surgeons that there’s nothing they can do for me with my situation.
I wish her the best in her journey. You learn to adjust, but most things in her life won’t change if she keeps up with PT and her treatments. Arthritis becomes a bigger challenge as I age.

[Bamaman]

I am walking the floor with my wife with excruciating leg pain @ 2:00am. She only gets about 2 hrs. sleep nightly. We cannot figure out why the pain comes at night.

Doctors have backed her meds to every 6 hrs. but the meds only last 3 1/2 hrs. The neuro stimulator helps very little, and they should have done surgery instead of spending $65k on it. The MRI and CT scan done later shows surgery is her only option 4 discs and a fusion.

But we wonder if the neurosurgeon will keep her comfortable thru the post surgical months medicinally? The surgery is so demanding it is done on a Tuesday and Thursday--10-13 hrs.total. Recovery is 6-12 months supposedly.

And we have to figure out what to do with a 10 year old granddaughter we are raising permanently. She will probably have to go to her aunt 200 mi. away.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman I am walking the floor with my wife with excruciating leg pain @ 2:00am. She only gets about 2 hrs. sleep nightly. We cannot figure out why the pain comes at night. Doctors have backed her meds to every 6 hrs. but the meds only last 3 1/2 hrs. The neuro stimulator helps very little, and they should have done surgery instead of spending $65k on it. The MRI and CT scan done later shows surgery is her only option 4 discs and a fusion. But we wonder if the neurosurgeon will keep her comfortable thru the post surgical months medicinally? The surgery is so demanding it is done on a Tuesday and Thursday--10-13 hrs.total. Recovery is 6-12 months supposedly. And we have to figure out what to do with a 10 year old granddaughter we are raising permanently. She will probably have to go to her aunt 200 mi. away.

Best wishes for you both.

I will say when I had a lower spine fusion after wasting months on PT, I was incredibly careful to not lift things, even milk, and to wear the brace when I got out of bed. I was fearful of the fusion not healing/growing/solidifying in place properly.
I even wore that stupid thing to the office all day.

My relative who had the same surgery within a month, was a lot more carefree and didn't bother with the brace after 1 week. His fusion failed.

[Scuba]

I am so sorry for the pain you’re all going through. Makes my situation seem like a cake walk. I can’t imagine being in excruciating pain for months or years. Glad some of you have found some solutions.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman I am walking the floor with my wife with excruciating leg pain @ 2:00am. She only gets about 2 hrs. sleep nightly. We cannot figure out why the pain comes at night.

Pain that increases or doesn't reduce at night is an indication your DW should probably revisit a doctor. It may just be the mattress or pillow. It can also be other serious issues that uniquely present more at night.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Best wishes for you both. I will say when I had a lower spine fusion after wasting months on PT, I was incredibly careful to not lift things, even milk, and to wear the brace when I got out of bed. I was fearful of the fusion not healing/growing/solidifying in place properly. I even wore that stupid thing to the office all day. My relative who had the same surgery within a month, was a lot more carefree and didn't bother with the brace after 1 week. His fusion failed.

+1000. Sunset, I believe this is key. Be conservative longer than the doctor says. Don't go back to the PGA tour in 30 days like Tiger... and subsequently have 4 more surgeries.

[Dd852]

My sincere thanks for the answers. I believe the biggest hurdle is psychological- DW wants to be back to her base line and refuses to believe that the base has shifted. The pain is bad, knowing that she now has limitations is worse!

[Aerides]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dd852 She had steroid shots a week ago and has progressed from agony to discomfort. But not anything like normal.

This sounds like my Mom's experience, certainly at the first week. She has similar area spinal issues. She has a specialist pain doc at her ortho group, and had the epidural steroid. There were follow ups though, and she had a second shot near the first, 3 months later, and will go back every 3 months.

She's not "normal" but even at a month in she realized just how bad she was (agony, daily life disrupted) and she's quite happy to be back to 75%. She has various stretches and exercises she does throughout the day, found the "good" chair, avoids triggers such as bending over to pick things up, stuff like that.

eta: these shots can take time, and one week is a bit soon to judge, so she still might have more improvement. But PT/exercises, etc., must also be in her plan.

[Morgan22]

I had problems with c4 - c5. When conservative treatments didn't work to take away the pain and numbness I decided on surgery. I had a laminectomy and discectomy done by a neurosurgeon. Instant pain relief! I was very careful during recovery over 3 to 4 months. Did some gentle PT during recovery. Afterwards I was back to taking care of and riding horses again.
The only side effect I have now is I can't turn my head as far as I used to, but its not noticeable to others. And I have to have the right mattress and pillow to sleep, if I don't I get stiffness in my neck that can take a couple of days to get over.

[Morgan22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Best wishes for you both. I will say when I had a lower spine fusion after wasting months on PT, I was incredibly careful to not lift things, even milk, and to wear the brace when I got out of bed. I was fearful of the fusion not healing/growing/solidifying in place properly. I even wore that stupid thing to the office all day. My relative who had the same surgery within a month, was a lot more carefree and didn't bother with the brace after 1 week. His fusion failed.

^^^
This! If after having back surgery you have to be very careful to let everything heal/grow back. I can take months of babying yourself but it is worth it. I got in my DH truck once to go to PT. I felt sharp little pains just going 1/4 mile because the suspension was not smooth. After that, always took my car. I avoided any pain/sudden movements during recovery and fully healed up. I didn't want to have my surgery fail.

[Lucie]

As a chronic pain coach/pain psychologist for over 3 decades, I can wholeheartedly agree with the wisdom provided thus far. I have worked in numerous interdisciplinary pain clinics and the recomendations given are spot on. Please do not ignore or minimize the emotional distress (fear, frustration, anxiety or depression) that are resulting from the pain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dd852 My sincere thanks for the answers. I believe the biggest hurdle is psychological- DW wants to be back to her base line and refuses to believe that the base has shifted. The pain is bad, knowing that she now has limitations is worse!

The losses and limitations are often as difficult as the physical pain.Her baseline has shifted, but is likely temporary until she heals from surgery and a new baseline will be established. Hopefully back to her original baseline!

[PatrickA5]

I had ACDF surgery on C4-C7 about 18 months ago. Mine wasn't so much a pain issue as much as other things like balance, numbness of foot, etc. I went to two neurosurgeons and one ortho spine surgeon. All agreed surgery was needed quickly as my spinal chord was being mashed by protruding disks. Shots and PT won't help that kind of condition, although I tried both.

I still have neck pain if I overdo it, but my other symptoms have gone away.

If you DW hasn't had an MRI, I'd see if her doctor will order one. It sounds like her issue is with nerves and not the spinal chord, but it's good to find out for sure.

[casole]

Hi dd852,

My mom was suffering terribly, she's actually gmhaving ACDF surgery today so hopped on here looking for some shccess stories to bolster my hope!

In the meantime to answer your questions she tried meditation specifically for pain and it really helped her. This from a woman whose house can double for a pharmacy ha. She was surprised but it helped her at least for those moments when she was doing it. YMMV.