I'm headed for Surgery come June 2nd
Hey there folks, I don't typically share details of my boring personal life but I've been suffering from a traumatic rupture of a cervical intervertebral disc for the past two years. It has affected all corners of my life, severely. It's been, very, very hard. Anyhow, after all this time, I finally got into a position to get the medical care I needed and here I am today, one week from getting a Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion of C5-C6 and C6-C7. Anyhow, I am scared shitless (pardon my language) as I've never had any major anything let alone surgery before. I wanted to know if anyone else has gotten this surgery and could give me an idea of what to expect during recovery?
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I am having my womb removed due to a benign tumour.
Best of luck on your surgery!
All will go well! Here's for a speedy recovery for you!
That makes two of us having surgery on that day.
I am having my womb removed due to a benign tumour.
Best of luck on your surgery!
All will go well! Here's for a speedy recovery for you!
@ Bea_Iank; Best Wishes, I'll see you on the other side! Here's to a better tomorrow.
An thank you everyone for your support. It really means alot, I've always believed this community has a big heart.
@SDoren; I've been dealing with this for two years, an unfortunately I've been taking opioid medication for the past year. I am definitely dependant on them at this point but fortunately not physically yet. I more or less take em when I need to,sometimes I go days or even weeks without. Then there are weeks where I'd take them nearly every day. It sucks but it is necessary evil until I get past the surgery. My Doctor is a quite renown brain surgen, so I have a great deal of faith in him. He thinks after a few weeks I won't need em anymore. Quitting will suck but I am confident I'll be able to do so. I've done it before from a previous injury. Thank you for the thought, it's not often people point out this issue and I think we need more people like you doing so.
You too Bea.
The pain should go away and she was able to do the recovery without any pain meds at all.
Do WHATEVER YOU CAN to avoid taking opioid pain meds for more than a few days tops. The hardest part of my surgeries were recovering from the opioid addiction. Some doctors take it seriously, some just don't understand how much pain meds can devastate your life. Definitely should've done more research before blindly trusting the doc and the prescription bottle.
This this this a thousand times this. My best friend was in a car accident and the long aftermath saw his life fall apart because of Vidodin/Percocet/Valium/Oxycodone, you name it. The doctors just fed them to him and we was popping them like Skittles. One night I was in a lot of pain because I tweaked my back quite badly while moving something, and he was over at my place. I complained about the pain and he told me he'd give me one of his prescription painkillers (not something I'd normally do but I was in agony). He gave me this pill that was shaped like a little yellow-orange house (I don't remember the name but the house-shape is synonymous with this painkiller), and it got rid of the pain, alright. It made me forget I even had a back. I was laying in bed and my body felt so fuzzy I took a moment to think about how it honestly felt like I was floating a foot above my bed. I was so numb I couldn't feel anything touching me, I couldn't even feel the weight of my body. It got me out of my mind stoned, I don't even want to think about what those chemicals were doing to my brain to produce that effect. The next morning when I woke up I asked him how many of those he takes. He told me takes them every few hours, along with these ones and these ones and....you get the idea. By the time he kicked it his wife had left him and he'd gone from being a 215-pound thick buff guy to a 155-pound gangly little pale dude with Thrifty's bags under his eyes. His life has since turned around and thank Science that he came out of it all ok, but that's the darkest period in his life, and without the support system he had it might have gotten much darker. It'd be a good idea for you to discuss this topic extensively with your doctors.
Seriously, congrats on the surgery, I'm sure it will go great!
I had level 5-7 done as well. I feel better now than I did before surgery but I still hurt at least a little most days. It's pretty rare that I have pain to the point where I have to limit my activities. I still have good range of motion. The only thing I really can't do (or at least not for long) is hold a phone between my ear and shoulder. I have the range of motion but it hurts.
Right after surgery, I wasn't prepared for the muscle spasms. They definitely get worse before they get better. You also might have some swelling in your neck, which can affect your ability to eat. Be prepared in case you need a soft diet. I had to sleep propped up for a couple days. It made it easier to get up (you'll want to perfect your "log roll") and helped me sleep with some of the swelling. Overall, just follow the doctor's instructions and do some PT and you'll be fine. Most people I know do well. Good luck!
::Update 6-3:: I feel like hammered sh*t this morning. Did not get one wink of sleep either, but after some breakfast I'm heading on home. As you can see I am quite excited to see my kiddos and sleep in my own bed!