Just Had Neck Surgery

[Bio]

I think I’m having an L4/L5 laminectomy like what you had. That scares me that your surgery didn’t work. I’ve been in constant pain for so long and my opiate tolerance keeps increasing. I can only walk about 10 feet then i have to sit on the ground and move my leg around until the pain isn’t horrible. The surgeon said a piece of my disk broke off and is stuck up against the nerves. He’s going to cut that piece of disk out and shape the remaining disk plus cut out a space in the vertebrae so the nerves have space. I’m a loner and on my own for the surgery which has me nervous. I’ve never used Uber or Lyft but I’ll have to figure out how to use one to get a ride to the hospital. The instructions say i need my primary care doctor to okay the surgery but i don’t have a primary care doctor. Mine retired a year ago. I guess if this doesn’t work I’ll ask about a spinal fushion. The surgeon said my entire spine is pretty much bone on bone. My right arm gets numb and my upper right back feels knotted up. Several of my spinal nerves have very little space before they get impinged.

I hope everything goes well for you. I hate not being able to workout out. You said after your laminectomy you couldn’t workout for years? But being free from this sciatica leg pain is my main priority. I actually like being off AAS. It’s a nice break. I know AAS are bad news on my health. This whole experience has charged my priorities. I was so obsessed with my body that i missed out on living life. I look forward to doing things differently and having more fun in the future. I’ll try to get in the shape i was in 3 weeks ago if possible. But by working harder in the gym, more cardio, less drugs. And hopefully i can get off all the pain drugs eventually. I have Percocet here for after surgery. That drug scares me. I was addicted to oxytocin for awhile and it wasn’t something i ever want to experience again.

Hopefully it's the right surgery for you at the right time! You definitely need a friend to be with you...the hospital won't release you on your own. It's not just about driving, it's about someone being there if you find yourself in trouble and in need.

I didn't work out for years because the surgery was a failure for me and the construction business was more than I could handle at the time. I will say that the L4-5 laminectomy wasn't bad to recover from...of course I was 29 then.

 

[johnjuanb1]

Hopefully it's the right surgery for you at the right time! You definitely need a friend to be with you...the hospital won't release you on your own. It's not just about driving, it's about someone being there if you find yourself in trouble and in need.

I didn't work out for years because the surgery was a failure for me and the construction business was more than I could handle at the time. I will say that the L4-5 laminectomy wasn't bad to recover from...of course I was 29 then.

I guess if the surgery is a failure i’ll look into disk fussion. I don’t want to have to go on disability for work. That’s a relief that it’s not a long recovery process.
Man, i was hoping to call LYFT for a ride home when they release me. I’ll figure something out.
Thank you for your help.

 

[Reload]

JJ see if you have a medical pickup service called Handicab.

 

[Elvia1023]

Hey all, Friday I had a Posterior, Left Side, C4-5 Decompression. Things seemed to have gone well.

My surgeon uses a lot of local anesthetic and it wore off about 6pm tonight (Saturday)..LOL! Luckily he prescribed me a good amount of Oxycodone. My left arm is acting a bit weird due to all of the trauma in the surgery area. It's like it's partially asleep but without the numbness and pins and needles...just awkward to move around. It's slowly getting better though.

Anyway, looking forward to things healing up and slowly returning to the gym. I have some other surgeries on the horizon, so it's nice to get one out of the way!

Funny/sad story regarding my insurance...they wouldn't approve my pain meds. They thought one every four hours was too much (10mg Oxycodone for post surgery). For a cervical decompression? Really?? Anyway, I wound up paying cash on Thursday since it hadn't come through yet and then I get a call today, Saturday, at 6pm letting me know it was approved. I'll get reimbursed but what a joke!

I haven't been of the forum as much due to issues with my spine. There are issue in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar...good times! LOL!! For you guys that know some of my history, this is par for the course.

I am glad to see things seemed to have gone well. I hope you recover fast and are back in the gym soon. You are the Ronnie Coleman of Promuscle

 

[Phidias]

Hope you're already feeling much better, Bio!

All you guys with back pain/issues make me realize even more how lucky I should consider myself to still remain injury free not too far from 40 now, especially after so many years of lifting...

Still on oxy for relief or planning to stop anytime soon?

 

[Bio]

Hope you're already feeling much better, Bio!

All you guys with back pain/issues make me realize even more how lucky I should consider myself to still remain injury free not too far from 40 now, especially after so many years of lifting...

Still on oxy for relief or planning to stop anytime soon?

Thanks Phidias! I'm getting there. I'm going ask the pain doc next week if I can go back to Norco which I break in half. I'm still dealing with some decent page from the surgery but also still dealing with a lower cervical issue, thoracic issue (may be from ankylosing spondylitis) and a two herniated discs in the lumbar area. Even with all of that, the Oxycodone is too much.