6 week surgical follow-up

6 week follow up went great! As you can see, the disc is sitting in there just perfectly and when I flex or extend my neck it behaves exactly as an organic disc would. And just look how perfect the other discs are! It's a beautiful sight to me. This is the last section of my spine that's not fused.

The knots, or adhesions, in my shoulder area remain, leftover from when the nerves were causing muscle spasms constantly. I bought some tennis balls and am rolling around on them trying to work the knots out, also doing lots of stretching in that area. Dr. Spivak was impressed with the range of motion that I've already been able to acheive, movement that was impossible or impossible without pain before. No more pain going down my arms, yay!

I've got an appointment with their pain management specialist for a shot or two next month, as I'm more concerned with the pain in my legs coming from my lower back than I am about the neck.

Neck blog?

Yesterday I got the first of a series of cortisone injections in my neck. I had a MRI a few weeks ago that showed my C5-6 was bulging and also that the hole that the nerve goes through had narrowed, causing the worsening pain in my neck and upper back and shoulder. The lidocaine she used to numb the area before the steroid was nice, I had a pain free neck for an hour or so. Then it wore off. My neck was a bit stiff, which they'd warned me about; they also warned me that the cortisone might make me a bit "jittery," like I'd had too much coffee. That was an understatement.

I did not sleep A WINK last night, and my heart and mind are still racing. I'm due for another shot next week and think I'll ask for a sleeping pill on my way out! I sure hope this helps with my neck pain. Hmm, maybe I'll change the name of the blog to "A Pain in the Neck." What do you think?