anterior cervical discectomy and fusion C5/6

after 6 months with no complications I am going back to exercising. I am a healthy male 50 years old who always exercised daily. I want to go back to wieght training lifting weights that I cna do comfortably in the 12 rep range. I plan to avoid foreer exercises like squats or overhead presses that put strain on the neck. I have had no issues with the surgery and never even needed anything more then tylenol for pain during the first week.

Is this Ok ? or do I risk damage to the surrounding disks ?

Is your fusion with plating? I was told after I recovered that I can go back to my marathon training which also included weight training. Just wondering!

How much pain have you had since your surgery? I had the exact same procedure and have had a great deal of pain in my shoulders, upper back, and arms. No one seems to believe I could have such pain, thinking the surgery should have give me "instant relief" of the pain I had before. Frankly I am wishing I had never had the surgery if it is going to hurt this much now. It"s been two weeks since my surgery and I haven't gone a day without pain killers. Am I being a baby?

Cyeconrad, being a baby isn't for anyone else to say. But two weeks isn't all that long for major surgery. Give yourself alittle time before you start doubting yourself. Everyone reacts to surgery differently. As far as two weeks post surgery, I was feeling alot better. As you, I was still on pain killers at that particular time. As far as my progress, I attached a link below. I started my own blog, maybe to give another option to people looking for info or at the least what I am going through. I will be glad to answer any questions you have, Lord knows I haven't anything else to do. Restricted and all.

http://www.steadyhealth.com/2_Level_ADCF__C5_and_C6_My_Account_no_stories_or_fabrications_t193437.html

Cyeconrad,

As my doctors have said prior to and after surgery, Only you know what you can do what you cannot. At the end of 2 weeks I felt worse than before the surgery but felt the healing on its way. I am now 8+ weeks post op and still have shoulder, neck, triceps and minimal arm pain. So hang in there. I am still on pain meds. but only as needed now.

Just like thegloveman01, I also am posting a blog week to week so others can see my progress and maybe see that what they are feeling is normal or not. Click here to read my blog. As thegloveman01 has said, please feel free to ask questions, we all have them and I will also be glad to help if I can.

You will find a lot of varying stories out there and non of them are right or wrong. Every surgery is different, every surgeon is different and every patient is different. So there are a lot of variables to factor in to be able to deem where you should be at the end of 2 weeks.

Good luck,
Rob

Thank you for your replies. I'm sorry to hear that other people have had pain as I have after ACDF surgery. I am doing better but still having some considerable pain and taking pain medications daily. I had to go back to work last week and have had crushing fatigue since. I just don't feel like I'm coming back as quickly as I should. My doctor was very understanding when I saw him last week and wants me to have an MRI to see if any pieeces of disk might have been left. My insurance company is throwing road blocks up to prevent the MRI, so I might get it this year.

I wish I were doing better and I think I'm getting a bit depressed about it. It's hard to keep a positive attitude when you don't see any real improvement. I feel cheated by the fact that everyone I talked to about how long it would take to get over this surgery, including my surgeon, told me I would be fine in a matter of days. It's been almost a month and I can barely function. I guess I just need to be more patient judging from the experience of others posting here. I'll try.

cyeconrad,

I think your doing just fine if not better than fine. It has been said many times before... This is a major surgery, be patient. I am close to 11 weeks out and am not going back to work for another 8 weeks or more.

Hang in there.

I know recovery is a process and I'm trying to be patient. I had been feeling better and had a very active day last Friday. It included doing a great deal of laundry. Saturday I was so sore I could barely move and so exhausted, I didn't want to. I didn't think I was over-doing it, considering I used to much more in a day, but I didn't react very well. Guess I have to take it much slower, even if I'm feeling better.

Your body (as you know now) will dictate what is too much, and what isn't. I utilized a log for everything for a while, especially meds and physical activity. Now you know what is too much laundry. Split that amount over a couple of days and increase it after a week or so.

Moderation is key, food and activity Good Luck

Tom

I have refused to use the electronic bone stimulator. It's uncomfortable and I am concerned about have an electro-magnetic field around my head for four hours at a time. Studies have showed associations between EM fields and brain tumors. Also, I couldn't find any studies on the bone stimulation device showing it to be safe. Apparently it does speed fusion by a marginal amount in the first few months after surgery, but after 12 months there is no difference between people who used it and those who didn't. So how does that help me, especially if I develop a brain tumor in five years?

My doctor admitted that we don't know enough about the long term effects of the device and told me he didn't object to me letting the fusion happen on its own.

Has anyone else had a problem with using the bone stimulation device? Am I over-reacting?