Disc bulge between c6 and c7

i was told as mine was wear and tear there was nothing that could be done on the NHS as its age related.  I'm 55.

Every time I had to see a different specialist it took between 8/12 weeks. I have seen surgeon and he said the date for surgery would be within 12 weeks I had a pre operation assessment 2 weeks ago and still waiting for date. I was first diagnosed in May and my doctor said if the disc was to repair itself it would have done by now...my sick pay has halfed and will soon end unfortunately I cannot get ssp due to only working less than 20 hours so not enough stamp.....I am working on the basis that if surgery will be within next 2 months I will hopefully return to work almost a year to the day that the problem started.

But as I said will depend on area you live in and your hospital waiting times.

ok let's start with th bad news.  I have three discs herniated in my lumber which arent trapping any nerves and the injury is so old now that my body has grown new bone to support it.  The movement I have in that area is now what I am stuck with.  I have three discs herniated in my neck.  These have trapped a nerve.  In fact they are squashing it hence I have th pins and needle in my fingers and god damn awful pain up my arm into my elbows.  Will they operate.  No.  It's too dangerous and the chance of a successful outcome is not high enough. 

So, what am I left with.  Hip pain that makes me limp after maybe 25 yards.  By 40 yards it is burning and I am at the point if screaming.  This is with or without meds.  Lower back pain that makes me want to vomit.  Neck pain that restricts my movements feels like whiplash gives me constant headaches, sinus infections, earache and the dreaded pins and needles.  From the back of one knee to the front of my ankle is painful and also makes me limp.  Sometimes it feels burnt and sometimes it feels like it's itchy.  All the time it is painful.  My left foot on th outside edg I have no sensation and if I don't wear short boots that can lace up and support my ankle I walk in th side of it. I am also diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic pain although from what I can see the symptoms are th same.

pain, pain and more pain.

on th upside.  After three months under th Equality Act 2010 your employers are responsible to make reasonable adjustments to your work load and job.  They are not allowed to simply replace you providing you are in work and trying.  If your employer refuses to do this you can ask for a government based workplace assessment.

how to get to work?  Well, I can't drive, I can't walk to the bus stop so I'm stuffed.  Actually I'm not.  There is a scheme called Access to Work.  If your GP is satisfied that you would not be able to safely get yourself to work then ask him for a letter to accompany your application.  I got an instant decision by mailing the letter while th advisor was on the phone.

on to this fibromyalgia.  I thought it was like irritable bowel syndrome in as much as they dint know what causes it so give it w fancy name and throw pills at it and from what they told me at the hospital yesterday I'm correct.  On top of all the other symptoms I have the feeling of flu symptoms 24/7.  I ache from head to foot.  I'm tired all the time I just ant to sleep but all the other issues prevent me from sleeping.  What am I doing about this.......trying to learn from other people's experience Ho have had this illness for years.  Seems there is a common denominator.  Your pain sensors go into hyperdrive, either through emotional or physical injury and hike th body is trying to sort out where th pain is coming from and the NHS leaves you waiting and waiting and waiting your body runs out of energy, all the pain sensors are still trying to protect you and your immune system takes a nose dive through all the effort it's putting in.  One extremely clever lady with years of experience has tried the zombie drugs and has now managed to get herself down to ibuprofen.

do I feel better?  No.  I feel useful, distracted and absolutely knackered but I have achieved a new normality.

i now take one of those probiotic yoghurts, anti inflammatory, stomach protecting pill and pain killers.  I tried paracetamol but I'm not ready for those yet so my GP has given me codiene based stuff.  I also take a one q day multivitamin high in magnesium.  The clever lady I referred to earlier discovered that when your run down the magnesium takes a nose dive.

is it working?  No idea but at least I feel I have control rather than an illness controlling me.

my employer thinks that I will have to drop some hours so has suggested that I use holiday to shorten my hours which I am doing.  I haven't got to th stage where I have enough energy to get home and cook something so I'm eating ready meals.

hope some of this is useful and anyone else who read this if they have any suggestions, I'm all ears!

how do I cope.  You have to.  What's the alternative?  Sure I can dwell in self pity doing the why me thing but it will still be there and I will only feel worse.

going to the hospital yesterday I went past so many departments whose occupants would have loved to be going to my appointment instead of theirs.  What right do I have to dwell when other people are fighting hideous illnesses?

my glass is half full and I thank my lucky stars that what I have will not take any of my life and seeing my children and grandchildren.  It won't make my hair drop out (as far as I know although I've considered pulling it out a time or two lol) I won't lose limbs and I am not 'seriously' life threateningly ill.

you can either be enpowered or overpowered and I will try and be the former.  sure, you can tell from my typing that I'm going to have to learn to type again and I'm going to have to figur out a way of putting my shoes and socks on independently and hanging washing out and paying a massive heating bill because although I have so many layers on I'm constantly freezing but none of these ar insurmountable when you consider what other people deal with.

you can rely on family or friends for so long but they too have lives and an energy supply that runs out so its down to you.  If you are told this is your lot then so be it.  

So so I can't bend much.  How damn clever is this body that it's been building bone to ensure I don't paralyse myself!  Count blessings not curses.

sure at the beginning of my journey I went from pain to panic to exhaustion to why me to it isn't fair back to pain in a never nd ing 24 hour circle.  I went from over the counter drugs to oramorph to gabapentin to pregabalin and if you look at the side effects of the last one I got pretty much all of them.  I couldn't hear, see, breathe and I had a twitch to beat all other twitches!  I couldn't stay awake and hen I was awake I was terrified - no idea what of but if anything was going to shorten my life it would be that drug and that is when I decided to come off them and gradually reverse the pills until I can hopefully get back to over the counter stuff.

if you think of all the symptoms I have caused through my back injuries and the effects of th last drug, I would sooner cope with the symptoms including pain rather than be on the tablets.  But I am a strong willed know it all madam who is  opinionated and finally it is holding me in good stead lol

anyone figured out a way to get your shoes and socks on?  I've got a sock putter oner and elastic laces but is there anything else???

So , 'anterior' ? That means they'll go in from the front , right? Front, or slightly to the side of the front of, my neck.Discectomy - now does that mean they just cut off the bit of the disc that is bulging out or does it mean they completely remove the disc and put a new artificial one in? Fusion- what does that mean? They put a cage over the area after they cut off the bulge? They put a cage over the area after they insert the new artififcial disc? And how would a cage holding the disc in affect  your neck movement?

I was in hospital 2 nights total and then went home.Wasn't in pain after the op except for tight throat and difficulty swallowing but that faded after a few days.I was up and walking the day after the op but only to the hospital canteen with my family when they came to visit.After coming home i was walking  2 or 3 miles a day just a few days after the op.

2 weeks since the op and i've still got slight burning pain down right arm that i had before though not as bad, some days worse than others but not as bad as before op.Is it that because the nerves were compressed for so long it takes time for them to fully recover or do they not recover at all? Any accidental sudden movement i get brief pain lower down my back.Never had that before, it's like the op in my neck has created problems further down my spine or it's just bruising still from having the pipes down my throat for the anesthetic but that's over 2 weeks ago now?

Is it correct fusion creates added pressure elsewhere on my verterbrae/back? :-(

Have been doing the physio excerises they told me to, 5 times a day.I saw  a physio in hospital the day after the op and he just told me what excersises to do, i've not had any further contact with a physio.

Big problem for me is my job is very physical and a lot of lifting, i'm signed off still til after i've had the 6 week post op assessment with the surgeon in May.He will tell me if the fusion is starting to work or not and advise on if i can go back to work or not.He'll probably say i shouldn't go back to work yet as i have a physically demanding job.If i have to wait for fusion to complete and there's no gurantee it will i may have to wait months and months before i can go back to work.I mean, i can get by just about with money for a few months but not forever.Maybe i should think about a change of job to something less physical.I've talked with work about getting a place in the office but i can't really see it happening and don't really want to work in the office anyway.

Basically, 2 weeks after op and i'm getting pain at times down right arm still almost like i was before but not quite as bad (about 3-4 out of 10 on pain scale) and slight pains in neck and just wondering if the pain is that the nerves need a bit more time to recover or maybe they won't recover? Not much pain in back unless i accidentally make a sudden movement.Not having any trouble sleeping and only taking occasional Paracetamol.

Anyone have any advice or thoughts on my situation? 

Thanks

I had a hard impact involving a neck compression in rugby training.   Wind was knocked out of me and I let out a guttural 'oooh'.. I got up and got moving again but suffered a concussion for days after and over time (weeks) I developed horrendous pain in my right arm until I had to go to hospital over it.   Pain meds couldn't touch pain and I spent six weeks in one position essential as I couldn't walk or sit up for more than a few seconds.  Two or three steps and the pain and feeling of sickness was overwhelming. After months of unrelenting pain in the arm (like 500 people constantly punching it) and pins and needles in the hand I finally was put on a nerve pain med and it helped make life a bit more bearable.    Scans showed a c6-c7 bulge on the nerve.

I read through numerous chats and researched everything I could and I was really saddened by the stories I heard of people who had had similar conditions long term.   The doctors could not tell me if things would change or not.   It was a dark time not knowing if the rest of my life would be in constant pain and hardly able to walk.  In my late 40s and a family to support. 

I wanted to share this with people since it did ease for me but took a considerable time.   It took about 6-8 months before it had reduced significantly for me.     A year after and I was pain free.    So to those who have a new injury and are experiencing a lot of worrying thoughts and no assurances that anything will change, I am writing to you to keep your hope up as you may once again go from looking at people out of a window walking without a care in the world and wishing you were one of them to being one of them again.     To all those who the situation has not ease or aren't getting the help they need, my heart and prayers go out to you.   If you have exhausted all medical options then try alternatives.. meditation or hypnosis.