Found in the ENT Ward

The evening after my ACDF surgery I was wired up from the IV steroid injections I was prescribed. That, along with some achy shoulders and upper back, and being in the noisiest hospital room you can be put in (right next to the nurse’s station), I didn’t sleep at all. The neurosurgery ward was at capacity that day, so I was put in the ENT ward for recovery. Surrounding me in the other rooms seemed to be patients in a lot of pain. Their groans and overheard discussions with nurses were quite loud. Some of these people couldn’t communicate well. I shudder to think about those who couldn’t communicate verbally at all. I’m sure there were some.

Around 11pm that evening the nurse came in, as I needed to go to the bathroom and I was not allowed to get out of bed without a nurse to monitor me.

As I was about to get out of bed, the nurse went to pull the bed desk away from the bed so that I could have a clear path. When she did this, an extension underneath it slid out, and sitting there was this index card:

The nurse, who I later found out was deeply religious, started to tear up and asked me if it was mine. As I posted before, I woke up from surgery in relatively great shape, with relatively mild pain. That, along with my staunch atheism, would disqualify me from claiming it. She didn’t believe me, and left it there on the desk.

I made sure to take the card with me to keep as a reminder of how fortunate I was, and am. Throughout the first 4 months of my recover I kept it on a standing desk in my home office, about 4 feet from my computer desk where I’m typing this post now. I would look at it daily and give it a thankful “tap” when walking by. I’m putting it away in my “memories” box now, and will always keep it as a reminder to be thankful for my recovery.


Four Month Update ACDF Surgery

Today I met with my surgeon to review the latest x-rays. I’m happy, and relieved, to report that I am pretty much healed. Two of the four vertebrae have fused already, and my surgeon has no concerns about the hardware. While waiting in the patient room I overheard the nurse practitioner, who had met with me just prior and performed a physical exam, say, “He looks phenomenal!” and my surgeon, quite proudly, responded, “And he’s a four level!”

X-Rays Taken December 16, 2022

My surgeon commented, “I should have used longer screws on you.” That gave me a bit of pause but he said no concerns. He has a great, dry sense of humor. I have no idea if he was kidding with me or not.

After getting home I’m feeling a sense of relief but also, I’m just tired. I’m tired for the first time in a while. I think because I overdid the exercise last night (yoga class followed by almost 2 hours of pickleball!). But also I think I’m just a bit in shock that this is all behind me. I’m back to, overall, being very healthy. My blood pressure was 121/88, which I have no doubt was slightly elevated due to the traffic getting to the surgeon’s office.

Things could still go sideways but it’s highly unlikely. With that, it’s time to get on with my life. The last couple of months have been great. I’m confident 2023 will be as well. I’ve been doing physical therapy and it has helped relieve muscle tightness in my neck and traps but I think I’ve exhausted the benefits I’ll see from it. I still have minor aches in my posterior neck muscles, particularly when laying down at night, which give me trouble sleeping for long stretches. I need to find a decent pillow. But hey, I’m not complaining. Life is good.

My next x-ray and follow-up appointment is six months from now.


Eleven Weeks Since ACDF Surgery

It’s now exactly 11 weeks and 3 days post-surgery. Time has flown by, especially the last 3 weeks.

During the week 7 post-op visit with my surgeon, he said my x-rays look absolutely perfect. Here they are, in all their glory:

Side View – September 27, 2022
Front View

I must admit that, during the week or two prior to the consult, I was in a bit of a panic, worried that my not wearing the hard collar in the house or that I got frustrated and mowed the lawn once (the grass had grown to be hideously tall). But that concern was all for naught.

So that was great news. I asked about fusion, to which he said it would be “at least 6 months” before any fusion would be visible.” I look forward to my next visit with him on December 20th. I am hoping, but not expecting, that fusion will be visible. More importantly, I am hoping that nothing goes wrong between now and then, and the new x-rays taken for that visit show no changes in the hardware.

The titanium plate and screws are there to lock everything into place and keep it there. So I shouldn’t be too concerned and, truthfully, am very confident. BUT…during that visit I had a list of questions, most of which pertained to returning to activity. Golf, jogging, pickleball, yoga, lifting weights, etc. etc. etc. To my utter shock, he reviewed the list and gave me the go-ahead to do just about all of those activities immediately. The only two caveats:

I was in shock. He left the room and a nurse came in shortly after and then started dispensing a very different set of instructions:

I explained that the doctor just told me I could ditch the collar and return to activity immediately. She said something along the lines of, “He doesn’t know! I’m the one you’ll be emailing if something goes wrong as I deal with the patients daily.” I got it – she’s uber-conservative because she doesn’t want the risk or hassle. He’s pretty non-chalant, knowing the hardware shouldn’t move. With that, I decided right then that I was going to bet on the hardware and the surgeon’s directions. Of course, I didn’t tell the nurse, I just nodded, all the while thinking about getting out of there and getting on with seeing how my neck would feel without a collar on.

With that, we were done and she reminded me to put the collar back on as we were leaving. I waited until I left the building and then quickly removed it for good. That was almost 4 weeks ago. I don’t recall, but I might have put it back on for the car ride home, but that was it.

Since then, I have resumed most activity that I want to do without issue. My neck was *very* stiff the first week post-collar. I was starting to worry but it loosened up slightly each day after the first week. I continued walking daily, but also added in cardio (elliptical machine) and then started lifting weights again (machines, not free weights). For the first 2 weeks I struggled with chest presses, as my right tricep was still noticeably weaker than my left. But it’s getting there and not nearly as weak as it was.

As for mobility….that is concerning. The worry was that I would lose ~30% of neck mobility due to the plate/fusion. I’d say that’s probably about right as of today, it may be even slightly worse. But I am confident that will improve over time because I don’t feel a physical restriction due to the hardware. It seems to be caused by very tight muscles in the back of my neck. I start physical therapy in a few days and am hoping that accelerates increased mobility.

A few days after getting that clearance I made the mistake of going to the golf course. The first few holes I knew it was a mistake. While I probably would be okay now, at that point it was just too soon. Not just strength wise but cardio. I played a 12 hole course that is relatively short but is named “Rolling Turf” for a reason – it’s a workout just walking that thing. I’m now using a push cart – my days of slinging my bag over my shoulder are over – but it didn’t help as I was just out of cardio shape at that point, so pushing that cart up and down hills was tough. I made it through but it wasn’t as enjoyable as I’d hoped, so I’ll lay off golf until next year.

This past week I took a chance and jumped on the pickleball court. It’s been good. Again, cardio was an issue the first few times, but it is getting there. I’m playing with/against the “beginner” level, which ranges from a handful of decent players to many who don’t even understand the rules and are wholly non-competitive. So it’s fun, but frustrating at times as I want to push myself.

That’s it for this post. Again – check out my YouTube channel as I did record a video after the visit with the surgeon. I’ll post here and record another video in a couple of weeks from now. I start back to work next week. Looking forward to it.

Looking back, these past eleven weeks since the surgery, and the months prior in pain and all of the fear and uncertainty, it’s been quite a year. I have been saying to myself since day 3 post-surgery that I could have gone back to work then. But I’m glad I was able to take this time off to truly recover. I was in a bad mental state. The lead-up to the surgery took its toll. I was burned out both with my work and with my personal life. My relationships with others suffered and I have some work to do in that regard for sure. One of the great things about the past few weeks, post-collar, is I was able to rekindle some relationships. I have more to go. I am so much more positive since the surgery. I didn’t realize it but I was in fact in physical decline for at least the past five years or so due to the cord compression and pain due to the pinched nerve. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t go about my life, but I was pretty negative and not very nice to be around a lot. I realize now that I was so focused on fitness because working out was my way of getting through the pain. The adrenaline that working out provided was my self-medication.

Onward.


Six Weeks Since ACDF Surgery

So it’s been about six weeks since my four level anterior discectomy with fusion (ACDF) surgery. Recovery has gone really well. Honestly, it’s gone unbelievably well. In my last post, I said I woke up from surgery in no pain aside from some very achy shoulders and upper back. I just assumed that, within hours, the anesthesia and/or any pain meds they gave me during the surgery would wear off and I would be in a lot of pain. I was fully expecting to be on narcotics for the first few days, if not weeks. But the pain never came. Over the next few days the aching shoulders and upper back subsided, and even in the incision remained painless to me.

It took about 8 days for the swelling in my neck to go down. By the morning of day 10 the swallowing issues were pretty much gone. I am still, even now, six weeks later, in shock that the recovery was so smooth and painless.

I did notice that I would get tired, not sleepy tired but more of a slight fatigue, enough to want to just sit down, pretty quickly. But the next day after getting home from the hospital I was up and walking around the house a lot and doing chores.

Walking Daily

My goal as soon as I got home was to MOVE. Move, move, move. Nothing crazy, but sitting around all day was to be avoided. Don’t get me wrong – the majority of the last six weeks has consisted of me on my computer, or watching television. It’s been a slog. But just about every day I have gone on at least one long walk. The first week after surgery I walked around the neighborhood, which wasn’t easy as I live in a suburban township that has a lot of traffic and a lot of streets that do not have sidewalks. Eventually, I paid for a monthly membership at our local Community Center, because it has an indoor track. It’s about 1.3 miles from my house, so my daily routine consists of one long walk:

So about 5 miles total. Some days I will do up to 7 miles. I am convinced that walking has helped my recovery greatly, particularly by loosening up the shoulders and limbs.

I’ve tried to keep myself busy at home too, but it’s been difficult. I just haven’t been all that motivated to do anything productive. While at the hospital, prior to discharge, I was instructed to wear a hard collar whenever standing or moving. When sitting and sleeping, I could wear a soft collar. I was provided a “Philadelphia” collar for showering.

In reality, after the first week or two, I just wear the soft collar when in the house regardless of whether I’m up or just sitting. When I leave the house I absolutely always wore the hard collar. It’ll be great to not have to wear it when walking, which I hope the surgeon will allow when I meet with him next week. The Philadelphia collar was horrible – I found it was very uncomfortable and pressed too hard on my neck. It wasn’t painful, it was just awkward and I honestly don’t think was sized correctly for me. After the 2nd week, when I noticed my neck felt pretty strong, I stopped using it. I haven’t worn a collar when showering since.

My neck feels pretty strong now and has for the last few weeks. It never felt “weak” really, but I notice a difference each week since surgery. But I can tell for sure that, once I am told I can ditch the collar, that I will have some aches and there will be a transition period before I am fully comfortable without the collar. Physical therapy, which I assume will be prescribed, should help with that but just exercising and moving without the support of a collar should be enough on its own to whip my neck back into shape (no pun intended!).

Facebook and Social Media

In the weeks leading up to surgery I joined the Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Facebook group, which I highly recommend anyone going through this surgery join. But, and this is important to understand, the vast majority of discussions in that group are negative. I spotted this right away and basically turned off notifications for it until the week before my surgery, and I made sure to not even read anything negative. My main goal was to find out what I could do to make things go smoother and less painful. The vast majority of ACDF surgeries go well, people recover nicely, and they move on with their lives. If you base your perspective on what is posted to that Facebook group, you’ll expect the worst…no, you’ll expect, as I did, that at the very least you will be writhing in pain, require narcotics and muscle relaxant medications just to get through the first month if not months. Sadly, some of the advice given in that group is really bad too. The “take it easy!!!” mantra is one. Along with the insistence on telling people to drink milkshakes and eat ice cream all day, when asked what to do to ease the swelling and/or sore throat post surgery. I know it’s a bit judgmental and maybe creepy but before I consider anyone’s advice on that group I look at their profile pic. Sadly, many look like they’ve been dealing with “issues” outside of ACDF related. I won’t go any further other than to say, overall, it’s a great group to get some support and, more importantly, some useful tips for recovery. But there is a lot of sad stories going on in there for sure, and a lot of the advice given is to be avoided.

I have been vlogging my recovery on YouTube, and if you’re interested in much more detail and more timely updates on my progress, I suggest checking me out there.

Next up:

X-rays of my cervical spine are scheduled for Monday. Then, my much-anticipated follow-up appointment with my surgeon is the next morning on Tuesday. I can’t wait : ) My expectations are that I will be told that my x-rays look great, the hardware is set and that I am well on my way to fusing, and I no longer need to wear a collar. While I will be asking all kinds of questions, including when can I expect to get back to practicing yoga and lifting weights, I am expecting a “Take it easy until after PT answer.” Fingers crossed.


Surgery Success!

My Hospital Bed At Jefferson University Hospital

Wow. I just read through my last couple of posts here and almost cried. It’s been about six weeks since surgery. Honestly, I have felt pretty darn good ever since waking up from surgery. I literally was awoken by the surgical team, on the gurney on the way out of the operating room, and first things that ran through my mind were:

  1. I’m alive. I made it through.
  2. My shoulders and upper back ache, and my throat is definitely swollen, but overall I don’t have any real pain. Must be the meds or anesthesia?
  3. No radiculopathy pain in my shoulder or arm anymore!

They wheeled me to the PACU. I forget what PACU stands for, but basically it is the post surgery area where you get closely monitored until your room is available. I remember just laying there oddly elated. Elated that I got through it. Probably more so that I felt pretty good considering I had just had my neck sliced open, bones drilled, etc. etc. Really, aside from very achy shoulders I felt fine. And even the hard collar, which turned out to be a new one provided post surgery (they told me after that the collar I was issued at the surgeon’s office was WAY undersized), was not uncomfortable. I didn’t even feel any pain from the incision. It felt miraculous.

After about 2 hours in the PACU I started to get really annoyed. I recall that I kept telling myself to chill out, that you need to just be thankful. But I was annoyed that it was taking so long to get to my room. I just wanted to get to my room, see my wife, and exhale. It took almost 5 hours to get a room. The hospital was super busy. They did allow my wife to come up to see me in the PACU for a few minutes, which apparently is very unusual. Although they assured me this was an exception due to the delay in room availability, when she appeared I thought to myself, “Something must have gone wrong. They don’t let visitors in here. This might be it.” But no, I was fine. They just didn’t have rooms available.

Eventually they wheeled me to my room. I insisted on getting out of the gurney and getting into bed on my own, and they obliged. I felt like I would have no problem walking, but when I got up I was very wobbly. I was worried. My room was very small, but nice. I noticed later, during my long walks around the corridor, that my room was one of the smaller ones, and also was closest to the nurses station. That sounds like a benefit, but no, it was always noisy. But I had trouble sleeping so I liked the distraction.

Three hours later, after much begging*, an equipment tech who seemed to also double as a nursing assistant, volunteered to walk the corridors with me. I think around fifteen minutes in she started to regret it. We walked for about 25 or 30 minutes. She said it was just about one mile total. I was able to walk fine. My legs felt light. Only concern was my heart rate was up. It didn’t go down until the next day – we still don’t know why.

It wasn’t all roses. My throat was definitely swollen, big time. I did have the expected difficulty in swallowing. I forced myself to drink, through a straw of course, and eat ice chips constantly. I felt as though it was like exercise for my throat – to stretch it back out as quickly as possible. Probably not really effective approach but I figured it couldn’t hurt. The surgeon’s assistants came to check on me and when I told them about the swollen throat they immediately ordered a steroid to be injected. Within an hour or two I started to feel it working, to the point where I was able to eat dinner that evening no problem. It was actually *really* good. But when I took the cover off of the plate I got a chuckle, as it looked like steak. It turned out to be a very soft meatloaf. My complements to the culinary staff at Jefferson University Hospital – the food was excellent.

I will leave out the rest of the details as this post is getting long, but the next morning my heart rate slowed down and, since I otherwise felt good, once the surgeons saw that I could swallow they authorized discharge. Around 11am or so that morning, after one night in the hospital, I was discharged. Shockingly (to me), they let me walk out on my own. I expected a mandatory wheel chair ride, but no, the nurse told me I could go and pointed me towards the elevator. I later found out from my wife that my room was in the Ear, Nose, and Throat ward and not the neurosurgery ward, so I didn’t have nurses experienced in neurosurgery. That made some things make more sense. I won’t go into it, but the one nurse I had for the evening shift was not particularly helpful. Biggest gripe was that she wouldn’t allow me to walk. Walking, I believe, was critical to my recovery. So I was relieved when I woke up very early the next morning and met with the doctors and they told me I could be disconnected from all of the monitoring equipment and am free to walk as much as I wanted, in anticipation of discharge later that morning.

This post wasn’t meant to be a detailed trip down memory lane of my hospital stay : ) It was meant to be focused on how my recovery has gone since. But I guess it’s better to make that a separate post, so I’ll do that.

The ride home from the hospital was a little nerve-wracking but mostly uneventful. My brother and sister-in law were waiting in the drive up lane in front of the hospital. I walked out and got in and they took me home. I made it.


Surgery Tomorrow

Got the call this afternoon confirming the time to report for surgery – 4:45AM. I’m thrilled that it is early. The sooner the better.

I just recorded a couple of short videos of me standing in front of my phone and demonstrating my current neck mobility, so that I can eventually compare it. After viewing them, I was surprised to see that I currently can’t get my neck around as far as I thought I could. So glad I recorded them. The downside to it is that, man, I look like I’ve gained 25 pounds and 15 years of age all of a sudden. I knew my overall health was declining due to the stress of this ordeal but geez…

So glad this is finally coming to the next phase – recovery.


I’m Getting a Four Level ACDF this Week

I’ll keep this post short(er).

After meeting with the surgeon at Jefferson, he recommended a 4 level ACDF. I have no idea what went into his thinking but it was clear to me that he had spent time trying to figure out why the NYC surgeon, who is someone he clearly respects and speaks with often, recommended the more extensive surgery. In the end, he thinks I have a “80 to 90 percent chance” of the ACDF working. That’s good enough for me. Worst case, which will be horrible if it happens, is I will have to get a posterior surgery.

Today is Sunday. Last Tuesday I met one last time with my surgeon to sign the consent forms, got fitted for a hard collar (which isn’t that hard really). Thursday I went downtown and did an EKG, got a physical, blood tests, and met with an Internist who had a bunch of questions. In the end, she said I’m one of the healthiest people they’ve had in there. I guess it was a compliment but for a minute or so after she said it I started to question this whole thing yet again. But, pretty much from then on I am at peace with this and, surprisingly, I am not anxious. If anything, I’m more in “Let’s Fucking Go!” mode. I am tired of this and want to get this surgery behind me and start healing. Let the chips fall. This has gone on for far too long, consumed too much of my life. Time to move forward and either get used to a “new normal” that is either really bad, or hopefully, good. I yearn for the days of exercising, being active, feeling alive.

Tomorrow morning I head back into the city for a COVID test. I believe it is the “swab all the way up your nasal canal, touching your brain” type test but I don’t care. I’m more concerned with passing it. The last thing I need is to have to push this surgery back. If I pass the COVID test, it’s a go for Wednesday.

Forgot to mention – so about 3 weeks ago (a few days after my last post), the right side radiculopathy came back with a vengeance. For about 2 weeks it was horrible, but this past week it is has subsided to almost nothing. I’ve been sleeping in the recliner every night and probably will keep doing so, as I know I’ll need to do it for a while post surgery. But the pain is 95% gone to the point that, if surgery wasn’t in a few days I’d probably start working out again. In fact, just as I type this I’m wondering if it wouldn’t be cool to do, perhaps, one last yoga class tomorrow night. It’ll certainly be the last one for at least 4 months I believe. Nah, I won’t do it. I need to just chill, enjoy the last couple of days before the rest of my life begins. The new normal.

I’m about as ready as I can be, I think. I initiated the short-term disability claim. Surgeon says request 12 weeks. I’ll confirm with my claim manager and HR tomorrow. I’ve been burned out from this health thing to the point where I am burned out from my job, so this time away might be a good thing (not really, but you get my point). Onward.


Scheduled for “One of the more painful surgeries…”

I can’t believe I haven’t posted here since early May. I started, back in early April, keeping a private journal so I guess I just forgot about posting here. But, given what’s happened since my last post, and the lack of personal accounts for the type of surgery I’ll be getting, I will post often so that anyone in my situation might find this helpful in the future.

My last post was mainly focused on getting back to yoga and exercising, soon after meeting with a local spine surgeon who shocked me by recommending I avoid surgery for now and just “get back to my life.” I was so surprised by this, given the urgency and recommendation for surgery the prior two surgeons discussed with me. After the initial shock wore off, I was relieved and decided to put this all behind me and move on.

…until about a week later, when I woke up one morning and went to lift my right arm and realized that I had lost about half of its strength! Very scared, and now not trusting any of the three surgeons I had consulted with at that point, I started googling frantically to determine who the absolute best cervical spine surgeons are and whether I could get an appointment with them asap. Turns out, it’s pretty darned difficult to find a good surgeon. Everyone either likes or dislikes their doctors. Usually that’s based on how nice they are and not how effective. And the “Top Doctors” lists you’ll find on the web are pretty suspect.

After a pretty exhaustive search, I came to find two names repeatedly came up. One, a surgeon in New York City that specializes exclusively in cervical spine surgeries, and the other, a local surgeon at Jefferson who I already had the appointment with for late June. I called the NYC surgeon’s office and was told that he didn’t just take people via appointment, that I would need to submit all of my images and paperwork via a “study” portal, and it would be reviewed by he and his team and they would then decide if I was a candidate for surgery. If so, I’d get a call for an in-person office visit. I did, and it took longer than it should have, but I eventually got an appointment for a couple of months later, in June. It was the week I was on vacation at the beach but I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity, so that morning I set out for the 2.5 hour drive to midtown Manhattan, which was surprisingly not as difficult a drive as I expected, maybe because I expected it to be horrible…

Long story short, surgery, soon, was recommended. He said either he or the guy at Jefferson I was scheduled to meet the following week would be good – that Jefferson is a top-notch hospital for spine surgery and the doctor I had the appointment with was the best there. His recommendation if he does the surgery:

Anterior (front) Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF): C5 through C7, then flip me over and perform a C3 laminectomy*, C4 and C5 laminoplasty, and then, since I’d already be cut open posteriorly, he would add rods and screws to reinforce the C5 through C7 fusions. He warned me that it would be very painful for the first two weeks post-surgery, but that the benefits of this approach over a four level front and back fusion would be:

This all sounded both horrific (due to the pain) yet also wonderful, due to no loss in mobility. This surgeon has performed over 6000 cervical spine surgeries, has not had an infection since 2004, and I have since mentioned his name to a couple of other surgeons and they both agree he is top-notch. I scheduled the surgery for August 9th in New York, with the caveat that I may cancel pending the recommendation from the Jefferson surgeon.

A week later, I finally got in to see that final surgeon for a consult. He shocked me, yet again, by asking for a new MRI. I got the MRI and will finally, tomorrow, follow up with him for a final recommendation and decision. I’m expecting him to just tell me to go to NY and get the scheduled surgery, but at this point I give up on expecting anything as every step of the way I’ve been thrown curve balls.

So, exactly 25 hours from now, I’ll be getting the final input from him and then making my decision.

Regarding my right arm strength – it feels like it mostly has returned. I have been consistently attending yoga classes twice per week with no problem, and all pain is gone. Numbness is still there and has increased, and the last month or so I am also having some soreness/stiffness in my neck, which I never had before. All signs screaming out to me that I need to get this surgery soon. In the meantime, I’ll continue to do exercise consistently for as long as I can.

Stay tuned…

* the surgeon didn’t mention a laminectomy at all, focusing soley on the laminoplasty and fusion. However, after getting home and reviewing the visit report, it shows a laminectomy at C3. I emailed the nurse to get a clarification, along with asking her how painful/inadvisable a ~2.5 hour drive home soon after cervical spine surgery is : (


Yoga with Cervical Radiculopathy Pain

Following on from the advice of two of the surgeon’s I consulted with, which was to get back to exercising and normal activity, last night I took a yoga class for the first time in about three months. I survived!

My right arm is still intermittently painful, usually only slightly. Of course, as I type this, it is probably more painful than it’s been in a few days, I think due to a combination of last night’s yoga along with the car ride here to this Starbucks I’m working out of for the afternoon.

So the day before yesterday, knowing it was time to try a yoga class, I figured I’d better test out this arm before getting there and finding out it’s just not going to work. To test it, I fired up my Apple Fitness+ membership on the TV and chose a 10 minute yoga session. I’ve tried the Fitness+ yoga before, after I was actually in pretty good shape and had been doing strenuous yoga classes at my gym for quite some time. I found them pretty challenging, but they’ve since added a lot more and I suspect toned things down some.

It was tough, but not too tough. Only one potential “showstopper” – while I can push and pull just fine with my arms, and can hold myself up at the top of a plank/push-up, once I begin lowering down my right arm seemingly gives out and I drop. I’m able to muster enough to avoid completely collapsing, but it’s neither graceful more pretty. After finishing the one session I started and finished a second 10 minute session with the same instructor. Fortunately there were only a few plank to up dog movements. I was worried though, because that movement, which is part of the sun salutation and is a staple in every yoga class at my gym, is something I can’t avoid.

So I show up to last night’s ROOT yoga class at Lifetime Fitness. Andy, the instructor, is awesome. I’m very picky about yoga instructors. There are a couple of simply avoid altogether. There are three that are great, and two are my favorites. Andy is one of my favorites, as his classes are always so well programmed. I know this because I almost always leave his classes feeling both like I got a great workout but also like I added to my body. Nothing is overemphasized, e.g., legs vs upper body, etc.

I was extremely nervous all day leading up to the class. Even though I tested the right arm and knew I’d probably struggle with the downward strength movements, I wasn’t sure how much it would negatively impact me. Thankfully, I think we only did that movement approximately five times all class. Aside from that, some poses were really awkward, particularly reverse triangle. I’m just out of shape and it was clear to me. Shockingly, my ability to hold balance poses was no worse than before, and having reserved a spot in the back corner, which I think is where the astute beginners all like to be, I was comforted in noticing others around me were struggling. A few months ago I felt like an advanced yogi (which is and was wishful thinking). I surely felt like a beginner yesterday. I’d like to say it was a great class and I was thrilled to get through it. And I guess it was, and I am. But I also realized how difficult a struggle this is going to be to get back in somewhat shape. My lower body is sore today, but not overly so. The only pain during the class was during shavasana. Shavasana, for you non-yogis, is simply a rest period where you lie on your back for a few minutes. My right shoulder/back were in some pain but not unbearingly so like it was before. While not comfortable, after the first minute or so I got used to the pain and could reflect on the class. Honestly, a few times I looked around during class and started to tear up, wondering if this was my last one. I did my best to put those thoughts out and just focus on breathing, which I did a pretty good job of considering my lack of fitness. When class ended I showered and went home to watch the playoff basketball game. For the first hour or so post-class I felt kind of worn out and the shoulder/arm pain was there. Then, while watching the game on TV, I noticed it was gone. My arm felt stronger and, hard to describe but, more normal than it had in a while. Went to bed and hoped for the best, as that night’s sleep would dictate my yoga future, at least for the short term.

Next morning I woke up around 6am and felt phenomenal. No arm pain and it retained that stronger, more normal feeling. I was stoked…enough to not allow me to go back to sleep for another hour or two : ( I also got the itch to turn on my side, which resulted in the pain coming back a little : ( I finally got out of bed around 8am.

Not sure how well it comes across in this post but, basically, as of right now I’m thinking that yoga is the best thing I can do for this condition. So long as I don’t overdo it. I packed my gym bag for today with the intent to get to the gym and just do some cardio and maybe lift some weights. I’m not so sure about that now. I reserved SOL yoga class tomorrow, taught by my favorite instructor. She practically taught me yoga, as I was crazy enough to go to her class as a complete beginner, even though no beginner has any business going to SOL as it is a fairly challenging class. I stuck with it and am so in tune with her voice/instructions/pace. It’s usually a small class and with my having disappeared for a few months she’ll surely ask where I’ve been and I’ll have to rehash the story, if only to alert her to my likely flopping down awkwardly during sun salutations due to my dead right arm. If I can make it through SOL and not cause added pain as a result then I will keep going.

Aside from that, I am expecting a decision later today or tomorrow from a top cervical spine surgeon based out of Cornell, who is slated to review my images and reports remotely. Curious to hear what he says.


Diagnosed with Cervical Myelopathy (Part Two)

I recommend you read part one here if you haven’t already.

Shortly after the initial diagnosis and recommendation of surgery, I asked the surgeon if I could hold off safely until October, so that I could enjoy the summer. He agreed that, while there are risks, that sounded reasonable. We left it at that.

A few days later, the arm pain got so severe I couldn’t function. Couldn’t sleep. It was terrible. I messaged the Penn team (thank goodness for the modern portals these hospitals all use nowadays and, more importantly, that the team assigned to me at Penn responds very quickly). They prescribed meds which I avoided until it got so bad I had no choice. I began taking a combination of the prescribed single 300mg Gabapentin before bed, along with my wife recommending I take Aleve. I had tried that along with lidocaine gel and patches, ibuprofen, etc. to no avail over the prior days. Eventually, what worked was my wife insisting I take Aleve on a set frequency, and not just when I felt pain coming on. A few days of that – 2 in the AM and 1 in the PM, got the pain down substantially, from a 6/10 (min/max) to a 1/5. I was able to sleep again!

I stopped the Gabapentin right away. If you Google that drug you’ll likely come away with even more concern over it than I had (and still do). Fortunately for me I only took it for maybe 5 days max, and a small dosage at that.

In the meantime, I went to Rothman Orthopedics for a second opinion. This surgeon reviewed my MRI and x-rays and insisted that I get a four level fusion from the front (anterior) along with supporting rods and screws (posterior). I was devastated. I told him what Penn recommended. He responded by saying “the Penn guys do things we would never do.” He said it condescendingly. I asked him about loss of mobility (“30%”); how urgently I should get the surgery (“Asap. Within the next couple of months max.”); etc. My wife and I had additional questions but apparently a 25 minute consult total, including the physicians assistant exam and MRI review, was too long for that guy. He clearly rushed us out of there and said he’d like to see me back in two weeks. We reluctantly left, even more devastated and confused than we had thought was possible.

The next morning I texted a friend of mine who happens to be an anesthesiologist. I explained the predicament and that I was in need of a third opinion to help me decide between the hybrid surgery and the four level fusion. What a choice! : ) He texted me the name of the guy he said had the best reputation at his hospital. I got an appointment to see him the next afternoon.

So I go see the third surgeon. Before the appointment I remember watching a promo video of him on the hospital’s website. He states that he avoids surgery whenever possible, promoting physical fitness etc. I momentarily dreamed of him telling me he agreed with the first surgeon, as I dreaded the likely lifelong repercussions of a four level (front and back) fusion. I then snapped out of it and told myself to brace for the worst.

That next day I’m in the exam room waiting. He walks in doesn’t say much other than a quick hello, sits down and reviews the MRI and x-rays. He then turns to me and asks what my story is. By that time, the radiculopathy pain was mostly gone (in hindsight, it was about 75% gone, and has since gone down to about 98% gone, only noticeable when I am sitting awkwardly). I tell him about the first two surgeon recommendations. He says to me that if he were to do surgery he would do a fusion of C6/C7 and, even though I’m asymptomatic on the left side, since he was in there already and C5/C6 is so herniated and compressing the spinal cord, he would replace that disc and then, “Call it a day…but you have to decide whether you really want surgery or not.” I was perplexed at that last sentence. I told him, “I don’t want ANY surgery, but these other two guys told me I had to get it asap or I risk paralysis!”

Long story not so long….he recommended against surgery. Said monitor it and come back in three months. He said, “There’s no way, if it were me, that I’d get a four level fusion at 50 years old! Do you want to live with a four level fusion for the next potentially 30 years?!?” As for the first surgical recommendation, he took great exception with “skip a level” surgeries. Said he never heard of that being done.

In a nutshell, his thesis is that I likely have had this compressed cord for decades, yet aside from some nerve pain which is mostly gone now without surgical intervention, he thinks it’s likely I would have died an old age and never known I had this condition. He told me if things get worse call him, otherwise come back in a few months and we can assess, then six months, and then in a year take another MRI and compare.

I left elated. I couldn’t believe it. That seemed like a totally logical approach!

It’s been two weeks and I’m not so sure now. While the arm pain is gone, my right arm is definitely left weaker. I’m concerned I’ve taken that first dreaded “step” in the wrong direction that is a progression of what is called cervical myelopathy, sometimes referred to as cervical spondolytic myelopathy. While some never degrade, others progress through a series of steps over time, first step resulting in what I have now, for some worse, then weeks, or months, years or decades later (no one knows) the next step might result in a loss of balance. Eventually paralysis.

The only way to stop progression is by decompressing the spinal cord through surgery.

So talk about a gamble. Do I get surgery? I’m convinced I will get it. Problem is, I don’t even have a recommended consensus on what type of surgery!

I sought out who the absolute best cervical spine specialists are in the country and two names popped up. One is at Cornell. This guy is so in demand that you don’t just make an appointment with him. You submit all of your images, fill out questionnaires, etc. and then he reviews and decides whether your case warrants his attention. I will hear back from him this week.

The other, a local guy, is a colleague of the four level fusion guy I mentioned before. But I heard he often disagrees with his colleagues, so worth a shot. Hard to get an appointment with him, but that’s probably for the best now I think. I see him in late June.

And, to add to the confusion, surgeon #1 called me on Friday afternoon to tell me, given my pain has gone away without intervention, he now recommends against immediate surgery. “Let’s monitor it! In the meantime, go back to exercising.”

I’m approximately seven weeks out from a week long vacation at the beach with family. Just enough time to drop the ~7lbs of fat and 1″ of extra waist I’ve accumulated during this stretch of inactivity. Frankly I’m amazed that’s it.

So, with two of three surgeons now recommending I get back to my life, I am scheduled for tonight’s yoga class. I’m, quite frankly, very nervous. More scared than nervous. I did two back-to-back ten minute Apple Fitness+ yoga classes yesterday to test my right arm. It held up, with some slight twinges in the forearm, and overall I am in bad physical shape right now – it felt like I was brand new to yoga. Even my breathing was heavy, labored. While the rest of my body is suffering from lack of exercise, that will be quickly remedied over the coming weeks. But will this “dead” right arm bounce back? I’m hoping it’s just weak from my not using it and favoring it for the past few months. If it fails me tonight, then reality will set in that this is a new normal, and I’d be itching to get surgery as soon as possible and forego the vacation. But I don’t even have a verified surgical approach. Ugh.

Stay tuned.