had fusion to c4 c5 and now left side of arm is doing the same as right side did

[juliegirl1025]

i had a fusion to c4 and c5 and now the left side is starting to burn deep pain picking numbness could i have a c somewere else that needs to be fixed?

[ggreg]

Amazing.  They do an MRI but not of the very thing that was a problem enough to where you had to have surgery.  I hear you, tho, back problems all over the spine can really ruin your routines.  I am in the same boat.  I can barely walk five minutes without starting to cry.  

With your new info, I can tell you perhaps it's either indeed you've now got another disc problem in your neck that may need repair or some sort of treatment, since you've had this problem before, or could be the fusion has begun to fail and needs surgical repair.  Hang in.

[juliegirl1025]

i had my fusion in 2009 this new pain on left side just started a week ago it is starting like it did with the right side.  i go to dr monday to see i had mri but it did not include my neck so they might need to redo that part my back is such a mess. i have 11 childern but only 6 at home and want so bad to be able to do the things with them i use too. i try to push past it but some days it is real hard.
julie

[ggreg]

The location of the pain will tell the story.  It's possible the fusion has now irritated the other side, or the pins and bracket are irritating something in that location.  But if the fusion looks really good on scan, then could be finally getting C4 and 5 straight has affected the rest of your neck.  I mean, the position of everything changes a little, and so you could have a new little nerve that's being pushed on by various structures that have moved, like muscles and ligaments, and in time and with physical therapy it will go away.  Or could even be it's not so much a nerve problem as it is your muscles and so forth readjusting to the new position of your vertebrae.  

Your doc can get some pictures of the situation and perhaps let you know what's going on, or he may be so familiar with how people do after a fusion, that he'll be able to simply examine your neck as usual, and will be able to feel if it's muscle spasms or if a nerve is bothering you, and he will likely go for moderate treatment to see if it will settle down, before getting all involved in fixing this.