Cervical fusion

[Baffled165]

After two surgeries on c5 & 6 I still have not fused and this has been going on for over three years now.  I am in constant pain.  I have sought out several doctors in the area and cannot get adequate relief.  Options given was pain management or another surgery.  I have tried everything from accupuncture to nerve block and any relief is very short lived ( last about a day ).  the only thing I haven't tried was doing and epidural. I am reluctant to have more needles stuck in me and/or cut on.  Where do I go from here?

[Tuckamore]

Hi Baffled,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum of MedHelp. I am sorry to hear bout your pain and the fact that your spine has not fused.

I am not a physician but in my personal opinion you've braved several surgeries I may consider an ESI. If your pain is so severe now possibly the ESI can bring you some level of relief. I certainly understand your reluctance to have another surgery but an ESI isn't as invasive. However I certainly do not want to encourage you to so something that you are uncomfortable doing. I do not want you to have regards.

I think that a PMP may be an good option at this point. He/she may be able to offer you other alternatives. At the very least you should not be suffering with horrid pain. You do need some pain control. Sometimes when we are more comfortable and not living with debilitating pain day after day we can think more clear. A decision may be easier to make if you weren't wondering how you will sleep through the night.

And I agree that larger city physicians may be more helpful for you. Many of us have been where you are. I went years with severe pain, without a diagnosis and treated like a drug seeker. It took an Internal Medicine DO to find the source of my pain. Now things have completely turned around, no matter what physician I see.

Good luck to you. Please let us know how you are doing. We are here to support you. I will look forward to your updates.
Take Care,
Tuck

[Baffled165]

On the first surgery they used my own and a cadaver on the second.  Out of all the surgeons I have spoken to,  none of them recommended a disc replacement.  I also live in a fairly small town and have spoken with alot of surgeons in the surrounding area and feel like I may need to find someone in a large city where surgeons are possibly more familiar with this problem.  Most of these doctors give me the impression that they are clueless.  And none of them want to prescribe pain meds and treat me like a drug user for even asking.

[RunningMom]

I'm so sorry your having a difficult time with your fusion.  Did they use a cadaver or your own bone?  I just had my C5-C6 fused 7 weeks ago and I'm still in extreme pain.  They did use my own bone right from another part of my spine and the bone has started to fuse already.  

I had an epidural shot yesterday in hopes to reduce this unbearable pain.  The epidural shot is eaiser to handle then the nerve blocks.  I think it's worth a try.  

With the fusion not fusing, I think you would be a canidate for a disc replacement(ADR).