I know that a lot of people have it much worse than I do, but my basis of comparison is my health and my life. It's been about 2 1/2 months since I ruptured a disc in my neck. PT accomplished nothing beyond the relief of time spent in neck traction. Massage and chiropractic didn't do any good. The docs are having me wait until the 3 month point cuz they say that the majority, or about 90% of whatever natural healing will occur in that time frame. I live on drugs, and the pain still rules my life. I get very little work done (and I'm a desk jockey), very little fishing, very little chores around the house, etc. If my condition doesn't significantly improve in 3 weeks, the docs recommend surgery. I'd do almost anything for relief, but surgery has its downsides.

I was in California last week and talking with a fellow agency guy there. He had back trouble 3 years ago, and tried PT, Chiropractor, massage, acupuncture, and finally found a spinal specialist outside his health plan. It cost him, but he found relief within weeks, and was healthy in a few months without having surgery.

I'm wondering if anyone here knows of any spinal specialists that work similar miracles. Yeah, I know it really isn't miraculous, but an effective non-surgical treatment would be a real plus. Does anyone know about anything like this in the south sound region?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo, see this guy. He is only one of two MD's in the state who do IMS. Since he is an MD it is covered by insurance. Everyone I have sent to him has given rave reviews. Myself I broke my collar bone twice and it never healed right. A few treatments it was better than it's been in 20 years. Well worth the drive.

http://www.michaelchuang.com/

How did you injure your neck?

I'd forgo the witchdoctor's bones and feathers routine and get the surgery done.

Don't knock it until you've tried it. The last person I referred she had disc problems with her back. She had tried everything short of surgery. She went to this guy and it's working wonders for her.

Stlhead,

Thanks; I'll check it out.

Sol,

Middle age degenerative condition is the medical reason; maybe stress, but that's not a medical diagnosis. I wasn't playing rugby or anything when it happened.

Aunty,

The neurosurgeon I consulted with would remove the disc and fuse the C5/C6 vertebrae. The herniated disc is pinching the nerve that goes under my left shoulder blade and through the tricep, ending at the elbow. The ruptured disc is inflamed and pinches the nerve where it comes out of my spinal cord and passes between the vertebrae. Removing the ruptured disc and fusing the vertebrae is supposed to alleviate the pinch condition. Side effects are that I'll permanently lose a few degrees of forward/backward neck flexibility, and have a sore esophagaus and hoarse vocal cords for a couple days or so.

I thought I was improving. I can sorta' bend over and pick stuff up off the floor now. But the last few days I've been getting the tingling in my arm that wasn't previously present. And the dull ache in the morning has me doing nothing other than getting ready for work and driving in until about 10 AM, even tho I pop the pills by 6:30 or 7. I see my regular doc tomorrow afternoon, but I'm not expecting much other than adjusting pill combos at the most.

Thanks folks. I'll keep ya' posted. I'm still planning to fish BC and Alaska come hell or high water; just might have to fish short days is all.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Still searching. So far, I could tell you who to avoid. F my L4-L5 and L5-S1. I hope you have good insurance. Last fall I kicked Group Health to the curb because I knew I'd go through this again.

Wholly Crap! Best wishes from me Salmo on a prompt, full, and quick recovery. None of that (for all of you) sounds like any fun at all.

Exactly! Stay away from thos Crackerjack Chiropractors. They'll mess you up.

Salmo g, I have a friend in spanaway that just went through something called Decompression Therapy. She is out of pain now and can turn her neck easily. I believe it was done in Olympia area. If you are interested pm me and i will try to get you in touch with her for more info.

I read this thread and moved on without saying anything. I don't know what's wrong with me. Sorry, Salmo. Damn! I hope you heal well and soon. I have no words of wisdom to help, but I sure wish you well.

Salmo,
Living with pain is a bitch.
I've had great luck with my back problem working with Dr. Stanley Herring.
Puget Sound Sports & Spine on East Jefferson in Seattle.
He is also the team physician for the Seahawks, so I'm sure he has pretty much seen it all as far a neck injuries go. He also works with the UW / Harborview.
It can be tough for new patients to get an appointment with him, but well worth it if possible.
http://www.uwmedicine.org/PatientCare/Me...ley+Herring.htm
Good luck,
Brian

There's more than one team physician as my long time family doctor Brad Shoup is also a Seahawk team physician.

Thanks folks. I'm gonna' check out the acupuncture alternative. It won't heal the rupture, but has potential for pain treatment. I'm also going to consult with the neurosurgeon again. My family doctor is puzzled. My improved range of motion suggests some healing, but the arm tingling suggests increased pressure on the nerve root, so maybe surgery sooner than later is better; can't say right now. I might also check out the sports and spine folks as well. Meanwhile, I had this bottle of Scotch that wasn't empty, just taking up space in the cupboard. Now I can put it in the recycling bin.

Sg

If chiropractic medicine was as good as advertised, I wouldn't be so busy with their victims. The only difference between them and the neurosurgeons, is that the surgeons don't promise anything and charge tens times as much.

You could try therapeutic massage. But you have to use discretion when choosing your therapist. Evidently Its alot different than what the girls at the Korean Massage and Noodle down in Portland perform. I had a talk with my health plan adminstrator after I tried using my medical savings account to pay for therapy. Once again, I learned that ten visits at the Korean Massage and Noodle in a month arouse suspicion among other things. At least the end of my spine didn't feel so turgid.


jus jokin. Good luck with whatever you choose Steve.

Salmo,
Sounds like you are going through almost exactly what I did a few years ago.
I had Johnnie Delashaw at oregon Health Science University fuse my neck at c5-6 Used a donor bone.

I Had bone spurs,calcified bulging disc etc.

Night and day difference.Rarely any pain.Great relief of all symptoms.And doing only 1 level I dont really notice the little bit range of motion I lost.

I really do feel like a new man

I highly recomend him.

Do a google search.Tons of info.
Heres my favorite link .Scroll down to the story of the first runner up.
http://www.ourhideout.com/darwin.htm

HntnFsh

HuntnFsh,

Glad to hear it turned out well for you.

I don't have any spurs or anything, just the heriated disc which pushes on, or pinches my spinal cord and the nerve root that leads to my left shoulder and arm. So I get more pain in my shoulder and arm than I do in my neck most of the time. I've got a surgeon lined up if I go that route. I'm trying to arrange another consultation before I decide what to do at this point.

Since things are never the way they were before, I'm kinda' liking that idea of feeling like a new man. How long did it take for you to heal and resume normal activity after surgery?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

I took Ibubrofin the day after surgury.After that no meds were needed at all.I could immediately tell a difference in the pain.

I took it easy for a couple days,and within a week I did pretty much what I wanted to.Like lots of fishing everyday.The silvers were running hard at that time.
But kinda made sure not to put myself in a position to put a lot of stress on my neck.Except for the little story thats next.

I was sturgeon fishing off the bank this side of the Astoria bridge a couple weeks after surgury.Slipped on a rock,and landed flat on my back hard! I was almost afraid to move I hit so hard.But once I got up I was fine.I hit so hard I figured if anything would mess me up again that would have.I have a small metal plate in my neck with 4 screws.They did their job.

It seems like it takes 2-3 weeks for the bone graft to start fusing.At the end of 3 months it should be almost completely fused.

I went back to work 3 months after surgury.And I'm sure I could have done it sooner.I work as a carman for the railroad.Its a lot of hard heavy work.And being in akward positions. My neck was pretty sore for the first week of work.Mostly from the time off I think. After that I was fine.

I did have the sore throat and a little bit of a hoarse voice for awhile.They have to move all that stuff off to the side to get access to the site.If they go through the front of the neck.

good luck salmo , no advice from this end other than my best friend had back surgery and regrets it, he is in as much pain now as before. Examine all your options carefully...