Laura O.
Philip, so sorry to hear of your bad news. On the up side though, after the removal of 4 disks & extensive spurring, and widening my spinal canal, my neck is virtually pain free! My remaining problems are all from below the neck down. I will pray for you that all goes well, and that you too, will finally have relief from from your pain. Also, believe it or not, I have only lost a small percentage of the range of motion in my neck. Think positive, have faith and remember that we are here to post to whenever you need to talk, ask or whatever. Update on my case: Seen the doc on 2/17 but MRI films of my lumbar spine weren't there at his office yet. He seemed concerned that there has been so little improvement in the 3 months since I saw him last. (My right hand & fingers are no longer numb!) He set me up to see one of the rehabilitation doctors again. I saw that doc on 3/2. He did a full exam of all reflexes, strength and range of motion. He says I still have time on my side, being only 8 months post-surgery. He says recovery time can be 12 - 18 months post-surgery. Although, there is also the possibility that the portion of my spinal cord that was compressed so badly may have ceased to function because of being cut off from normal blood supply or whatever, for so long. So it could be as good as it gets for me. He increased the dosage on my Neurontin again to see if that helps. My lumbar spine MRI report states, "The patient appears to have congenitally short pedicles of the lumbar vertebral bodies, which is causing mild spinal stenosis at L2-3 and L3-4. There is moderate spinal stenosis at L4-5 secondary to degenerative changes at this level, combined with the congenitally short pedicles at this level. No disc herniations are seen." So I guess you could say I got good news/bad news on this too. I go back to another rehabilitation doctor on 4/9 and back to see the neuro-doc on 5/18. I still haven't been released from his care. I am also still waiting for a hearing date on my S.S. Disability case. So far, we are making it financially. I pray that it stays that way for us too! Take care everyone, and post when you can! Laura :)