upcoming surgery

[rockdoc]

Hi everyone -

I had a consultation with my neurosurgery group in December and had another MRI. I was referred to a new neurosurgeon and met with him today (my old NS left the practice about three years ago). The new MRI showed continued OPLL and DISH. Excess bone growth has fused most of my cervical spine and only C2 and C3 have much motion (aside from C1). The amount of bone growth was quite shocking to me and was not expected. There is also a large disk herniation at C2/C3 and continued OPLL between C2-C4. Surgery is scheduled for the 24th. The plan is to decompress C2-C4 with a laminectomy and fuse C2-C4 to stabilize the disk. They don't want to do an anterior approach for the disk because it is a risky surgery at higher cervical levels - he said lots of patients have trouble swallowing afterwards. They will leave the remaining laminoplasty from C4-C6 because it seems to have worked at those levels. 

Not the best of news but I knew something was wrong for a while.  Hopefully this round of surgery will help and my symptoms will clear up. I've been having trouble walking and have an almost useless left arm.

My best wishes to everyone for the new year and may you continue to be pain free.

BrianS

[Nancy McInally]

Good to hear from you Brian. Sorry to hear you have had continuing bone growth. I wish we could find a way to stop the bone growth. It's hard to know when it is time to have surgery but it sounds like you waited as long as you could or should. What prognosis have the NS given for improved left arm use and walking? How long will your recovery be?  Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. I will be thinking about you and sending healing thoughts your way.

Im probably not far behind you in having surgery. My PCP is send a referral to see the OS at OHSU. She thinks Its time to find out how my spine is progressing. I am having increasing pain, foot drop and my left hand has decreased strength and fine motor skills. When I do anything requiring me to bend, lift or be down on the floor I really pay for it later. 
Take care,

Nancy
Sent from my iPad

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[Pamela Brockus]

Brian, Like Nancy, I am glad to hear from you but very sorry to hear you need surgery again. I am also wondering about your recovery and prognosis for your arm and walking. I actually am seeing my Neurosurgeon that did my c2-c7 surgery in 2006, tomorrow. I had a bad spell before thanksgiving. My middle back would hurt awful went I sat up. I could lay down, or even stand, but not sit up in a chair w/o a lot of pain. I had a appointment with my Neurologist in Dec, and she ordered an MRI of my middle back (thoracic spine). The MRI shows moderate to marked stenosis because of ossified ligaments in various area's of my thoracic spine. The report said I have some degree of ossified Ligamentum flavum throughout the thoracic spine. My worst ossification is at t1-t5, and then at at t10-12. My primary physician gave me oral steroids for my pain ( I ask for the oral steroids) as nothing was helping the pain. I took 60 mg of steroid the first day, then tapered down the next 5 days until I was done with the steroids. I am pleased to say that after taking the steroids I am now able to sit up without that horrible pain. I still have pain, just not to the point that I can't sit up. I am going to see what my  original Neurosurgeon thinks tomorrow, about my current condition. I have aching pain throughout my body every day now. I have extra bone growth in most of my joints, including my hips which then  cause's pinching of nerves, etc.  I am scared to think about middle back surgery, which I know is going to likely be needed at some point. My cervical spine seems to be giving me more issues here lately too.  I am 54 years old now. I can't remember how old you are Brian? I'm being nosey, but how old are you? What year did you have your laminoplasty? A lamnioplasty is the surgery I had back in 2006. I will pray that all goes well for you for your next surgery. 
Pam

 

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CC: opll_di...@googlegroups.com
From: nmcin...@gmail.com
Subject: Re: upcoming surgery
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2014 20:07:26 -0800
To: opll_di...@googlegroups.com

[rockdoc]

Hi Pam and Nancy -

I turned 52 in October so I am still a fresh face puppy. Like Pam, I also have stenosis at T1/T2 and probably at lower levels (lots of middle back pain as well) but we have not explored that beyond what was seen on my cervical MRI. I'll broach that topic with my NS after I get through this next surgery. I have no idea about my recovery - this is a more invasive surgery than the laminoplasty so I assume my recovery will take a bit longer. Maybe George or someone else who had a laminectomy can chime in about their recoveries. My laminoplasty was in 2009 and it worked for the most part. Like many people, my OPLL seems worse at C2-C4 and that is where my current problem lies, so hopefully this next round will take care of that. The DISH (and extent of it) was my most unexpected finding - it would be nice to find something to slow that down.

I'll post updates as thins move along.

Cheers.....

Brian

[Pamela Brockus]

Hello Brian (fresh face puppy, lol)  and Nancy,
I saw my Neurosurgeon this am. He says the spinal cord is not too compressed yet in my cervical (which he operated on in 2006) spine, nor my Thoracic spine. He did not realize in the past that I have ossification in many of my joints, including my hips, knee's, ankle. He said it was not usual for people with a OPLL diagnosis to have ossification in the joints.  He said my pathology is not following a normal course since I have ossification in my joints and not just my spine. I have been to Mayo, a bone researcher in St Louis, and many other dr's who have no clue about all this ossification. I have not been diagnosed with DISH, though I wonder if that is what is going on since I do have ossification in my joints, which can happen with DISH.  I ask the Neurosurgeon about the thoracic ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum in my thoracic spine, as it is throughout it. I had mri's of both my cervical and thoracic spine for him to look at. And luckily he kept some of my MRI's of the cervical spine from 2011. He compared my new and older mri's and said he didn't see any change in growth in the ossified Ligamentum flavum in my thoracic spine. I ask him about surgery that I might need someday because of the ossified ligamentum flavum getting too large and causing more neurological symptoms. I ask him if the surgery on my thoracic spine would be more or less difficult to do than the cervical spine c2-c7 surgery that he did in 2006. The Neurosurgeon said my ossified Ligamanetum flavum (OLF) is in the back of the spinal cord, where as my OPLL is in front of the spinal cord, and since the OLF is in the very back posteriorly, surgery would be done posteriorly and easier to reach and deal with than the OPLL. That would actually good news to hear, about the OLF and future surgery in my thoracic spine. Just praying the OPLL doesn't grow in my thoracic spine too. Sounds much more complex and dangerous to deal with opll in the thoracic spine than OLF. However with OPLL in the thoracic spine, each case is different, and different levels of the thoracic spine are more problematic than others. My Neurosurgeon said that I should watch for more problems with my legs for ossification in my thoracic spine, or balance problems. I told the Dr about having epideral steroid injections in my spine for pain issues in the past six years. He did not think the injections were a good idea he said. I told him how I also took oral Prednisone for 6 days recently for back pain, and it helped. He did not discourage me from doing this for pain relief, but only can do this like 3 times a year he said. This Neurosurgeon is about 60 years old now, so he will be retiring in a few years. I told him not to retire any time soon. I trust him! He operated on my brother also back in 95 for a brain tumor. 
Brian, I think your surgeon is right about the throat swelling up bad after anterior vs posterior surgery on your neck. However, I have been told that going in posteriorly, from the back of the neck is more painful over a longer period, because they cut into muscles and stuff. Anteriorly, I think they shove the esophagus sideways and just move stuff around to get to what they need to do inside. My laminoplasty in 06 was done posteriorly.  I had a friend who had some cervical spine surgery just last mouth and it was done from the front, anteriorly, and she had a hard time breathing and eating afterwards. Also she is allergic to steroids, so they couldn't give her some to reduce the swelling/inflammation in her neck. Going in from the front sounds scarier to me than going in from the back.
Please keep us updated on how you are doing after surgery. Did they say how long you will be in the hospital after surgery?
Pam
 

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Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2014 08:05:13 -0800
From: bshe...@mac.com
To: opll_di...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: upcoming surgery

[Brian Sherrod]

I'll keep everyone updated as I maneuver through this. My NS said he did not want to do the anterior approach because I would have a hard time swallowing afterwards and may never fully recover my ability to swallow well. So he wants to avoid it. I like that. They said I''d likely be in the hospital about 5 days but could be longer depending on how I do.

Good news on the lack of compression in your spine.  Keep us posted how you do.

BrianS

[Big George]

Hi Brian and Group,

  I think you will do well with the upcoming surgery. My second surgery was an anterior approach corporectomy and fusion of C4 to C6, and i had no problem swallowing,although I have to swallow with a drink of water. When I had my 3rd surgery,laminectomies from C3 to T1 and hardware(rods,screws,and crosspieces), I used my recliner to sleep until I could lay down comfortably. It took almost 2 weeks to feel comfortable. I am now comfortable after 3 epidural steroid injections. It took a while, but I am off my pain medicine for the most part. I am taking gabapentin for my neuropathy in my hands and feet, but thankfully I am finally comfortable.I will keep you in my prayers as you face this surgery. I am confident you will have good results,and be feeling better. Once these surgeries are behind us, it's like just another little hurdle in our life journey. All my best to you and the other members of the group.

Sincerely,

Big George

[Nancy McInally]

I am 54 and like to think I am a fresh face puppy. Most people are surprised to hear I am 54. Probably due to the fresh air and lack of sunshine in the Northwest. I had a Posterior Foraminotomy  about 6 years ago. The incision was suppose to be 1" but due to some confusion with my congenital fusion the NS had to make the incision 5" so he could visually see the area where he removed some spurs. It was more intense to heal from then I expected but I did OK. I suspect posterior surgery is more difficult to heal due to all of the muscles involved. 

Pam, glad to hear you are not ready for surgery. I also have some spurring on some of my other joints. Do you have much pain in your spine or other joints? If so, what do you do to decrease it? I use heat, exercise and some medications. I hate that I need to use pain meds but they have allowed me to continue working. If I can't get sleep I really can't do my job. Lets keep in touch. I'm  off to the heat and recliner. TGIF,  It's been a very busy and exhausting work week!

Nancy
Sent from my iPad

[Nancy]

Good to hear from you George, I think I remember a message stating you were having a surgery but I can't remember how long ago. I don't seem to have as reliable of memory as I used to. 

Nancy

Sent from my iPhone

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[Pamela Brockus]

Hi Nancy, Big George, Brian, and anybody else from our group that reads this:),
Big George, Glad to hear you are doing better now. Lets see how good my memory is, lol, I think you had surgery in April. Am I totally wrong? I like what you said about your last surgery being another hurdle in life that you got through. You are so strong. 3 surgeries... Plenty of hurdles with OPLL!
Brian, if I were you, I think in a way I would just want tomorrow to be the 24th to get the surgery over with and get past it and let the healing begin. When I had my  in c2-c7 surgery in 2006, I had access to a commode, walker and a bath chair, all if which I used when I got home for a little while. I hope you have someone, like a wife, to help you when you get back home after surgery.
Nancy, I mainly just take like 4 ibuprofen, or a prescription Naproxen, a muscle relaxer- Zanaflex. I don't take the ibuprofen or Naproxen consistently for more than a week because I worry about getting a hole in my stomach. I take Nexium for my stomach, to help avoid getting a hole in my stomach, since I take these anti-inflammatories frequently. I have some Oxycodone on hand, but rarely take it cause it is so sedating. I have tried other muscle relaxers, which gave me bad side effects. I tried taking Gabapentin when my pain was really bad one night, but my mouth got some bad sores in it, after taking it, so I haven't tried it yet again. I am going to try taking the Gabapentin again some time, just to make sure it wasn't just a coincidence with the mouth sores. I have tried Cymbalta for pain years ago, and it made me a nervous wreck,so I don't take any antidepressants. I have tried Ultram in the past but it kept me awake at night, I tried it several times. I recently asked my Neurologist if I could trying taking Ultram again, and I would take my muscle relaxer, Zanaflex at night to help me sleep. The Neurologist told me it wasn't good to take Ultram and Zanaflex together. UG!!! I have tried amitriptyline years ago also, but didn't help and caused severe constipation. I took Hydrocodone some, but it always may me nauseated, so I don't take that (wish I could, as it isn't as sedating as Oxycodone) I have to take Oxycodone with food or it makes me sick too, but if I eat I don't get nausea with it.  Like I said, I don't usually take the Oxycodone. Only rarely. I also take a Xanax 25 to 50 mg at night to get to sleep. I also use heat, ice, some simple chair yoga to stretch a little and I walk around Walmart every few days. My hips have ossification in them and pain if I walk very much, so I am not able to get as much exercise as much as I used to. My shoes make a big difference in the pain in my hips and thighs. I need big arch support and shoe inserts in my tennis shoes if I am going to do any walking for any length of time (more than 5 minutes). My hips are being disagreeable this week, and hurting, even though I haven't walked much this week. I have cubicle tunnel syndrome in my right elbow. The ulna nerve is getting pinched mild to moderately. I saw a arm/hand orthopedist recently and he is hesitant to do surgery on my arm till it is severe, because he is afraid he will just cause me more pain he said with all the pain generators that I have. If it gets severe he will do it. I have extra bone stuff in my right shoulder (same arm as the cubicle tunnel) and was diagnosed in 2007 with a rotor cuff tear, which I didn't have repaired. It got better over time, but I still get pain in that shoulder, just not quite as bad as in 2007. I was afraid to have the surgery to fix the tear, because you have to do physical therapy after the shoulder surgery, or you end up with a frozen shoulder, and that was the year after my cervical spine surgery and I was sure the exercises in P.T. would aggrevate  my pain in my neck, which I already had plenty off. I had PT after spine surgery. Subsequent attempts at P.T. for my spine, just caused more pain for me. You ask if my spine hurts and it does, especially over and around the area's where the ossification is the worst, that being my upper and upper mid thoracic spine. I get numbness, tingling in both my hands, arms, my chest on the left side. I get mild to moderate pain frequently, and occasional severe pain. Thank God I don't get severe pain frequently or all the time!!! My legs have intermittently  felt heavy and kind of hard to walk. The Dr today said not to worry about intermittent heaviness, but if it continues I need to come and see him. I had more weakness in the right arm today as the Dr noticed, but it could be from the pinched ulna nerve. Don't know. As I told him, since I have so many joints that hurt with all this ossification crap it is hard to tell if things that hurt are from my spine or a joint for sure.  To deal with my hips would require hip replacements and likely my body would just get more ossification around the new metal hips, so not going to have that surgery until I can't take the pain in my hips anymore.  I do not work anymore. I can't manage all the pain well enough to pull that off. Thankfully I don't have too.  I wish I could find some magic pills without side effects!!!  Hope I answered your questions Nancy. I probably answered them and then some, but we all are in about the same boat as I am, and you can relate to a lot of what I have experienced. I also get strength from reading messages from Big George and others that have been through even more than me, but still keep on pushing forward. Nancy, what meds are you taking?
Pam
 

 

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CC: opll_di...@googlegroups.com
From: nmcin...@gmail.com
Subject: Re: upcoming surgery

Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2014 17:49:34 -0800
To: opll_di...@googlegroups.com

[D McCandless]

Brian, I want to send you my best wishes for successful surgery and rapid recovery.

 

Hope you all are keeping well, or at least as well as possible.

 

Deb Mc

[Brian Sherrod]

Hi Pam, Big George, and Deb -

Thanks for the wishes. I'll post something after my surgery and let you know how it goes. I look at Peyton Manning and see what he is able to do after his surgeries and am absolutely amazed.

BrianS

[cdy6951]

Hi. Recently I received C2 hemilaminectomy and C3-5 laminoplasty. I had a C2-3 OPLL before.

My operation has been successful. My myelopathy is disappeared. Are you going to have laminectomy & fusion ?

Laminectomy provokes axial pain in longterm period. So I requested dome laminoplasty but my surgeon chose hemilaminectomy.

He prefer hemilaminectomy to dome laminoplasty. Ask your doctor about laminectomy and fusion.

Good luck!

[Nancy McInally]

Thinking of you and your upcoming surgery. May your surgery be successful and recovery quick! Let us know how your surgery and recovery progresses when you are up to it. Take care friend.

Nancy

[rockdoc]

Well, I made it through the surgery and am at home. Trying to get off pain meds - I've gone two days without so 'm almost there. My pre-surgery symptoms seems to have been relieved by the decompression no numbness and tinging in hands or feet. Too early to tell about walking issues but I'm confident those will be better too. I have 4-6 weeks post-op before I meet with my dr again - because of the rampant dish in my spine, he is wanting to look a bit closer at my thoracic and lumbar sections to see how they have fared. But thats after I get over this surgery.  I'll let you know how I progress.

Cheers......BrianS

On Thursday, January 9, 2014 6:01:31 PM UTC-8, rockdoc wrote:

[JAN MCKIM]

Hello Brian,

Congratulations on your progress and getting through your surgery.  Post-op is the discovery stage when you discover that your symptoms have improved, and the pain subsides.  You must be encouraged that the numbness and tingling are gone.  Has the surgery improved your left arm?  How is the mobility of your neck?  Are you wearing a neck brace?

I don't have DISH, and I'm wondering how this condition affects your symptoms.

Keep us posted on your progress and may you continue to see improvement in your mobility and pain level.

All the best to you and to all of us with OPLL,
Jan McKim
San Carlos, CA

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From: rockdoc <bshe...@mac.com>
To: opll_di...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: upcoming surgery

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[Pamela Brockus]

Hi Brian,  So glad to hear you are doing well!!! Hopefully time will help improve your walking problems. With the improvement of your tingling and numbness I would be encouraged that you will continue to get better too. It hasn't been very long at all yet since you had surgery, so I am impressed that you have stopped the pain meds already! Take care and hang in there. Please keep us updated on how you are doing in the weeks to come.
 This is super bowl weekend, so we can all watch Peyton Manning play in the big game after has 4 spine surgeries. I read on article about him recently and his past 4 spine surgeries. The article said he still has some weakness in an arm, though it gradually improved, but it's is still there some. It's amazing that he can play football still. The article said he and his team have learned to compensate for his weakness in that arm, and he has learned strategies to play and win!  My team is not in the superbowl, so I'm rooting for his team.
I'll be thinking about our little group on Superbowl Sunday. Take care Brian and all!!!
Pam
 

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Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 10:57:12 -0800
From: jjm...@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Re: upcoming surgery
To: opll_di...@googlegroups.com

[D McCandless]

That's great news, Brian!  So encouraging that your symptoms have subsided.  Good luck with the other areas of concern.

Deb Mc

[cdy6951]

Hi, Brian. Congratulations for your successful operation!!!

I was surprised that you stopped pain med. I continued pain medication to 3 weeks after operation.

In my case, my symtoms was disappeared as soon as next day of operation, but pain was very severe.

So, I had to continue pain med at that time.

In addition, I used neckbrace about 3-4 weeks. How about you?

In searching new article about neckbrace use, it is good within 3-4 weeks.

Longer neckbrace provokes limited range of motion.

Let us know how your progress is better!!

Daeyeon

Seoul, Korea.

[Nancy McInally]

How is it going Brian? Have been thinking about you. 

Take care,

Nancy

[rockdoc]

Hi Nancy and everyone -

I'm doing ok. Sorry for taking so long to get back. My symptoms improved considerably after the surgery and my incision healed quite well.  I had a minor setback yesterday - a large lump formed very rapidly on the back of my neck next to my incision. The nurse I talked to had me go to our urgent care center - they had no clue what is was and as I sat there, it slowly diffused out into my surrounding tissue. My neck is still a bit swollen.  My surgeon talked to the doc and told me to come see him first thing next week and I had a long discussion with his nurse on the way home.  They are not too worried because it's not an infection or spinal fluid so they think it is just some fluid from where scar tissue has formed and pulled away from the surrounding tissue. I have to monitor it and if it gets worse, head to the ER where I had surgery so one of the neurosurgeons can look at me. Anybody heard of something like this?  New to me.

Otherwise I'm doing good.  No more J collar but I can only lift 15 lbs and cannot do anything too strenuous.

Cheers.....BrianS

[Pamela Brockus]

Hi Brian, I didn't experience anything like that after surgery at the incision site. I hope it is already gone today as I type this! Let us know if it went away.
Pam 
 

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Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 19:22:35 -0700

From: bshe...@mac.com
To: opll_di...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: upcoming surgery

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Nancy McInally]

My posterior scar is large and not pretty but I didn't have anything like what you describe. Make sure and keep an eye on that. Do you have someone at home to watch it carefully. If not I would try to get it looked at soon! How many weeks have you been recovering?  Are you back to work? Please take care of yourself first! 

Nancy

Sent from my iPad

[Big George]

Hi Brian,
Just wondering how you are doing? It’s been a while since I’ve been on here. Been okay. No more surgeries because the neurosurgeons won’t touch me, and I’ve managed my pain with a pain control doc. We’ve been busy with our son going into his last year of medical school. It’s been a lot of support and love to get him here. Next year will be a busy year with his fiancée graduating from Auburn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, him graduating from Louisville’s School of Medicine, their wedding, and moving them to where he will do his residency. I hope you are well, and have been able to get past your surgery with little or no problems.
All my best,
Big George

[Pamela Brockus]

BIg George, Hi, very long time and no communication with this group. There are some opll support groups on facebook you may want to join if your on fb. I joined a few recently.

Pam

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From: opll_di...@googlegroups.com <opll_di...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Big George <emer...@fuse.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 12:20:11 PM
To: OPLL
Subject: upcoming surgery

 

[Zoom]

Thanks Pam, 

   I’ve been busy and haven’t had time to get on groups. I’ve had a couple of people with OPLL contact me through email and ask about support groups. I hope everyone is well, and able to enjoy life. I’ve started walking with a cane for almost 2 years, but I’m still independent. I’m able to do some things around the house, as long as I can stop and rest frequently. All my best to you, and the rest of the group, 

Big George 

Sent from my iPhone

[JAN MCKIM]

Hi Big George,

I've been wondering what happened to our little group.  I'm glad to hear you're hanging in there in spite of the opll.  Independence is so important!  Are you still able to drive?  As we get older, driving becomes more difficult.  My dr. granted me a disabled placard, and this has been such a help. 

Keep in touch,

Jan McKim

[JAN MCKIM]

Best wishes to you, Brian, on the 24th.  Was your surgery scheduled in Jan. or April?  (I just noticed the date of your email.)  I hope that the surgery and recovery goes smoothly with improvement to movement in your arm, a reduction in pain, and improvement in your walking.  Give it time to regain function; it may take 6 months to a year before you notice any improvement.  I had a laminectomy and fusion of my neck from C2 to T1, and the improvement was gradual but the numbness in my extremities finally resolved after many months.

Hang in there rockdoc,

Jan McKim

On Thursday, January 9, 2014 6:01 PM, rockdoc <bshe...@mac.com> wrote:

Hi everyone -

I had a consultation with my neurosurgery group in December and had another MRI. I was referred to a new neurosurgeon and met with him today (my old NS left the practice about three years ago). The new MRI showed continued OPLL and DISH. Excess bone growth has fused most of my cervical spine and only C2 and C3 have much motion (aside from C1). The amount of bone growth was quite shocking to me and was not expected. There is also a large disk herniation at C2/C3 and continued OPLL between C2-C4. Surgery is scheduled for the 24th. The plan is to decompress C2-C4 with a laminectomy and fuse C2-C4 to stabilize the disk. They don't want to do an anterior approach for the disk because it is a risky surgery at higher cervical levels - he said lots of patients have trouble swallowing afterwards. They will leave the remaining laminoplasty from C4-C6 because it seems to have worked at those levels. 

Not the best of news but I knew something was wrong for a while.  Hopefully this round of surgery will help and my symptoms will clear up. I've been having trouble walking and have an almost useless left arm.

My best wishes to everyone for the new year and may you continue to be pain free.

BrianS

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[Zoom]

Hi Jan,

  I’ve been keeping busy around the house. I’m still driving, and towing our travel trailer on camping trips. Setting up the camper and site wears me out sometimes, but I get a lot of help from family and friends. I also sit down to rest, when I get tired. I’m glad to hear you received a handicap placard. I’ve had mine for several years. It makes me angry to see well bodied people using grandma’s placard to park in handicap parking spaces. I went to Walmart a few years ago, and there were no handicap spaces, but I was able to find a space a couple down from the handicap spaces. I’m on my way into the store, when a guy carrying a huge bag of Ol’Roy dry dog food on his shoulder. The only handicap this guy had, was using the handicap space when he wasn’t handicapped! I felt guilty when I first got the placard, because I saw people who were worse off than me, and I will still take the farthest space from the door. I’ve been walking with a cane for about 3 years now. I’m able to walk behind a self propelled lawnmower and cut the grass in our small yard. I usually pay for it physically the next day with a sore back, but I like keeping active, and a little heat makes everything better! I hope you’re well, and able to enjoy the longer days, after the long winter. It’s so nice to see the trees beginning to bud out, and everything turning green! I’ve found a great pain control doctor, who has used steroid injections, and radio frequency ablation to alleviate nerve pain in my lower back. All my best to you! 

Big George 

Sent from my iPhone

[JAN MCKIM]

Wow!  You are still very active, Big George.  Good for you!  The key to keeping active is knowing when to stop, and knowing how to alleviate the pain after exercise.  I use an ice pack on my back or shoulder, and I sit in our "zero gravity" chair that we bought at Relax the Back store.  After about 30 min., I usually feel better.  Last year, I had an epidural (steroid injection) in my low back that really helped the pain for about 6 months.  I've also had steroid injections in my should and both knees.  I don't have opll in my low back but I've had low back pain for many years before the opll in my cervical spine became a problem.  What is radio frequency ablation?

Cheers,

Jan

[Zoom]

Hi Jan, 

  Radio Frequency Ablation is similar to epidural steroid injections, the procedure is done under fluoroscopy, but the needle is attached to a frequency generator that heats the needle to fry the tissue around the affected nerve. The doctor also injects a small amount of steroid to help with irritation and aid healing. I’ve had it a couple of times at different levels in my lower back with great results. My pain control doctor, Robert Klickovitch MD, is an anesthesiologist with specialty in pain control. He’s written several papers and been involved in research involving pain control and procedures. He’s been recognized as one of the few top doctors in pain control located in the Greater Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky area. He has offices in Florence, and Lexington, Kentucky. It’s important to research pain control specialists, because some are just pill pushers, who don’t do some procedures. We have some of the “zero gravity” outdoor recliners that we take camping with us. I can recline, and take pressure off my back when I get tired. If I’ve been up on my feet, walking or standing for a while, my legs start to act like they don’t want to work. The muscles in my upper legs and hips feel like they’re done, so I sit and rest for a while. Then I can go a little longer. It’s also great reclining outside in the fresh air, or near a campfire. I’ve been using an ice pack initially after working, and they recommended it after the radio frequency ablation to keep the inflammation down after the procedure. Anything to keep moving! All my best,

Big George 

Sent from my iPhone

[D McCandless]

Adams...@yahoo.com

[Brian Sherrod]

Hi!! 

Glad to hear from all of you. I had my last surgery in 2014 and am I'm doing fairly well - still moving around, working, doing some limited field work. I've lost quite a bit of strength in my arms and have trouble lifting sometimes, plus my neck is now 100% fused such that it's really hard to look up, so grocery shopping is a literal pain in the neck. I am still getting lots of numbness and tingling in my legs and arms  - I'm just in a holding pattern to see if it gets any worse and then I'll go see my doc again. I'm mainly just trying to keep doing stuff because I fear that once I quit doing something, I won't be able to go back to it. 

I'm glad to hear all of you are doing well. Keep it up! BrianS

Brian Sherrod

253-653-8358 cell

sherro...@gmail.com

On Wed, Apr 18, 2018 at 4:31 AM, Zoom <emer...@fuse.net> wrote:

Hi Jan,

  I’ve been keeping busy around the house. I’m still driving, and towing our travel trailer on camping trips. Setting up the camper and site wears me out sometimes, but I get a lot of help from family and friends. I also sit down to rest, when I get tired. I’m glad to hear you received a handicap placard. I’ve had mine for several years. It makes me angry to see well bodied people using grandma’s placard to park in handicap parking spaces. I went to Walmart a few years ago, and there were no handicap spaces, but I was able to find a space a couple down from the handicap spaces. I’m on my way into the store, when a guy carrying a huge bag of Ol’Roy dry dog food on his shoulder. The only handicap this guy had, was using the handicap space when he wasn’t handicapped! I felt guilty when I first got the placard, because I saw people who were worse off than me, and I will still take the farthest space from the door. I’ve been walking with a cane for about 3 years now. I’m able to walk behind a self propelled lawnmower and cut the grass in our small yard. I usually pay for it physically the next day with a sore back, but I like keeping active, and a little heat makes everything better! I hope you’re well, and able to enjoy the longer days, after the long winter. It’s so nice to see the trees beginning to bud out, and everything turning green! I’ve found a great pain control doctor, who has used steroid injections, and radio frequency ablation to alleviate nerve pain in my lower back. All my best to you! 

Big George 

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 18, 2018, at 5:06 AM, JAN MCKIM <jjm...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

Hi Big George,

I've been wondering what happened to our little group.  I'm glad to hear you're hanging in there in spite of the opll.  Independence is so important!  Are you still able to drive?  As we get older, driving becomes more difficult.  My dr. granted me a disabled placard, and this has been such a help. 

Keep in touch,

Jan McKim

On Wednesday, April 11, 2018 3:18 AM, Zoom <emer...@fuse.net> wrote:

Thanks Pam, 

   I’ve been busy and haven’t had time to get on groups. I’ve had a couple of people with OPLL contact me through email and ask about support groups. I hope everyone is well, and able to enjoy life. I’ve started walking with a cane for almost 2 years, but I’m still independent. I’m able to do some things around the house, as long as I can stop and rest frequently. All my best to you, and the rest of the group, 

Big George 

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 11, 2018, at 12:50 AM, Pamela Brockus <pbro...@hotmail.com> wrote:

BIg George, Hi, very long time and no communication with this group. There are some opll support groups on facebook you may want to join if your on fb. I joined a few recently.

Pam

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From: opll_discussion@googlegroups.com <opll_discussion@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Big George <emer...@fuse.net>

Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 12:20:11 PM
To: OPLL
Subject: upcoming surgery

Hi Brian,
   Just wondering how you are doing? It’s been a while since I’ve been on here. Been okay. No more surgeries because the neurosurgeons won’t touch me, and I’ve managed my pain with a pain control doc. We’ve been busy with our son going into his last year of medical school. It’s been a lot of support and love to get him here. Next year will be a busy year with his fiancée graduating from Auburn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, him graduating from Louisville’s School of Medicine, their wedding, and moving them to where he will do his residency. I hope you are well, and have been able to get past your surgery with little or no problems.
All my best,
Big George

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[Nancy McInally]

Glad to hear were all keepin on. I also had a 4 level ACDF in 2014. My surgeon had to scrape some of my ligament to make my plate fit. It was a 6 hour surgery. I regained my fine motor skills and  my foot drop vanished. I still have neck pain and reduced ROM. I was told I would need a more extensive surgery 5-10 years post op. I am able to work but by end of work day I am done! A month ago I went through a rough time. My neck would clunk when I washed my hair or sneezed or turned neck. I have had cracking, popping ect. but this was different. Luckily with a little TLC it only lasted for a week or so.  I continue to work full time time but luckily have the summers off. My  My job is challenging but I think working with my students helps to keep me mobile. I am eligible for retirement next winter but I could not afford medical insurance and live on my retirement. I had my knee replaced last summer. It has been hard to recover from the TKR surgery. Seems harder than any other surgery. I am walking but struggle when I squat or attempt to kneel. I get trying to keep working and busy. Activity seems to be our friend. Good to hear from you all. Take good care of yourselves!

**Brian if you are still in my neighboring state and need an Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Robert Hart is at Swedish Medical Center. He left my area and he was the only MD that I trusted to have knowledge about our condition and some unique birth defects I have.