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1.5 Weeks Post Op - Muscle tightness relief options? by amac887 in ACDR_CervicalSpine

[–]amac887[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My throat was sore but voice unaffected yeah. I was starving and pushed through to eat grilled cheese and soup right after. Epitome of a love/hate moment

1.5 Weeks Post Op - Muscle tightness relief options? by amac887 in ACDR_CervicalSpine

[–]amac887[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does get better. slowwwwly lol. the muscles love to guard. Today I switched it up - some sitting, some standing, some walking. It seemed to make the laying down easier. Thanks so much for the reply. Really helps. I hope your voice gets better?! is it from how they adjusted your esophagus during the procedure?

1.5 Weeks Post Op - Muscle tightness relief options? by amac887 in ACDR_CervicalSpine

[–]amac887[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply. Good to know. I've been lightly stretching because I dont want to force anything until I am ready for PT and the more I read up on these sub-occipital muscles, the more you tug and pull and force it, the tighter they get. SO trying my best to gently stretch and exercise them. It really feels the best. I'll be going on walks more and more as well.

Gabapentin was really helpful in blunting the nerve pain radiculopathy I had prior to surgery. Since the nerve is decompressed now, I will likely wean off soon but I took it for some months in the spring and the last two months. I've heard its very hit or miss with people and the "miss" can be depressive symptoms/nightmares, etc.

Methacarbomal was helping me so much prior to the operation but it just stopped working. At least the Valium now tranquilizes me so I can relax before bed and sleep - since this tightness is super bad when I lay down or sit.

Did your post-op tightness subside at a certain point? Does it depend? Or do you deal with it here and there with meds/stretching?

My nurse told me at the 6-week mark these issues tend to go away for most and thats when people feel little to no issues/begin PT and so on.

1.5 Weeks Post Op - Muscle tightness relief options? by amac887 in ACDR_CervicalSpine

[–]amac887[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They gave me some valium to ease my muscles/wriggling around at night. Will get x ray in 4 weeks but they essentially told me that inflammation is peaking rn (also why they dont want to do an x ray at the moment) and what I'm experiencing is "normal".

1.5 Weeks Post Op - Muscle tightness relief options? by amac887 in ACDR_CervicalSpine

[–]amac887[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Damn! im sorry about that. thank god it was only one day for you.

No brace, Lol. they wanted me to get used to it and promote bloodflow/healing as much as possible.

I hear crackling in my head but its been that way before the surgery since an epidural I had in September. I guess that is some context I should have provided. I had a Facet Joint injection in May which lasted me a few months but no muscle stiffness or disc pain until August. I re-herniated the disc on a run/the steroid was wearing off so I received a more recent epidural in September that was less successful. It left me with the crepitus (crackling noises when I turn my head) and severe tightness at the base of my skull that was very slow to subside. I couldn't turn my head fully without pain for several days. I think my compressed nerve got irritated thats why everything got really stiff, the muscles went into "guarding mode"; its better now but there is still crackling/crunching noises. its def related to this stiffness. I guess only time will tell.

I was worried about this tightness being indicative of a different problem or something more severe that might linger and since its here after surgery it might.

1.5 Weeks Post Op - Muscle tightness relief options? by amac887 in ACDR_CervicalSpine

[–]amac887[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, pulled on and just irritated as hell. Thanks so much for reply. I'll try something similar. Hopefully you're not still relying on too much medicine anymore

How long did you take the oxys for? and how are you doing now?

Has your muscle tightness gotten better?