Bulging Disc

[Kindergarten teacher]

I am a 53 year old woman and I was diagnosed with a bulging C5 disc. I experienced excruciating pain in my neck, shoulder and arm with numbness in my hand. I went through 2 months of PT, traction and 3 epidural injections with no relief. Last month I was scheduled for disc replacement surgery to be performed next week. Suddenly the pain has disappeared and now I just have the numbness. I'm wondering if I still should have the surgery. I don't want to cancel the surgery and then end up in pain again after school starts and require surgery. As a teacher, I want to have the procedure done during my summer break if it needs to be done. Could the pain return in a few months?

 

[mike8675309]

What does your DR say about the risk of the surgery and pain? Your doctor should be able to provide statistics on various outcomes based on the doctors experience. Has sufficient imaging be done and shown to you? Have they explained using the imaging what is wrong with your disk and how they intend to repair it?

 

[Kindergarten teacher]

i just got off the phone with my neurosurgeon 's office. They said the pain does subside sometimes but is likely to return since I'm still experiencing numbness. The surgery is definitely on. Thanks for your input.