riding season done

[robin]

Well talked to the doc today and i go under the knife the 30th of this month for neck surgery going to fuse 5,6,and 7 hoping to make Inzane by car.

[Popeye]

Good luck with the surgery.  Had lower back done years ago. 

Popeye

[mhallock]

Robin,

Didn't know you were having a problem with your back........too much pain to get a ride in before surgery?? Maybe we could take a ride up to visit Bonzo and the NY crew?? How long a recovery period are they advising?? What the heck!!!

Mark

[eric in md]

man hate to hear this .. best of luck just keep it shined up .. send judy to hillbilly wait maybe i can pick her up .. really robin just take it easy many more yrs to ride .

[Phil57]

Good luck with the surgery and the recovery. Hope all goes well.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I wish you the best Robin my son has destoryed his back when he was 17 he will never be the same .

[Valkahuna]

I ended up one evening totally incapacitated by pain. Worst thing that ever happened to me. Tests showed three herniated and three other disks bulging in my neck. On top of everything, they discovered that I have congenital stenosis (narrowing of the canal in the spine that the spinal chord is supposed to fit in) which causes the nerves to all be vulnerable to pinching. 

Anyways, normally they go in through the front of the throat to work on those disks, but doing so means they have to fuse the one they are fixing. With my neck as bad as it was, the Docs (more than one) decided that if they fused one, they would have to do them all, since the fused one would put more strain on the others and they were not in good enough shape to take the stress. NOT GOOD!!! I'd be walking around like I had a 2 by 4 screwed to my head and butt. Neither the Docs or I wanted that. Since I had no problems prior to that day, it was decided to try to find the ONE THING that went wrong that  day. Talk about tests! 

Tried all kinds of therapies while they were trying to find the problem, with no results. So... they put me on oxycontin, and Anti-vert (to lessen the dizzyness and pain I was having). This went on for three months. No driving, no nothing! Did I mention my youngest son got married in the middle of all this? Finally did a discectomy (spelling?) in February, with admonishments to "be careful", etc, etc.

Bottom line is this. That was in 2004, I have to be careful, my right hand and fingers are still numb (permanent nerve damage) but I am doing what I want, including riding. It was tough getting off the oxy (don't want to go there again). 

So what's the point of of this long story? To let you know that no matter what they tell you, be sure that it is necessary to do the fusions. Tough to turn your head to look behind you riding your bike when only half of the vertebrae can move independently, but more importantly there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not the train! This too shall pass!

[Karen]

Keep the faith, Robin, trusting that it will all work out well.

[T-Bird]

Good Luck Robin. I didn't know you were having problems. I hope the surgery goes well and you will be riding soon. I have my fingers crossed now about the Hillbilly ride, but will have to make a discision soon.

I'm very worried I screwed my lower back up with the fall I took 3 weeks ago. The broken ribs are still hurting but not as bad as before. The 2 vertabra I chipped must be where most of my severe pain is coming from. I go back to the Dr. in 3 more weeks for a CT scan & x-rays to see how everything looks.

[Flask]

Best of luck to you my friend !!!!!!!
You and Judy will surely be missed at the Hillbilly Hwy Run.
Please keep us all advised 

[Momz]

Good luck.
Been there, and got a scar to prove it. Six weeks later Iwas riding the "Valhalla Voyage".

Two years ago I had even more intense spinal chord surgery. My doctor told me I'd never drive a car again.
Well I told him I'm a motorcyclist and it wasn't going to stop me.
Trust in yourself and you'll be riding very soon.

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I blew a disk in my neck and pinched the nerve to my left arm and hand in 1996. It was the most incredible pain and it never let up. Like a tight, hot wire running down my arm, and every once in a while, it was as if someone sent a large voltage down the wire. My coworkers got a bang out of my symptoms to be sure since I would jump when the voltage thing happened. It hurt so much I would sweat constantly and my last thought  before falling asleep was the dread of waking up to the same pain.

I went to several Doctors, each of which had a different diagnosis. Finally, a sports medicine Doctor diagnosised it as a blown disk in my neck pinching the nerve. He said that fusing the disks would probably be the only cure for me.

I didn’t trust anyone to operate on my spine and toughed it out for a couple more years which did cause some permanent nerve damage to my left arm. I tried several chiropractors during that time, none of which helped. The third guy I went to said he could fix the pain, and he did. It’s still gone, even after all these years. If I have to work on something overhead I sometimes pinch the nerve again and I go back to him for an adjustment and he fixes it again.

I can’t promise it would work for anyone else, but I can say with absolute certainty, Dr Frankville saved me from spinal surgery and greatly increased my quality of life.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.
Mike

[robin]

Thanks everyone looks like i have all the symptoms ya'll have had the pain is sometimes unbearable on my left side but life goes on.

[BigMac NJ]

Robin,

Good luck with the surgery !

Kevin

[solo1]

Robin, my son Mark, Mad6Gun, badly damaged a disc in his neck, work connected,  lots of pain.  Neck vertebrae are nothing to fool with.  The surgeons went in and fixed it by fusion and a piece of bone from a cadaver.  He's ok today.

I had back surgery on L4-5 about 14 years ago.  The pain was so bad that they had to give me a shot while I was waiting on the gurney for surgery. Ii was stenosis, an arthritic spur pressing on the nerves.  I woke up pain free and was discharged the next morning.  I was walking that afternoon with no pain.

Hope you get back to riding soon.






 

[Chiefy]

Best wishes for an uneventful procedure and a quick recovery.

[Devl]

Oh Mannnnnn....sooo sorry to hear this Robin!
Surgery should always be a last resort but it sounds like your in such pain that your there.
Good surgeons can do some miraculous things.  I know some folks that have parts of cows tails in their neck and didn't slow down abit. 
Prayers to you for a successful surgery and a complete recovery, hang in there
Please keep us all informed during the process.

[Cattman]

I had C6/7 worked on 5 years ago for the stenosis coming out the left side. Same symptoms with the electrical charge and knotted up muscle in the shoulder for over a year. Surgury relieved the pain immediately. No fusion, only removal of some bone to free up the nerve. 

[Ice]

Man Robin, we were looking forward to seeing you two at the Hillbilly, but I truly understand, I have crusched C3-7 and my Dr. wanted to do surgery a few years ago and I told him no, only if the pain gets worse, which so far I have a handle on.
Best of luck my friend, hope you back on the Valk soon.

Yuri

[Oss]

Robin that is a tough one.

We are hoping that the surgery works and you are back to your ornery self in no time, and able to ride and turn your head so you can enjoy the wind in your face and have your lovely wife speaking into your ear in thru the intercom in that sweet voice of hers  sayin   " WILL YOU PLEASE GO FASTER"

Look forward to seeing you this summer somewhere

Oss

[Paxton]

Robin;
Good wishes for your recovery.
These days I hear that those kinds of surgeries have become more commonplace, especially when they use titanium. ???
I'm just talking 'bout what I hear. Certainly not backed up by any expertize on the subject.
Notwithstanding, I hope that advances in science and procedures benefit you.

Get well soon.

[GiG]

Robin, buddy, sorry to hear. I face a lot of the same issues, and have been putting it off for a long time. Seems to be getting worse, lately.
Was looking forward to seeeing you and Judy.
Heal up fast!
GiG

[Bonzo]

So sorry brother, i guess we do the wino tour by car!

[xman]

Sorry to hear you have been living with this pain. What Valkahuna said is the reality. As I had told you my wife has always had leg pain at night. This last year the pain has escalated to just about muscle. Countless doctors, every diagnosis, spinal injections, nothing helped. Until the physical therpist said I have never seen some one with such knotted muscles. She said see a doc that did not work at the spinal center she worked at, " he has helped a lot of people" In 5 miniutes doc said you have fibermayalgia, arthritis, and sciata. What a difference since then, not a cure, but just knowing what it is not, made the difference. So my point , my wife was about to do anything they said, and each doc thought they knew what the issue was, but. She just needed to find the right guy. Robin, my only suggestion,  be sure you have done your homework, exhausted all the diagnosis and options.

Good Luck
Tom   

[Strider]

Speedy recovery brother!!!!

[hotglue #43]

Robin
  Sorry to hear this.  Back pain can really be a killer!!!!!  Hope your painfree and healing up ta ride soon!!!!

[NJF6Cowboy]

Robin & Judy,

Just got home from Rhode Island to read this sad news. Best of luck with the surgery.

If you need any help I am just up the road and would be glad to help.

Stan

[G-Man]

Hope all goes well, Brother.  Good thoughts from me and Cheryl!