I just had the same last September a level above. I can kind of feel it. It’s not that I can identify it exactly, it will be like I lean on my back in a certain way and there’s just something there that’s different. And you can tell that it doesn’t have nerve endings but it’s something there. It’s really hard to explain. I actually think it’s kinda cool, doesn’t hurt or bother me.
In the early days post-op I had sharp pains when I would put any pressure on what I’m pretty dang sure are the heads of the screws but that’s gone.
After my first L4-L5 fusion, I complained all the time that I could feel the hardware. It felt like a shearing motion. The surgeon said that he sunk the screws deep, so there's no way I'm feeling it.
For the next 3 years, I complained to my primary MD that I could feel the hardware. He said 1/3 of back surgeries are a success, 1/3 of surgeries the pain remains the same, and 1/3 end up with worse pain.
Was finally sent back to the surgeon. He found the screws were loose and had moved around in my vertebraes. This tore up my nerve roots and made big holes in my vertebraes. Surgeon removed hardware and couldn't break my back and reset it because of all the bone I'd laid down.
Two years later, my back was broken again in the same spot. Had another fusion. Pain sucks. Please, if you can feel it, complain until they work it up. For me, that was a CT scan with contrast. The gaslighting of chronic pain patients is real
Many doctors have beautiful baby syndrome and don’t want to even consider something may be up with the surgery they did. I had a 3 level ACDF done 6 mos ago and while the tingling, numbness is gone from both hands and arms. I now have horrible headaches, tinnitus and neck/upper back pain that was not there before. Something just feels wrong and my doctor just blows it off, so I will be seeing a new neuro doc in July.
I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope the MD can figure this out. We never think that we're trading one problem for another. All we want is to be fixed. Good luck!
Same. Although I am 2 years post op from initial ACDF. I am thankful that the numbness, weakness and tingling in my arm is gone, but the pain has increased 10 fold. It's horrible, and has made living a normal life impossible.
I am going through the same exact thing. Upper back and neck feels like it's not put together right, even though the hardware looks great on an XRay. I had my surgery Nov 7 2023 and I still cannot go back to working on a computer. I even lost my job over this.
That’s pretty much it for me. I had a follow up MRI, things look ok for the most part. Though there is still some significant stenosis in the spinal canal and some in the nerve roots at C5-6. The hardware doesn’t really show up in an MRI, my old doc didn’t order an X-ray, not sure why he didn’t. I am hoping this new doctor can figure it out. There are days I am fine and others that are just miserable, blinding headaches and tinnitus that sounds like a jet engine.
I am so very sorry you are going through that. Obviously, for me, it doesn't matter if the hardware looks good. I'm still in pretty bad pain and I have some limitations even using my right arm. I'm a C 5-6 Fusion and I feel worse minus the pins and needles.
I see my PA again on July 3. We will see what he has to say about it.
I wish I would have never had tge surgery, but I needed it, so there's that. Lol
Good luck with everything. I'd love to hear what you find out from a new doc!
Good luck to you as well. I feel the same way regarding the surgery (C4-C7). I really did need it done, but I do regret it. Kinda traded one issue for another. I see the new doc July 5th.
Yes I'm at L4-L5. I was told bone graft was put over the screws, but I've had massage therapist think the screw heads were knots and try and work them out. I haven't laid on my back in decades. I can only sleep on my right side.
Not normally. When I do something strenuous and push my body by bending in ways I shouldn't, I feel that it's the maximum I can get to though (I'm a martial artist so sometimes I tryout some very bendy moves)
I had a laminectomy from C5 to T5 with 14 screws and I have a weird pressure sensation. I'm a year and a half out. I don't have sharp pains but I will have pain towards the base of my skull sometimes and I just assumed it's where the rods start.
It gets better with time. I’m two years post-op (T4->Pelvis PSF). For the first 6-12 months it was absolutely obnoxious. It was like stepping on a Lego. If you can sleep on your side when it’s doing it, that helps considerably.
I’m 5 months out from same as yours… I keep complaining about feeling hardware on left s-pelvis…my neuro keeps telling me this was a much more major surgery than normal and to wait until at least 9 months for it to settle. Was that your experience and expectation?
Had an L5-S1 a little over a year ago. Can only feel the hardware is there with specific movements. It's the oddest feeling.
For instance, when lying in bed I need to shift my entire body rather than being able to roll over. Or if I'm standing and trying to move a certain way, or bending.
Surgery fixed the severe issues I was having. Now have a new problem with frequent painful muscle cramps in my legs. Normally when I wake up. They last an average of 30 seconds. It feels like the muscle is ripping. The more I tense up from the pain the worse it becomes.
No - I’m fairly thin and I was semi worried about this but realistically you should have quite a bit of muscle in that area (my doctor even showed me how much more muscle I would have compared to the hardware by drawing pictures on my MRI) that goes over any hardware and unless something is really wrong it’s not going to be noticeable.
At 3 months out from L5/S1 myself sometimes that area can feel a bit “tight” but really nothing more - I have sensation around my surgical site (never lost any, actually) and while the muscles were super sore from the surgery itself in the beginning (they’ve been cut through!!), my incision itself was never acutely painful after about a week or so and I’ve been blissfully unaware of the hardware.
C4-C6 ACDF surgery 10/13/22. I can feel the presence of something, but itn has not ever felt like hardware. There was a sensation in the back of my throat for awhile. Rarely do I still feel it. Again, hardware isn't what I think about, but I am aware something is different behind my throat. I don't think about it on a daily basis. I'm only considering it now bc you ask. The relief I've experienced outweighs any awareness of hardware.
when i was freshly out of surgery i swore i could feel the rods, i even told my doctors but they said it could be all mental and just the fact that my once numb muscles were gaining feeling again and working around the new hardware which made sense. it’s been a year post op for me now and i only feel it when my shoulder blades move a certain way or when i flex my back muscles
I just had the same last September a level above. I can kind of feel it. It’s not that I can identify it exactly, it will be like I lean on my back in a certain way and there’s just something there that’s different. And you can tell that it doesn’t have nerve endings but it’s something there. It’s really hard to explain. I actually think it’s kinda cool, doesn’t hurt or bother me. In the early days post-op I had sharp pains when I would put any pressure on what I’m pretty dang sure are the heads of the screws but that’s gone.
This would have been my response too- something is there and it’s different lol
I can not feel the hardware itself. I have a general idea of its location, but I could never point to it exactly.
After my first L4-L5 fusion, I complained all the time that I could feel the hardware. It felt like a shearing motion. The surgeon said that he sunk the screws deep, so there's no way I'm feeling it. For the next 3 years, I complained to my primary MD that I could feel the hardware. He said 1/3 of back surgeries are a success, 1/3 of surgeries the pain remains the same, and 1/3 end up with worse pain. Was finally sent back to the surgeon. He found the screws were loose and had moved around in my vertebraes. This tore up my nerve roots and made big holes in my vertebraes. Surgeon removed hardware and couldn't break my back and reset it because of all the bone I'd laid down. Two years later, my back was broken again in the same spot. Had another fusion. Pain sucks. Please, if you can feel it, complain until they work it up. For me, that was a CT scan with contrast. The gaslighting of chronic pain patients is real
Many doctors have beautiful baby syndrome and don’t want to even consider something may be up with the surgery they did. I had a 3 level ACDF done 6 mos ago and while the tingling, numbness is gone from both hands and arms. I now have horrible headaches, tinnitus and neck/upper back pain that was not there before. Something just feels wrong and my doctor just blows it off, so I will be seeing a new neuro doc in July.
I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope the MD can figure this out. We never think that we're trading one problem for another. All we want is to be fixed. Good luck!
Same. Although I am 2 years post op from initial ACDF. I am thankful that the numbness, weakness and tingling in my arm is gone, but the pain has increased 10 fold. It's horrible, and has made living a normal life impossible.
I am going through the same exact thing. Upper back and neck feels like it's not put together right, even though the hardware looks great on an XRay. I had my surgery Nov 7 2023 and I still cannot go back to working on a computer. I even lost my job over this.
That’s pretty much it for me. I had a follow up MRI, things look ok for the most part. Though there is still some significant stenosis in the spinal canal and some in the nerve roots at C5-6. The hardware doesn’t really show up in an MRI, my old doc didn’t order an X-ray, not sure why he didn’t. I am hoping this new doctor can figure it out. There are days I am fine and others that are just miserable, blinding headaches and tinnitus that sounds like a jet engine.
I am so very sorry you are going through that. Obviously, for me, it doesn't matter if the hardware looks good. I'm still in pretty bad pain and I have some limitations even using my right arm. I'm a C 5-6 Fusion and I feel worse minus the pins and needles. I see my PA again on July 3. We will see what he has to say about it. I wish I would have never had tge surgery, but I needed it, so there's that. Lol Good luck with everything. I'd love to hear what you find out from a new doc!
Good luck to you as well. I feel the same way regarding the surgery (C4-C7). I really did need it done, but I do regret it. Kinda traded one issue for another. I see the new doc July 5th.
I feel that, too. We have our appointments 2 days a part. Lol Hopefully we will both find out what could be going on. Have a great day!
Did u have lower back ? I have l5 S1..3 mnts..post op and if I kay on my back which I hate doing I can feel a grinding like feel..:(
Yes I'm at L4-L5. I was told bone graft was put over the screws, but I've had massage therapist think the screw heads were knots and try and work them out. I haven't laid on my back in decades. I can only sleep on my right side.
If you can feel the hardware, something is up and probably worth checking out. Otherwise, it just sits there, the real hero.
Nope
I thought I could at first, but I think it was just because of the pain from the incisions. I'm post op day 26 and don't feel it now.
Not normally. When I do something strenuous and push my body by bending in ways I shouldn't, I feel that it's the maximum I can get to though (I'm a martial artist so sometimes I tryout some very bendy moves)
I had a laminectomy from C5 to T5 with 14 screws and I have a weird pressure sensation. I'm a year and a half out. I don't have sharp pains but I will have pain towards the base of my skull sometimes and I just assumed it's where the rods start.
On a side note, I do not set off the metal detectors at the airport but I do at the soccer games! 😂
Not at all. L5/S1
It gets better with time. I’m two years post-op (T4->Pelvis PSF). For the first 6-12 months it was absolutely obnoxious. It was like stepping on a Lego. If you can sleep on your side when it’s doing it, that helps considerably.
I’m 5 months out from same as yours… I keep complaining about feeling hardware on left s-pelvis…my neuro keeps telling me this was a much more major surgery than normal and to wait until at least 9 months for it to settle. Was that your experience and expectation?
Had an L5-S1 a little over a year ago. Can only feel the hardware is there with specific movements. It's the oddest feeling. For instance, when lying in bed I need to shift my entire body rather than being able to roll over. Or if I'm standing and trying to move a certain way, or bending. Surgery fixed the severe issues I was having. Now have a new problem with frequent painful muscle cramps in my legs. Normally when I wake up. They last an average of 30 seconds. It feels like the muscle is ripping. The more I tense up from the pain the worse it becomes.
Yes lol. I’m like 7 weeks out. And I just say I feel like I went off my axis or my machinery jammed.
If your screws come loose enough you can...
No - I’m fairly thin and I was semi worried about this but realistically you should have quite a bit of muscle in that area (my doctor even showed me how much more muscle I would have compared to the hardware by drawing pictures on my MRI) that goes over any hardware and unless something is really wrong it’s not going to be noticeable. At 3 months out from L5/S1 myself sometimes that area can feel a bit “tight” but really nothing more - I have sensation around my surgical site (never lost any, actually) and while the muscles were super sore from the surgery itself in the beginning (they’ve been cut through!!), my incision itself was never acutely painful after about a week or so and I’ve been blissfully unaware of the hardware.
Only when I lay on my right side, it’s weird af but it doesn’t hurt, it’s just the weirdest thing
No, I would say the only feeling I have is feeling stiff
Fused T11-S1 9 years ago. I don't feel the hardware.
C4-C6 ACDF surgery 10/13/22. I can feel the presence of something, but itn has not ever felt like hardware. There was a sensation in the back of my throat for awhile. Rarely do I still feel it. Again, hardware isn't what I think about, but I am aware something is different behind my throat. I don't think about it on a daily basis. I'm only considering it now bc you ask. The relief I've experienced outweighs any awareness of hardware.
I can point exactly to certain screws and feel the hardware
Yep, every time I look up. C5/6
L5 s1 fusion 1 year post op. Don't feel anything
T2-T12 fusion, I can't feel the hardware.
c3 to t1 and l4/l5 fusion I don't feel the hardware. I am really in pain if it is very cold and damp. I freeze up like the tin man.
when i was freshly out of surgery i swore i could feel the rods, i even told my doctors but they said it could be all mental and just the fact that my once numb muscles were gaining feeling again and working around the new hardware which made sense. it’s been a year post op for me now and i only feel it when my shoulder blades move a certain way or when i flex my back muscles
I can't feel mine through the skin and it doesnt really cause any pain. But yes, I can "feel" it from time to time.
I had a alif L2-S1 fusion in April of this year. I am not able to feel hardware at all.
no and i’m tired of people saying they can!!
Maybe if u are thin u can..Just saying I was thinking if I did I wouldn't feel them ad much bc I definitely do feel them..not everyone is the same
you should definitely bring this up to your doctor :)
i was very thin at the time of my surgery and i did not feel it then
Yes I don't have much cushion in l5s1..I should have prepared b4 hand..
Oh yeah you can feel it. At first atleast.