Parus have you gotten several opinions because back surgery isn't all its cracked up to be I know one lady had surgery on her back 3times ,still suffering I'm not saying this to scare you but just be sure

Parus, yes be very careful with back surgery. My daughter had back surgery and was told up front, she would need it again in two years.

@lioness Going under the knife is not something I want to think about or even discuss with a doctor. Thing is we mostly hear about the negative outcomes. So far surgery has not even been mentioned by a doctor and I do not plan to mention thus. I may have mentioned surgery somewhere.

@parus
I certainly understand your reluctance to go for surgery. I have been living with this for sooooooooooo many years. The last 5 years have been especially difficult! I have been retired for 5 years and I have NO quality of life. I am still relatively young at 63 (in a week) and would like to enjoy the remainder of my life doing all the things I couldn't when I worked.

I have tried and exhausted all my options. I have opted for surgery. Wednesday I will be having 2 discs from my cervical spine removed and replaced with 2 artificial ones. It is my hope and the hope of the surgeon that this surgery will eliminate the pain in my neck (no, not the hubby), the pain and tingling in my arms, the pins and needles, as well as the weakness in my hands. This is just the start. I hope this will be all I need for the cervical spine. The lumbar, hopefully, will be next.

My son and daughter-in-law are nuclear med techs. For a long time they have been adamant about not having lower back surgery because they see patients all the time with failed surgeries. Not so much with the cervical spine.

I am desperate and willing to try just about anything at this point. I cannot live in constant pain and I don't want to live on pain meds. I don't want to be a statistic for being hooked on opioids.

Well, that is just MY opinion.
ronnie

@grandmar There is really no need to have a surgery of any type. DDD of neck and lumbar are not something I would want to go through even at 66. My pelvis is twisted from having 1 leg 1/2 inch shorter since I was 20 from a broken femur in a horse accident. I also have developed scoliosis because of this. Throw fibromyalgia into the mix surgery would be nonsensical for me. Currently on an antibiotic for UTI which has me in a fibro flare. I apologize for any confusion about surgery and for some it could mean more quality of life. Wishing you the best in what you decide.

Thank you for your best wishes. I wish the best for you, too!
ronnie

Good luck I wish you the best I want to say one thing when I experienced pins@needles in my arms ,hands I removed my pillow ,just slept flat and they went away ,guess my pillow was pinching the neck nerves I was relieved that's all it was so now have a small pillow at night

Great idea....was recommended to me after back surgeries to keep the spin in alignment. I still get the morning zapper electric shock pain about 4 am. I also think it might be initiated by movement in my sleep that disturbs the moves. My surgeon said that the whole body gets ready to wake up about that time and so the nerves are more sensitive.

Does anyone have hot patches on your skin? Moves around. The only way it is relieve is lotion. Yes my skin gets dry easy. But this drives me nuts. I tried an alergy med and it seems to quiet it a bit But, it is endless. Sometimes on one leg and then the other. My arms also. Back of knees.

Yes, I do! My skin Is so! dry It flakes! I use pure coco butter. Found a tub at Sam club. Put it on when I get out of the shower and my skin soaks it right in. It isn't greasy! Hope this helps you!