The three comments I read below the poster, are spot on! I feel I have the best surgeon in the world (as he did an amazing lumbar surgery for me!) but when we got to the cervical spine problem, I didn’t present in a way that made him feel confident. I had complications after surgery, which were due to the reality of what he found during my surgery. Even with the best surgeons, this can be a creative process. Your active participation in your recovery is going to be a huge part of this. I know people who had complete relief with their surgeries. Good for them! I have arthritis, degenerative conditions, and I was in an auto accident at eight years old, which nobody realized would affect me 60 years later! I suggest you try a MFR therapist. Deep my facial tissue release. With that release of my muscles pulling on my shoulders, neck and head. It informed me that I was indeed ready for surgery.. Like with all my five joint replacement surgeries, I am at the end of my rope physically the day. I’m wheeled into surgery just in the nick of time! But in my particular cervical spine surgery of which there were two one right after the other, I am still working on getting better after two years. this is a very individual experience and surgery unlike a hip replacement. It’s all going to depend on your many conditions going into surgery. This may sound scary, but it is honest and that’s what you want, right? I got my life back and I can do all the things again. I was locked out of because my neck couldn’t support the heavy bowling ball head anymore. However, some of my problems have to do with a lifetime of repetitive motion, my muscular problems, bad posture, which I was born with And other elements over, which I have no control. I lost some mobility in looking down and my left to right mobility is what it was before I went into surgery. In the first cervical spine surgery, where they only did the front it was magic as I could move my head Like I was 12 years old again. But my bones were soft and wouldn’t hold the minimal surgery so three weeks later I was back in surgery having a rod stuck in my back and bigger screws.
The best thing to do is look around educate yourself about your own health situation and what all the words mean so you understand your own body and then when you find the surgeon, who is your Prince charming you’ll know he’s the right one.
Yesterday, I played hooky and spent the entire day putting up Halloween decorations. Getting up on a ladder, taking things down from the rafters,reaching for hooks and slowly, methodically, transforming my house to delight myself with Halloween. This morning I woke up stiff and sore and slow. I was probably more scared that I wouldn’t be able to get Halloween up then I was of my spine surgery.
You didn’t say the extent of what the cervical surgery would be like if it’s just removing the osteophytes I absolutely believe you should go for it. It’s a simple procedure. I had it done on both my cervical spine and my lumbar spine. It brings great pain relief. So if they’re not suggesting The rods in the screws in the fusion, I suggest from what you described it would be a safe and effective option. Dropping a pot of scolding boiling water might be considered ared line.