Trish: Glad to hear that you have gotten the one surgery scheduled, truly hope that it helps get you back to being the best, and have no more worries there!!! That has to be quite a relief -

As for the surgery to the neck - I'd wait to see what your Dr recommends, and determine if it is necessary to even have the surgery, and other possible alternatives (ie physical therapy, acupuncture, whether to do it immediately, or later). And I believe every ones recovery will be different, depending on the complexity of the situation. With mine, I did have some limitations for it is a major surgery, and surgery always takes a lot out of you. Because mine was a bit extensive (4 herniated discs, actually replaced 3, fused 2), we scheduled immediately (mind you, this had been a problem for a while, and never had the neurological workout from the military). Anyway, when I woke up, I couldn't believe it was already over, and I wasn't feeling bad at all (quite a pleasant surprise!!). And I was surprised how quickly I rebounded (only had to spend 2 days in the hospital). Mind you, you'll sleep a lot that first day from the meds, but I was up and moving about that nite & the next day (ie going to the bathroom) without much pain, and was released that night with a hard brace on my neck. My drive home is an hour, and it wasn't wearing at all (of course, I had the seat rolled backwards). By the following week, I was going to town and shopping (I didn't drive, my sister did but I did use those wonderful little electric carts around Walmart!!) Of course, those were short trips (town is about 20 minutes away), and I was able to be on my own within 2 weeks (since I'm single, and my twin had to return to work), but had many friends checking up on me. I was able to drive after 3 weeks of surgery (after my first checkup with the Neurosurgeon), of course, turning my head was limited and I was very careful. But it did take me a while to do anything that might jar the neck - more so because I wanted to be careful. Of course, that was me, and every scenario is different (my twin also had to have this done, altho she only had 2 herniated discs - but the biggest difference between hers and mine was that they used bone from her hip, I used a cadaver's. She had more problems with the hip than the neck, significant difference!!) You have to remember we are quite "adaptable" to what we are dealt with, you learn to live within your limits, and make the most of what you have (trust me, I seriously learned that when I was in the first Gulf War, out in the desert living in a tent, no "facilities", we had to build our own toilets and burn our human waste (yes, burn since the desert was so solid you couldn't dig enough to bury it!)) But ask your Dr about the recovery process. I was quite concerned as well, but I was rather surprised that I was able to get around as well as I could. I didn't stop either, for I knew that if I didn't keep doing things, it would catch up with me in the end, and if I did feel something (like I might overdue it), I cut back. Either way - I truly hope you'll find the right solution - you're definately on the right track, but hang in there!! ;) Sorry so long, kept coming back to this and adding on!!