well i had an mri last week and found out i have a large herniated disc at c3 c4. have an appointment to see neurosurgeon on oct 16. i am scared.

Hi there. I spent a long time being too scared for surgery when I found out every joint space from C1 down was unstable due to permanent ligament laxity. My C3 is perpetually dislocated off to the right and shuts down my right side. The way I feel about surgery has changed. After yet another neck injury, I spent 2 years being bedridden and thus realizing that being hooked up to a vent would be an improvement in my quality of life -- I could get on wheels and rejoin the land of the living instead of being trapped in bed 24/7. But, I ended up finding a doctor at Spaulding Rehab in Boston who specializes in minimally invasive interventional pain management for an array of spinal disorders. His treatments reduced my discogenic pain to the point where I was able to get out of bed again, so now the risks of surgery are not worth it because I could end up less functional than I am now.

Take your time making your decision. Seek out several specialists, young (up on new technology) and old (more experienced), hotshots and empaths. If you feel like you are just a number or being dismissed, move on to another specialist. Collect all the info, and then take your time with your decision. Ask to speak with patients who have had any of the procedures recommended to you. You can also look up data on the various surgeons. I had an inside source -- a family member is a doctor; he steered me away from a particular surgeon (who had been highly recommended) because he had assisted in his surgeries, not noticed anything out of the ordinary in the OR, but noted that the rate of post-op infection among this surgeon's patients was higher than average.

Also, ask about less invasive procedures -- if they are offering fusion with instrumentation, ask about microdiscectomy.

Best of luck.

if you don't mind me asking what was his name? i'm basically non functional exept for feeding myself. a vent is even better than this.