Hi, well welcome to Cervical Pain 101, I had the fusion surgery in 1990 at C5-6, my disc was out and impended into the spinal cord...the Neurosurgeon freaked out when he saw my MRI!! He told me surgery was mandatory for me and not to let anyone slap me on the back or jump off any shipping yard docks, (I was a truck driver at the time). Don't let anyone slap me on the back? Boy oh boy was I dumb back then, he told me that so I wouldn't wind up paralyzed from the neck down, the slap on the back could of sent the disc thru the spinal cord thus cutting it in two piece's....would of been welcome to the world of a quad if that had of happened....I had the surgery and yes its been a lot of pain since then....but I'm walking, and I can move my arms and hands and type and such. I haven't worked full time since then except for a job I did out of my home doing ad's for three years part time. Here's my advice for you two, Suz you need another doctor, chunk the one you have and get a good neuro doctor and a good pain management doctor, Vicodin is for mild short term pain not what you have, and greenjeans it sounds like you need about the same thing, your post isn't very descriptive but close enough...I take Methadone 6 times a day, and a sleeping aid, the regular 10mg Ambein, it works...could use more pain med's though but 6 come close. Suz it sounds like you need a fusion between C3 and C4 and C4 and C5 right? Get ready, it's gonna be painful either way, but I'd be safe and get the surgery, a fusion with two disc in a row will take away a lot of mobility, better get some good pain meds trust me, your gonna need them and most likely do now. You see the difference between Methadone and Vicodin is that Vicodin has the stuff Tylenol has and builds up in your liver over time, not good for long term use and really is a mild pain med, where your Methadone is good for long term use and unlike the Vicodin isn't bad for your liver or other body parts, it has what's called a half life so if you miss a dose it will still be working to ease your pain. Out of everything I've tried its worked the best, and that includes Morphine, Methadone worked better. Once you have it in your system and take it on a regular basis you will feel more pain relief and unlike Vicodin it doesn't mess you up in the thinking dept....hey good luck, and for what it's worth, what I just told you guys took me years to learn thru trial and error and just plain luck of the woods...anyway good luck and keep everyone updated on how you guys works out and what you try.