Hi! I was diagnosed with bilateral cervical stenosis at C5/C6 4 years ago. I had pain down one arm and numbness. I do not have a herniated disc so your situation sounds worse. Initially, I put off the surgery because I had a two month old, my husband was unemployed and I was self-employed (i.e. we were dependent on my income). I couldn't take more time off without income so I put off the surgery and tried conservative treatment to deal with the symptoms.

There were several times when the pain and spasms were so bad that I almost threw in the towel and went for surgery. I even talked with the surgery scheduler one time. Since then (until now), I've been able to manage the symptoms with acupuncture, pain meds and muscle relaxers. I'm currently trying PT, massage and acupuncture to calm the neck down but the symptoms are worsening and I know the surgery is in my near future.

Each person must make the decision for themselves based on their symptoms and their doctor(s) input. I'd recommend getting a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion before tackling surgery. A friend of mine sought 4 opinions before settling on who was doing her C5-C7 fusion. She wasn't comfortable with the answers the surgeons were providing so she got another opinion. She finally found a surgeon who took the time to answer all her questions and proceeded with the fusion. She's doing great, still recovering but doing far better than pre-surgery.

So, you can postpone making the decision but you do risk causing permanent damage. And one of the other posts mentioned the possibility of incontinence. You need to weigh both the pros and cons and decide when it's best for you given your symptoms, impact on your family, impact on your relationships with friends and co-workers.