Of course you are a bit of a mess five days out from surgery. You were dealing with pain for 14 years before you broke down and had the repair. Heaven knows how long he was rooting around in there. I think most of these guys take a course on how to say, "what do you mean, that you still hurt. I fixed you!!!" The first time I had a cervie repair (two levels), I saw the surgeon at 10 days post op and was told all I needed was tylenol xtra strength. After considerable begging, I got a muscle relaxer with no refill. I went straight from there to my primary doc who had referred me and he gave me a script for a decent pain pill and said he would call the surgeon and discuss the matter.

Your recovery will be a little slow but steady. Once in a while you will have a day or two where you seem to go backwards. That is normal and don't be surprised. I have had three cervical surgeries and pretty much lived on jello, yogart and Ensure for the first two weeks before I felt like eating real food. Besides, I was alone with no help. No lifting. The housework will wait if you don't have help. Hang in there.