Hi! I think you are minimizing what's going on here. ( I'm now serving a life sentence for minimizing neurological problems.) I'm going to pick b2 phrases that are going to get you in trouble. "Just getting older" and "a lot of regular getting- old-rusty- neck-osteoarthritis stuff". What's saving you here is your desk job. If you were doing something more physical, you probably would have had the operation by now. I think your osteoarthritis is way more advanced than you realize. All the symptoms you describe are textbook progression of deterioration from spinal cord compression. Sadly, the last symptom before paralysis is incontinence. remember: surgery is not for pain relief or restoring function-it's about stopping further deterioration.. You are sailing dangerously close to the "island of misfit toys" (the place where a lot of us on this site live permanently). If you make landfall on the island, you will discover a "new normal". Regaining the old normal is over, it's all different now.(toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!) Leesa is right on this, don't mess around- no matter how tough and determined you think you are, you can't overcome nerve destruction! I know I'm intense about it,but listen- it happened to me,so I have a pretty good idea of what your going through...take care,sfink