Boy has then been a year. This is a very long slow process. I had a 2 level acdf 11/30/06. Spent most of 2007 in spasms and knots with intense pain. Still have a burning itch that comes and goes in my neck and shoulder. Was in physical therapy until July. Blamed alot of the pain, spasms and knots in my shoulder on the bone stimulator as it sat right on top of the muscle on top of my shoulder (was the necklace type bone stimulator). I still will have the stabbing pain in my neck if I overdo or get tense. The pain has slowly subsided and I can usually get it to settle down pretty quickly. The side of my neck where the surgery was performed feels weird (knotty swollen). The neurosurgeon finally discharged me a couple of weeks ago as they feel there is not much they can do. The CT scan and xrays post op showed fusion and I don't have the symptoms I had presurgery. If I lay on my back I still get the firing up in my head and ears that I did when I first had the surgery. I know this sounds discouraging but believe me I am not in the pain I was presurgery. If I could get frequent massages on my mid to upper back I think my symptoms would be minimal (and keep up with the exercises the physical therapist taught me). Anyway contemplating this surgery need to accept that it takes at least 1 to 1.5 years to get over this surgery and recovery. Some symptoms will never go away, but they will minimize your presurgery pain.

Side note. I was taking alot of Tylenol (8 hour) and also St. John's Wort to help the nerve firing. Went to regular doc and discovered by blood pressure was high. After researching discovered both Tylenol and St. John's Wort elevate your blood pressure so I stopped taking them immediately. Only take Tylenol now and again.