John,
I agree with Annapurna. You need to pay attention to your body's signals even if you're not taking pain meds. Take your MRI and report, get a second opinion ASAP but also ask the one who already wants to operate what he wants to do exactly. There are several things he might be talking about
: fusion (arthroplasty,), ADR (artificial disc replacement), laminoplasty and laminectomy (these are posterior or 'back of the neck' approaches).
Once you know that, you can read up on the proposed technique(s) and study your options. Even if you need treatment fairly soon, the more info you have, the better you'll be able to make your decisions and that makes for at least a bit less stress when you go in for your surgery. Lots of people here can help you with explaining techniques and many have had surgery already.
Let us know how you progress. Courage.
Trace