I am very new to all of this. I was rear ended in Oct 05 and after 6 weeks of pain and limited arm function and little progress in recovery,
discovered that I had a C5/6 herniation with impingement and discplacement of the cord. I also have forminal narrowing from the herniation. I have upper back and neck pain, numbness in my entire right side, nerve pain in my hands, arms and feet, my neck does not move in
most directions, but worst of all is the shaking and lack of strength and coordination in my arms (primarily right).

I have had alot of physical therapy and massage therapy. Pain meds, muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories, neurontin, and even tried IV
colchicine therapy. Lots of time spent on ice packs and in traction. I had my first steroid epidural on Feb 15th, it helped with the nerve
pain in my hands, arms and feet. It did not seem to improve my function. I am planning to try a few more epidurals and see if they will help with more of the symptoms. I am finally up to about 3 days, 6hrs per day at work. I have had to learn to pace myself and work every other day. I spend most of my time off lying down to take the weight off my neck. No social life,
no housework, no yard work, no christmas shopping, no wrapping, etc. I have really tried to rest it out, as was recommended by all of the
doctors and therapists. I truly do not feel any more functional and take several pain pills on the days that I work.

I have sent via email zip files full of .jpg files created by my MRI which was given to me on CD with a viewing program. I have also sent the entire disc by US Mail to Germany for about $5.00

I have been evaluated (by symptoms and MRI) by:
Stenum
AlphaKlinik
Pro-spine
They all said that it looked like I should be a candidate for ADR. Some requested more xrays, suggests discography the day before surgery, etc.
Most doctors think that, barring spinal cord distress symptoms, I should wait a minimum of 6 months to allow natural healing process and hope
for surgery not to be required. It looks like Germany would cost about $28k with travel expenses for one. I have gotten an estimate from Australia at about $24,000 with travel expenses for one.

I am planning to find the doctor with the most experience/best outcomes in cervical ADR's. Price will not be my deciding factor. I have not
decided to have surgery, but I truly believe that it will probably be the best option for me. Only time will tell. Until then I am looking into
Bowen therapy and disc traction that is done by a few chiropractors in the area.

Has anyone else had the entire right side of their body go numb? Did you find a cause? Has anyone else had the weakness in their arm? What was the best treatment? How long should I try to go on like this before deciding to have surgery? Will the rest of my neck be damaged if I do not correct the narrowing?