Toomany........Goodluck with your surgery. Looks like it will be over before you get this message. I have a lot of the same problem with the neck, numbness and pain in the shoulders, arms and hands. Wanted the doc to do the plate thing, but he says I should wait until it is really bad before taking a chance with it. Easy for him to say...he isn't enjoying the pain i'm getting. Then, I read all the other posts, and I think I should stop complaining. Looks like more than a few of you are suffering much more than I.