Well, it's not BS as far as I'm concerned, but it's not music either. It looks like I have the dubious honour of getting to have neruosurgery on my neck AND an 'arachnoid cyst' removed from my lower cerebellum (brain). This is a congential cyst and filled with liquid on the base of my brain in back. I've had it since I was born. The Good News is that if this kind of cyst is going to act up, it usually does it in early childhood, but I have had neck problems all my life. They want to remove it because liquid filled cysts are unstable and it could grow, move, rupture, etc. going straight to the brain stem/medulla. It 'might' be why I have always had neck pain.

The holes in the cervical vertabrae are closing up from calcium and pinching the nerves...mostly the left ulnar which controls the left arm and hand. Hard to fiddle around when your left hand goes numb and there is a muscle spasm as hard as bone in the end of the deltoid muscle. I also have one disc protruding and bone spurs on the neck vertabrae. I don't see the neurosurgeon until Aug. 17 and I WILL get a 2nd opinon, so I have no idea when the surgery will be.

Pain killers won't help because it's nerve pain, and yes, I have been doing chiropractic. He is the one who reccomended the MRI because it wasn't helping. He, as well as my medical Dr. has seen the MRI results and both agree that surgery is probably the only option for this problem. Chiro does help, but the relief is only for about 12 hrs and I can't be in there every day.

Bluntly, I'm scared. Messing with my spinal cord and brain surgery do NOT sound fun at all. I know that great advances have been made in neurosurgery in the last few years, but I'm still scared. And in pain. Can't play fiddle for very long.

The healing process for this kind of surgery is so individual that it scares me too. I am told that I 'probably' will regain 'most' function and will 'probably' be able to play again after 6-8 weeks. It's the 'probably' that scares me. Who am I if I can't fiddle around?

At least we now know why I'm crazy. Yes, I do have a brain,(have CT scans and MRI to prove it) but I have a cyst in it! LOL

Thanks for thinking of me.......I'll show Mr how this thing works so he can keep you posted after the surgery, whenever that is.