Cervical spondylosis

Sorry this has happened to you so young.  Surgery has many risks, and I'm not surprised you've been warned off it.  Has your doctor referred you to a specialist?  If not, you might ask if he will.  Is there a Health and Safety department, an occupational therapist, a physio, at your place of work?  They could make suggestions to improve your work environment: if you work alone, at home, look into buying yourself an ergonomic chair, and ensure your screen resolution suits you - craning the neck to view a screen is the worst thing you can do.  

Because you're young, patience and taking things slowly and as advised has got to be the preferred way forward.  Drug dosages and types can be adjusted in case yours are making you too drowsy to work effectively - you need to keep in touch with your doctor and discuss these things with him or her.  Don't carry a heavy shopping bag in one hand - that always sets me off; try a trolley.  Don't have too many pillows on the bed, or too few -  you have to find the positions of maximum comfort and support, and ensure you remember them and don't slouch, or crane, or generally fall into bad postural habits.  Try TENS machines, or the Pain Gone pen (hard to apply to neck and shoulders, but it works for many at limiting the pain).

IF you feel your doctor isn't helping as much as he could, get a specialist referral - it's your neck, so if you're not getting helpful support, make a nuisance of yourself.  Ask about devices, machines, collars - the professionals may doubt their value, but you're the one who has to live with this so encourage them to be broad-minded about it.

I don't know what the prognosis is for such an early onset of cervical spondylosis, and I suggest you ask your GP/specialist.  You need to know, and deserve to know.   

And good luck.  There's no quick fix, I fear, but your youth should be on your side.  

My advice would be to keep the door open for physio because they have the means to refer to MRI or neurologist if needed in the future.  You don't have to do what they recommend,  just go through the motions and keep them happy.  At the same time you could be taking your homeopathic advice and seeing if that works.  Ultimately,  it will be down to you to intuitively assess what works best for you.  I'm a bit surprised that you've been diagnosed with C/S after a fall.  Injury based C/S at a young age usually results from something more traumatic,  like whiplash in a car  accident,  and it usually wouldn't show for some years.  Might be worth getting a second opinion on that.  XRays are not as reliable as MRI scans for diagnosiong C/S,  so it might be wise to ask your GP or physio to refer you for MRI to double check that C/S diagnosis,  before engaging in any treatments.  No point treating one thing only to find out it might be something else later on.....an MRI will answer that question.  If it does turn out to be C/S, then the best way forward might be to learn some self management techniques which don't include heavy medications or strenuous physio therapies....how you treat it now will be the template for how it might progress in the future.

Cervical Spondylosis is a life long chronic degenerative condition.  I'd still recommend the MRI to confirm the condition,  otherwise you may well be dealing with something you haven't got, and missing a more current problem that needs more immediate attention.  With C/S the treatments are spread out over years,  and if you've had a more direct injury,  it's probably wise to check for that first.  C/S is known to develop slowly...in fact, most C/S patients don't know the initial cause because it can take years for the symptoms to manifest.  To be honest,  your's seems more like a neck injury which doesn't fit the usual pattern.  You are entitled to ask for an MRI to confirm the diagnosis,  or you can arrange an MRI privately.  Even if the fall did cause some neck injury,  the symptoms of C/S wouldn't be expected to show for some years.  

Agree with that - I was very surprised to hear of a CS case so young, and for this reason, and a second opinion would be a good idea, plus a scan.  Unless there was a pre-existing condition, trauma such as this should not of itself cause the almost immediate presentation of what is usually a long-term, degenerative condition.  I emphasize again that I'm not a doctor or even a physio, just someone who knows more than he wants to know about this condition. 

I'm not going to get into the homeopathic debate, once you start it can go on forever, but I'll leave it at saying you would be unwise to rely on homeopathic medicines - the ancillary treatments and practices of homeopaths, who may well not be ONLY homeopaths, can be something else again.  But then it's equally true that conventional drugs won't cure CS - just dull the pain, enabling the gentle exercise that's generally recommended once any initial crisis has stablilized.  (And if you feel better on whatever your homeopath is prescribing - well keep taking it!)

Anyway, get that diagnosis double-checked.  The fact that CS symptoms are present isn't necessarily revealing - they can be caused by many other cervical spine conditions, including ankylosing spondylitis.

in the meantime - I always knew vigorous exercise was bad for us.... that's why I've so keenly avoided it.........

the fall i am talking about was 6 months ago, i had a similar fall about 2 years ago and in the past 1.5 years i have been in 4 car accidents in which i was sitting in the back seat and an other car hit from behind pretty badly, i guess all of them collectivly caused this problem because the specialist also that it is a case of C/S, the homeopath i am talking about is a bone and joint specialist

Ande I agree with that.  I think there's a little sub-conscious or subliminal thing going on there whereby we instinctively know what activities are likely to further aggravate the nerves.  For me,  it's usually a sense of a quick loss of power/energy whenever I strain something which might have some indirect relationship with the neck....digging in garden being a prime example,  or stretching overhead/.behind etc.  I suddenly get this sense that I';ve got no reserves,  and that's my cue to stop what I'm doing.  Same applies to exercises,.  to the point where I seldom bother...just doesn't seem right to further exhaust an already exhausted body.  In normal circumstances we wouldn't even dream about exercising the neck.....it manages to do this itself with constant movement just by itself, without any interference.....so why we would assume that it suddenly needs to be strained with exercises, when it's already vulnerable,  beats me for logical reasoning.

PS....last post was in response to:

"in the meantime - I always knew vigorous exercise was bad for us.... that's why I've so keenly avoided it........."

An MRI is the only reliable way to establish whatever neck damage there may be.  Otherwise you are vulnerable to all sorts of opinion, peculiar or not.  Don't believe anything until you are sure it's right.

Yes I will definitely go for a MRI as soon as I get some time off office

Good.  And don't be boo surprised if it comes up with a different result than the Xray.  Even if it confirms C/S,  you won't have lost any time really regarding starting treatments.

" in the meantime- I always knew that vigorous exercise was bad for us....that's why I've so keenly avoided it....."

And I agree with that.  I think there's a little sub-conscious or subliminal thing going on there whereby we instinctively know what activities are likely to further aggravate the nerves.  For me,  it's usually a sense of a quick loss of power/energy whenever I strain something which might have some indirect relationship with the neck....digging in garden being a prime example,  or stretching overhead/.behind etc.  I suddenly get this sense that I';ve got no reserves,  and that's my cue to stop what I'm doing.  Same applies to exercises,.  to the point where I seldom bother...just doesn't seem right to further exhaust an already exhausted body.  In normal circumstances we wouldn't even dream about exercising the neck.....it manages to do this itself with constant movement just by itself, without any interference.....so why we would assume that it suddenly needs to be strained with exercises, when it's already vulnerable,  beats me for logical reasoning.