I am a 51 year old female . I just had my 5th spinal fusion , this time C4-5 and 5-6 in Dec 16 , 2016 I am normally very active and in good physical shape . I did also a a pretty complicated 7 hour emergency lumbar fusion in August of 2016. I am in an Aspen collar for 6 weeks I have been up and active since about 3 days post op. I wear my collar all day and Dr. said I didn’t have to wear it at night , much relieved by that. However , I move around a great deal in the night and last night felt a little pop in my neck , painless . My main source of pain right now is all muscle related . Some weakness in hands , not bad , and some burning in the sides of my neck and down through shoulders to around elbows . i try to rest a little here and there during the day . However , I am particularly tired today . I have taken , with the exception of last Sat. only one pain pill most days , but not everyday . Sat . I took two during day. Sat. during the night extreme pain. i took an Oxycontin , which is a desperate measure for me . My two main questions 1: should I be wearing the collar at night ? 2: is it normal to be this tired? This operation took only about 3 hours , seemed like small potatoes after the August surgery . I am not sure that I know what it means when a Dr. says slow down , What specifically does that look like . I am a single mom , 4 kids , youngest is 11. It sounds like a lot and it is but I also have help The children are helpful too. I don’t particularly want to wear collar at night , and sometimes if i am just sitting in a chair watching TV (rare) I do take collar off . I hope this all makes sense !