When do you know it is right to ask for a second opinion?

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8 years ago i had an injury at rugby this caused me to get excruciating pain in my neck and arms. I went to the doctors and he told me it was trapped nerves. I accepted this because he was the doctor and I respected that. For 5 years i continually went to the same doctor with the same symptoms albeit they were getting worse, but all he done was increase my painkillers and mascle relaxants. By chance 3 years ago I was visiting other family when I took some very bad spasms and had to be rushed into hospital because i could not walk and was in a lot of pain. I was checked out by another doctor and was then immediately given an MRI scan. From the scan the it showed that 2 discs in my neck were compressed and crushing the nerve canal on the left hand side. I was told that if I did not receive an op then the consequences could possibly leave me unable to walk properly. I accepted the op but has turned out that it was too late to stop permanat damage. i can walk but sometimes I am unable to and am bed ridden. I was told after my op that if this had been caught years earlier then I would have had no problems. I have since received a further operation and will possibly be having another one in the next couple of years, I amalso on permanant painkillers and other tablets that help nerve damage. It just makes me angry that my own doctor for years just fobbed me off because he could not be bothered to spend the time or money to have me examined properly.