@annie1 Annie, Spine surgery is something you do NOT want to rush into unless it is emergency surgery for a serious condition. Once done, you cannot undo it. Most spine surgeries are elective and come after years of spine degeneration. You have to make sure that you are picking a solution that is beneficial, and sometimes there are different choices. I have heard of surgeons asking patents to do a year of bone building injections before undergoing spine surgery. You also cannot rush healing and the body takes it's own sweet time.

Have you considered working with a physical therapist? They can't fix stenosis, but they can try to keep the spine aligned and address issues with muscle spasms and that may help reduce symptoms. I also had gait disturbances from spinal cord compression and that was cured by my surgery. One question to ask is are if you are taking any drug prescriptions that have side effects that can be contributing to osteoporosis? I don't know if drinking alcohol contributes, but these are good things to know and ask about if there are things to do or change to improve your chances. I have bioidentical hormone replacement that according to my doctor should help prevent osteoporosis. There is an active group for osteoporosis here too if you wanted to read some patient experience.

I had worries of a wheelchair in my future too. My parents were both in wheelchairs and I took care of them. Having that degree of disability is hard and it doesn't just happen overnight with a gradual spine change. If you can make a plan that can improve bone quality and then address spine issues, it would be the best of both worlds. You need to know what your bone scores mean and how much it may be possible to improve them and how to go about improving things. I have read that laminectomy can cause spine instability. A laminectomy is kind of like raising the roof on a house when you want to build a 2nd floor. They cut through the top side part of the bone that arches over the back of the spinal cord. That leaves the disc intact between the vertebrae and the facet joints supporting the spine. If those are failing as in a bad disc or arthritis in the facets, it creates a problem and that may be why it leads to a fusion. Often with fusion, they screw a plate on the front of the spine and screws can be bad for osteoporosis as they can pull out. I don't have a front spine plate because I requested no hardware and that was possible with a singe level fusion.

Jennifer