@timothytulloch - Welcome to Mayo Connect. This a great place to find answers to some of your questions and to share experiences with others.

You ask - Should you delay surgery until you can't move? I made my decisions from a personal risk management perspective (I had full work on L2-5 in May 2023). That is - the risks of "deferred surgery" vs the risks of surgery. This is a challenging decision process as the exact outcomes of either fork can't be known ahead of time!

I was told by docs and friends to defer until I couldn't get out of bed. I never reached that point but I did start experiencing dead-leg symptoms in both legs, sudden on-set, many times a day. I grew concerned about both falling down a flight of stairs and deferring surgery so long that nerves became permanently damaged.

The risks of having the surgery became much more acceptable. Make no mistake - the L2-5 work can create significant challenges during rehab. I managed the surgical risks by having a solid diagnosis based on images from the best equipment made by the best docs. Then I had a wonderful surgeon and went to a top-notch facility.

What are you thinking? Are you planning to keep your currently scheduled surgery?