Numb legs: Concerned about lumbar & cervical spine fusion

@cocobean26
Welcome to Mayo Connect. Sound like the symptoms are really affecting your quality of life.
If you care to share, can I ask a few questions that might help others who have had or have not had a fusion similar to yours?

When you say fusion, do you mean they are recommending you have spinal fusion?
Do you know what part of the spine they want to perform fusion on?

@cocobean26
I have no medical training, but your symptoms sound like neuropathy. I believe it's from nerve damage.
I have not heard of a fusion treatment.
Keep track of every symptom so you can share with your Doc.
Good luck.

@roch They want to do a fusion on my lumbar and my cervical.
I'm having numbness in my arms also, but my main thing, that's really scary.Me is my legs right now

@cocobean26 - I'd like to add my welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Weakness and not being able to stand too long or walk that much would be difficult and concerning.

What does your doctor say about your legs and how they are scaring you right now?

I too am at that point. But I’m 71 and do not think I could handle going through invasive procedures . So I’m on comfort medications only and rest when I’m in too much pain from my stenosis pain , to allow the pressure on the nerves being compressed on my spinal cord to relax .
Best wishes to you .

I just had lumbar fusion in March and I am glad I did. I had minor numbness in my left foot but a lot of nerve pain in both thighs, I am much better now but I am also facing having my neck fused in the next year. I won't kid you the surgery is not easy and if you live alone you will need help for a while or you could go to rehab after being discharged from the hospital. I have Medicare and I was given a choice between going home or going to rehab for a couple of weeks. I went home because I do have family support. Make arrangements ahead of time, find an excellent surgeon but don't wait too long if they are recommending fusions. Get a 2nd and even a 3rd opinion. Good luck!

@cocobean26 You want me to be realistic? No, there is no option other than to become immobilized and lose your independence. I've been through 3 spine surgeries and going back for one more. I am GRATEFUL I found an awesome surgeon. It took 20 years and my lumbar nerves suffered permanent damage so I suggest NOT waiting. My cervical spine surgery was complicated by my soft bones which couldn't hold the screws. So even though I had to have a second surgery which was complicated and I lost some mobility I am THRILLED that I acquired the stability I needed to continue my life alone! I asked friends of friends and found a great lady to come to my house and act as my caretaker to get me through the first couple weeks. Then I asked some cousins to come for a few days and rotated whoever would help me. Then I was better than I had been in years and years. Work with your doctors. Work with a social app like Nextdoor and people will show up to help (watch for scammers!) Obviously your docs think your strong enough for the surgery and I hope they are confident in their work. Read their reviews ask if can talk to anyone who they've done surgery on who might be willing to help you. I wanted my life back. It was just something I had to go through. I ended up with a wonderful doctor after many years of kissing a lot of frogs. good luck.

@cocobean26 It sounds like you have a lot in your plate. Does your surgeon prioritize your neck surgery or lumbar surgery? If you have spinal cord compression in your neck, that can affect the rest of the body and cause leg symptoms. It’s a bit more confusing when symptoms are generated by spinal cord compression. If you have compression at the nerve roots, that is predictable where the symptoms occur. Of course, you can have symptoms coming from more than one place. Has your doctor defined where your symptoms are coming from? How soon is your surgery?