@ladyawarrior Hello. From your post, it sounds like you have been living with this pain for some time and are afraid of undergoing the fusion. I had a TLIF L4/5 fusion on May 29 of this year and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. I had significant pain in my lower extremities when standing and walking for any extended period of time only getting relief while sitting. This was particularly problematic for me as I was a healthy and fit 75 year old who regularly engaged in some form of daily exercise. The surgery was a god sent because it took all of the pain away leaving slight numbness in my lower extremities which will likely resolve overtime. My recovery was also very easy. Within two weeks I was off of any pain medication which in my case was Tylenol. What I attribute the ease of my recovery to is, a healthy weight, five months of PT prior to surgery, and adhering to post operative instructions including the importance of daily walking not to mention that I was lucky to get a highly skilled surgeon.

Believe me, I was terrified of having to undergo a fusion but I really feel it gave me my life back as I am back to my daily exercise program pain free.