Sadly I have never met anyone that underwent a fusion and especially at the lumbar levels that was relieved from pain. Just made them worse. I handled workers compensation claims for over 20 years....never had a complaint get better but ended up with a spinal cord stimulator and eventually removed because the people complained of more pain and some developed infections. The doctors termed them with “Failed back syndrome. Hopefully you can get relief and find a doctor that cares and knows what they are doing. Money is the driving force for many of these surgeries and devices.