Greetings Helen - There are things you can do before resorting to surgery. I have had severe lower back pain for 10 years, off and on. It's been especially bad over the past year. I used to get by on cortisone injections every few months, but they stopped working and I decided to see a pain specialist, NOT an ortho/spine specialist. He did a procedure called a nerve ablation. It has helped for a while but the pain is returning so I don't know what's next. I do know I'll go to my pain doc instead of my ortho for this.

Interestingly, I recently had a revision of a total knee replacement and was given opioids. They worked on my back, of course! But try getting them from anyone. One of my pet peeves is the fact that people who have a legitimate need for pain meds are having them withheld due to the abuse epidemic! Sigh.

Babette