@kaptainkat Thank you for your comments. One question I asked my spine surgeon was what would happen if I don't have decompression surgery? That is important to know what might be lost. I saw my parents difficulty as they were disabled in wheel chairs, and if I had a choice, I didn't want that for myself. I wanted quality of life even though, a compromise is made when having surgery.

The recovery and results of a spine procedure depends on many things. First, not all surgeons are gifted, and it is worth shopping around until you find one who excels in their abilities of their job and who loves their job. That might be harder than it sounds, and it may be worth asking a trusted doctor for a recommendation. The surgeon who operated on me was at Mayo in Rochester.

Some people have multiple levels of spine injury or disease, some have congenital malformations, and some have minimal issues such as myself in having one damaged disc from an injury. Some people are in better shape and have better posture, all of which affects how well the spine is supported which can reduce wear and tear.

The health and fitness of the patient is also very important. Smokers do not heal as well from spine surgery in general, and many surgeons will make them quit smoking before doing a procedure. In general, they have lower levels of oxygen available to the body. Diet is important too because the body needs protein to heal bone that begins before minerals are deposited to harden it. Age is a factor, but aging is also influenced by habits good or bad. If you are eating a healthy balanced diet that reduces systemic inflammation, essentially you are "younger" than someone who eats all the wrong things. What most of us think of as "aging" are health changes because of inflammation.

I am an advocate for always asking questions to be well informed for an important decision such as surgery. Spine surgery has come a long way and is better today than it was 20 years ago. I was loosing the ability to control my arms, and I am an artist, so regaining what I was loosing was very important to me. I didn't find a surgeon willing to help me until I came to Mayo because my case was a bit unusual and confusing. Surgeons have to be very careful not to mistake pain for something else like MS, so it is easy for them to back out if they think a patient will have a poor outcome or they don't understand the source of the pain.

This is my story.
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/using-the-art-of-medicine-to-overcome-fear-of-surgery/

Hi!
I'll be 80 in a couple of days. I have decided not to have anymore surgeries. My lower back & neck are about in the same as yours. I had 4 major surgeries on my lower back in the mid 1980's. I am going to restart PT as soon as they call me. Have you ever done PT in a warm water pool? I have found that most helpful to me. there is also something called Nordic Walking. I am looking into that. I got the long 'hiking sticks' to try it out & hope to find a group. It is more comfortable than a cane. So good luck to you...I thought I was alone in this, but seriously try the warm water pool if you can find one...they are incredible.