What helps spinal stenosis besides surgery?

@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/

That sounds a lot like what I have. Shots no longer work except for the occipital neuralgia, which is so painful. I’m 60, I smoke but have really cut back because of my new grandson. They said the stenosis and bulging disc is so bad it’s either stay in constant pain or surgery. The only thing is I can’t afford to be out of work for 3 months. What is your opinion? I have an appointment with a new surgeon soon. I’ve seen 5 so far. 2 said collar 3 said no so I really don’t know

I’ve pretty much already quit smoking. My plan is last day is this Sunday. Currently I smoke about 2 or 3 a day. I’ve spoken to 4 or 5 surgeons. I also have to be off any meds that could cause bleeding for 2 weeks. If he says a collar I’ll do it, but I’m extremely claustrophobic about it. I’m a self checkout cashier. I don’t have any lifting. I do turn my head or body depending on how much pain I’m in. But I only live less than a mile from the store. I didn’t even know there was anything wrong with my neck till a big pickup with a trailer full of lawn equipment wasn’t looking and just moved over on me and pushed me into the curb twice. So what was existing will be a problem for my lawyer. But I never had X-rays or MRI on my neck before because I wasn’t having any problems. All the surgeons were fine about 3 or 4 cigarettes a day but I have to be completely quit at least 2 weeks before surgery. I had an argument with my ex bf over smoking which he never did of anything. He said it wouldn’t be hard just don’t buy anymore. Ha! I thought my parents were going to divorce when my dad quit because he didn’t really want to. But there was a money incentive if he did and stayed quit for at least 6 months. It was a horrible 2 years. If you’ve never been addicted to anything you don’t have any idea how hard it is to quit smoking. They say that’s the hardest because it’s legal and readily available. But I’m confident I can do it. They will replace the bulging disc and clean up bone spurs and whatever and there is a new device that will allow me more mobility than a standard fusion

I’ve pretty much already quit smoking. My plan is last day is this Sunday. Currently I smoke about 2 or 3 a day. I’ve spoken to 4 or 5 surgeons. I also have to be off any meds that could cause bleeding for 2 weeks. If he says a collar I’ll do it, but I’m extremely claustrophobic about it. I’m a self checkout cashier. I don’t have any lifting. I do turn my head or body depending on how much pain I’m in. But I only live less than a mile from the store. I didn’t even know there was anything wrong with my neck till a big pickup with a trailer full of lawn equipment wasn’t looking and just moved over on me and pushed me into the curb twice. So what was existing will be a problem for my lawyer. But I never had X-rays or MRI on my neck before because I wasn’t having any problems. All the surgeons were fine about 3 or 4 cigarettes a day but I have to be completely quit at least 2 weeks before surgery. I had an argument with my ex bf over smoking which he never did of anything. He said it wouldn’t be hard just don’t buy anymore. Ha! I thought my parents were going to divorce when my dad quit because he didn’t really want to. But there was a money incentive if he did and stayed quit for at least 6 months. It was a horrible 2 years. If you’ve never been addicted to anything you don’t have any idea how hard it is to quit smoking. They say that’s the hardest because it’s legal and readily available. But I’m confident I can do it. They will replace the bulging disc and clean up bone spurs and whatever and there is a new device that will allow me more mobility than a standard fusion

@jojo58 It sounds like you have a plan and a schedule to stop smoking. I have never smoked, but I was wondering if there was something positive that you could use to distract yourself when you get a craving? What would that be for you? I know it's easy for the mind to get hijacked by an emotion and it holds onto negative and stressful things so much easier because that is part of our survival instinct to pay attention to danger. You can mindfully replace that feeling with something that you are excited about. Perhaps it is inspirational music in combination with deep relaxed breathing, or a movie that fills you with such good feelings. I did some things like this when I was facing fear of surgery and it really works. It's a creative way to cope with something that creates anxiety.

I’m 70 and do not have as complex a picture as yours and mines in my lumbar spine. Big difference is I have pain and spasms and PN. At 78 if I lived a full life and I’m in no pain I’d not opt for surgery. My docs offered to remove my stainless steel implants and replace with titanium cages. No thank you as I’ve had enough severe pain in my last 40 years