Thank you so much for taking the time for responding. What is causing the biggest dilemma to me is the fact that my spinal cord is definitely narrowing and if it continues to narrow, I would be paralized or /and lose body functions. The surgeons have both said, that the narrowing of the chord will definitely happen, but they can't say when. (It could happen in 10 months or it could happen in ten years!) I am now 78 years old. If this happened when I was younger, I would definitely have surgery but at my age now, it's a hard decision to make. In the list from the notes of my last appointment explaining all the risks of my surgery, the surgeon also added "She understands there is a risk that the patient is no better or worse off after the surgery." I keep going back to that sentence and then my family keeps bringing up the fact that if I don't have the surgery I could be in a wheelchair in a year or two if this narrowing continues fast. The surgeon also mentioned that if I put off my decision too long, because of my age, they wouldn't recommend surgery for someone in their 80"s!! I go back and forth with making a decision.

@bazzinga1234 Spine damage can come WITH or WITHOUT pain, and what happens is that bone spurs grow because of uneven pressure, so when a disc bulges or compresses, if causes uneven pressure on the bones around it causing bone growth. A ruptured disc that spills the gooey contents causes inflammation, which in turn causes bone growth as the body tries to stabilize the spine. In my case, a disc ruptured into the space around my spinal cord in my neck. That causes compression of all the nerve tissue passing through the cord to other parts of the body. I had trouble walking and had leg weakness and changing pain all over my body. It can cause incontinence. With enough pressure, the nerves die and dissolve in the fluid inside the spinal canal and they do not regenerate resulting in permanent disability. The nerve roots that exit the spinal cord can also be compressed by bone growth there, and discs commonly rupture into the space around the nerve roots. If the bone growth continues unchecked, it strangles the nerves. There is also a ligament on the back side of the spine that can enlarge and cause compression of the spinal cord.

It's easier to understand traumatic injury from a vehicle collision that damages the spine or nerves. We do things to prevent injuries like that by wearing seat belts and having air bags in the cars. Think of spine deterioration as a slow motion injury that happens over years. It can have the same effect, and a patient may have a choice to alter their destiny with decompression surgery. Not everyone gets a choice about being disabled or not. Why wouldn't you consider it?

It is hard to function daily when you can't walk, and everything is difficult. Getting up from a chair or getting out of bed is hard when you don't have the muscle strength to bear your body weight. When nerves die, the muscles they innervated atrophy and disappear. Then there is the financial burden of having to hire caregivers when you can no longer take care of yourself. Will you also need to be able to help physically take care of a spouse or relative?

There are many things to consider when deciding to have spine surgery or not. You have to ask yourself what quality of life you want, how can that get better or worse, and how long you might live with the quality of life in your condition. Your current health state is also a factor in your ability to recover, and the skill of the surgeon is very important.

If fear is preventing a patient from making a decision about surgery, understand that it is still a decision that will affect the rest of your life. Don't let fear make your decision for you. There are ways to get past the fear and understand it, and deprogram it. Doctors can also help with that too. Surgeons can't always promise to take away pain. They improve function with their procedures. There will be pain from the surgical path, and it may not be horrible. When I had my cervical decompression surgery, I found I could tolerate it without pain medication, so I didn't take any after I left the hospital. The pain medicine nauseated me, and causes constipation, and I was better off without it. I was tired and slept a lot during my recovery. I have no regrets. I got my life back and had a great recovery.