I have all the problems you have listed but have never had a lumbar fusion. I'm currently facing a "limited" L4-5 fusion. About 5 years ago, a neurosurgeon told me that I would need my entire lumbar spine fused after removing several facet joints and "cleaning up" disc fragments and bone spurs. I wasn't a good surgical candidate five years ago because of a medication I was taking --- prednisone for inflammatory arthritis and PMR.

Now my lumbar spine has been declared a disaster area. The neurosurgeon says something needs to be done soon because my lumbar spine is becoming unstable. Several nerves that control some muscles in my legs are no longer functioning so those muscles don't work and are shrinking. I also have numbness and weakness in my legs along with tingling and electrical burning sensations.

Is there any way I can avoid doing a lumbar fusion? If I do the lumbar fusion, what will my future look like? Predicting the future is always difficult to do!

I wonder what happened to people in the past who never had the option of doing these kinds of surgeries.