Severe spinal stenosis: Would you do surgery?

i am finding this information very helpful. I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis almost a year ago. I was fine when I went to bed. The next morning when I went to get out of bed, every step was excrusiating. It must have taken me at least 5 minutes to get to the bathroom. I went to emergency. I was given an x-ray and sent home with morphine and directions to call them if I had not heard from the MRI dept. in the next 2 days. I called and then given an appt. for the MRI. I can't have a CT scan as I have a pacemaker. The L4 and L5 were identified as the problem. I was referred to a doctor but I was told it would take up to a year to see him. He surprised me and called me early. I was given the choice to stay on the medication I have or have surgery with no guarantee of success. I am taking 2 Tramadol and 2 Gamapetin 4 times a day. When I started it was 5 times a day. I have been given no advice as to what exercise I should be doing or avoiding. I did what I called a good day's work of house cleaning before Christmas. I also made the mistake of lifting/pulling a heavy flower pot. I paid for it as I was in pain for the next 2 weeks. The medication was giving minimal relief.
I live in Canada and due to the pandemic a lot of elective surgery is backed up. In the meantime, I would like to find out what I should be doing regarding exercise, etc. I used to spend about 40 minutes a day walking my dog. Now I am reluctant to go too far fear of what might happen.
Until my pacemaker in 2020, I was healthier than the average person. e.g. very few pills, went to the chiropractor about once a month. The treatments weren't holding about 2-3 weeks before the attack.
I had not heard of laser treatment for spinal stenosis until I started checking the "back pain" section here. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. I am going to start checking out the track record of my surgeon and I am going to see if I can find out anything from my medical carrier about him.

i am finding this information very helpful. I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis almost a year ago. I was fine when I went to bed. The next morning when I went to get out of bed, every step was excrusiating. It must have taken me at least 5 minutes to get to the bathroom. I went to emergency. I was given an x-ray and sent home with morphine and directions to call them if I had not heard from the MRI dept. in the next 2 days. I called and then given an appt. for the MRI. I can't have a CT scan as I have a pacemaker. The L4 and L5 were identified as the problem. I was referred to a doctor but I was told it would take up to a year to see him. He surprised me and called me early. I was given the choice to stay on the medication I have or have surgery with no guarantee of success. I am taking 2 Tramadol and 2 Gamapetin 4 times a day. When I started it was 5 times a day. I have been given no advice as to what exercise I should be doing or avoiding. I did what I called a good day's work of house cleaning before Christmas. I also made the mistake of lifting/pulling a heavy flower pot. I paid for it as I was in pain for the next 2 weeks. The medication was giving minimal relief.
I live in Canada and due to the pandemic a lot of elective surgery is backed up. In the meantime, I would like to find out what I should be doing regarding exercise, etc. I used to spend about 40 minutes a day walking my dog. Now I am reluctant to go too far fear of what might happen.
Until my pacemaker in 2020, I was healthier than the average person. e.g. very few pills, went to the chiropractor about once a month. The treatments weren't holding about 2-3 weeks before the attack.
I had not heard of laser treatment for spinal stenosis until I started checking the "back pain" section here. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. I am going to start checking out the track record of my surgeon and I am going to see if I can find out anything from my medical carrier about him.

I have spinal stenosis throughout my entire spine. 2 years ago I could barely make a bed or bend over to do laundry. Most of the pain was in my left lower back. Radio Frequency Ablation was recommended. I have had my cervical, lumbar and sacral spine areas ablated and it has been life changing. The pain is gone and I have resumed a normal lifestyle even exercising daily. This procedure lasts 1-3 years and may need to be repeated as the nerves grow back. I also found an excellent Physical Therapist that uses postural restoration exercises to improve poster and correct a downward tipped pelvis that many women have. This was highly effective in reducing pain as well. Best wishes in finding relief.

All this information is helpful. I am 84, never smoked but I have a pacemaker as well as spinal stenosis. I get my pacemaker checked every six months. I asked the technician what would happen if I had an operation. He said they would monitor it during the operation.
I followed some advice from here and checked out my orthopedic surgeon' s rating. There were only 4. Two gave him a rating of 5 out of 5. And two gave him a rating of one out of 5! The negative people complained about the stuff that the pro raters raved about!--Not very helpful at all. I know he has done more than 4 operations. So I have to assume that the people who didn't rate him were satisfied.
The information about exercises is helpful. So is the other information.
Has anyone done acupuncture?
I drove my car today for the first time in ages. Unfortunately, my pain is on the right side--side of my right foot that I use for gas and braking. I could feel it a bit while driving. When I got home, I fell asleep in front of the TV. When I woke up it was bothering me. I took my pills and it is still bothering me.
This business of relying on people to drive me, is getting to be annoying. Today's experiment tells me that I can only drive very short distances. At least that is better than not driving at all.
Thanks again for all your information.

@elizaolson Patient reviews should be taken with a grain if salt. Some patients were late to the appointment and were not seen and upset that they had to reschedule. Some people have unreasonable expectations and other conditions that affect the outcome of the procedure. Some don't comply with their doctor's recommendations. You can also call the insurance company and ask because they see the notes on the success of the procedure for a specific doctor, so they know who the good surgeons are. Sometimes you can get a a good recommendation from another doctor that you know and your primary care provider.

Good for you for never smoking! Same here, and it makes a big difference in health and choices later down the road. Have you tried working with a physical therapist? that may give you better functional capacity in your daily living.

Very happy for you that you had a successful ablation that leaves you pain free! Thank you for sharing.
Would you share where you had this procedure and who did it?