What are people's experiences with spinal fusion surgery?

Boy that is certainly true that one needs to find a good surgeon. I had to take a hack ortho doc when my insurance wouldn't work for other docs. This ortho surgeon managed to cut the nerve on my left leg after a lumbar fusion. I lost the use of my left leg for four months........thanks goodness I started riding a stationary recumbent bike and was able to get my leg working again.......needless to say I will never walk into that doctor office again.

Congrats on the pickleball ! Yes, I share that strategy, to do as much for yourself as possible, with exercise, and activity.
I was told by the surgeon that I would never be able to move my back more than a 90 degree angle, to give up gardening and I would have to reach the floor by squatting. Is this your case as well?

My story is very similar; I have had 9 back fusions (S-1 to T-12). However I continue to enjoy my life pretty good. I now have another disc protrusion and tear and go to my neurosurgeon Monday the 26 to see how to help with reducing the pain. I will not give in and sit on the sidelines!

@upstatephil And how did your plan workout for you?

Thanks for asking. The C4-7 has been amazing (now 4+ months post). Range of motion and cervical pain are noticeably better with continued improvement noted. It is early for a full understanding of the L2-5 work. I already notice elimination of random numbness in my legs which drove me to surgical intervention in the first place. I'm just 5+ weeks post so I'll need a few more months and some PT to be able to fully answer your inquiry. But I'm optimistic for sure.

Good luck with your recovery and once you stop PT don’t ever cease exercising to strengthen your core and keep your weight healthy.

I read your experiences with interest. I had spinal fusion L 4-5 and laminectomy 8 1/2 weeks ago. Doctors are under-medicating for pain now since they have been accused of over-medicating in the last few years. In the hospital for 4 days, the pain was constant agony even with the tiny doses of morphine/tylenol/tramadol/oxycodone. I went home and laid in bed for two weeks using a walker to get to the bathroom and yelling with pain every time I moved. Hubby helped me with everything I couldn't do. I made myself walk outside, my driveway, then 1/2 block, then 1 block, etc. I still have pain in one spot in my back constantly while sitting or standing. I do things for as long as I can stand it then have to lay flat to get some relief (not complete relief, just some). I can't bend over (they said I might never bend) so I'm wearing slip-on shoes and no socks. I use a 'grabber' tool to get things. Started physical therapy - I need to make my back muscles strong enough to hold my torso/shoulders/head up off of my spine. I don't know yet if I will ever be pain free.
Peggy

PS: My surgeon interned at Mayo Clinic and was asked a few years ago to come back and give a lecture about spine surgery. He is probably very very good. This procedure is taking much longer to heal than they told me it would. Last week, his assistant prescribed prednisolone to reduce any inflammation left - I've been taking it but so far, that area of my back is still in constant pain.
Peggy

You're a few weeks ahead of me in recovery but I feel your pain and have been experiencing all the effects you've been experiencing. I firmly believe there's no exact roadmap to spinal surgery recovery. There are too many variables to permit an exact recovery timetable: (1) Different extent of surgery, (2) Different levels of pre-surgical physical condition, (3) Differing skill level of surgeons, and so on...I strive to experience some regular level of progress during recovery without focusing on exactly where I am in the recovery process. Have you been keeping a diary? I have since my cervical work in Feb. It really helps me gain perspective to re-read older entries to appreciate the progress I've actually made. Keep positive and future-focused. Best of luck!!!

Some additional thoughts...In reading others' posts, I learn how often "extra" spine surgeries are required to fix some aspect of the original surgery that either didn't work or caused other unintended problems. Of course, those undesirable outcomes are possible...I managed those risks by selecting a "complex spine surgery specialist" who was also a neurologist-surgeon (not ortho). So far - after three planned and "normal" surgeries, I have not encountered any unintended post-surgical consequences. It's all about your work to manage/reduce surgical risk!