Severe Stenosis - Doc advises surgery

Had surgery for spinal stenosis years ago, in Montreal,Jewish general hospital, Dr Dupuis, it took just over a year to determine why I was losing the use of my left leg and had bouts of indescribable pain, coming on suddenly.Over 4hours in surgery, bone taken from my left hip area to help with the repair.
Never looked back since that time...
I would recommend anyone ,under similar circumstances, to go for the surgery. Am in my 90's now and still walking , using a walker because of balance problems,walk after every meal and even though lacking the speed I once had. Tell folk I have 2speeds now, ...dead slow....and ..stop!!
Good luck whatever you choose to do with regard to your spinal stenosis ❤️🇨🇦🙏🏼👍🤗

jbr's case is emblematic of how hard it is to make any generalizations about back surgeries from patent to patient. No two spines are alike. No two spine surgeries are alike. No two spine surgeons are alike. And so on...It's interesting to share "this is what happened to me" stories but it's very unclear if person A's story is informative of person B's situation. My best advice (three spine surgeries this year) is to get diagnosed with the best equipment available (MRI, X-ray, etc), select the best hospital for your journey (I'm a huge Mayo fan), and get in front of a surgical specialist who's best-in-class. At that point, set a plan and trust the process.

Hello - I’m so sorry to hear this. I’m also in my early sixties and was thrown into a situation involving my cervical spine almost three years ago. After exhausting every treatment available I elected to have surgery 8 months ago. I had an ACDF procedure for my C4-C7. The recovery has been a journey but I’m far better than when I was struggling with the decision. At our age the situation rarely changes for the better. As another member eloquently stated put your plan in place. Find a highly reputable surgeon and build your confidence in your medical team. Sending you good thoughts

I am having a major operation on my spine on July 12th in Lincoln Nebraska and I am scared as my doctor will remove bones by my spine. Help!!!

I am a 73 yr old female. I had a meningioma tumor removed from my brain a year ago at NY Presbyterian Hospital. I had an excellent and kind surgeon. I received wonderful care in the 10 days I was there. (When surgery is performed on one side of your brain, it weakens your arm and leg on the other side of your body, so PT is needed to strengthen your arm and leg). So, I was transported by ambulance to a reputable rehab facility to strengthen my leg.
The day before I was released from the rehab center, (I was there 9 days) , the PTs overworked me with over 3 1/2 hours of intense repetitions of PT. That evening while sitting in bed I felt very sharp knife like pains in my groin and felt like I was sitting on a pile of rocks. The doctor came in and said it’s a pulled muscle.
The next morning I was released from the rehab. Visiting nurse service came to my home the next day to do more PT, but I could not do anything because I was in so much pain and my leg felt like a heavy weight was attached to it.
I had limited mobility in my leg as if a very tight rope is wrapped around it. And am not able to bend it and have difficulty lifting it.
I saw my orthopedist who had been treating me for spinal stenosis.
He did 3 MRI’s of my cervical, thoracic and lumbar. The Lumbar shows a pinched nerve at L4.
It’s been one year and my
leg has gotten much much worse. At times when the pain is excruciating and nothing helps, I don’t know how I can live the rest of my life
like this. It’s nerve pain similar to sciatica pain.
I still feel like I’m sitting on a pile of rocks in my buttocks which adds to the pain in my leg. I’m not able to sleep on my sides. I have to sleep on my back and have gotten neuropathy in my
leg too. I’ve had a couple of sessions of acupuncture and it did not help.
Muscle relaxers and gabapentin made my pain worse. Extra Strength Excedrin helps me get thru the days and Tylenol 650 at night.
My ortho doctor does not know what to do for me anymore. He told me “don’t let any doctor convince you to have surgery”. He wants me to see a spine doctor who are surgeons. When you see a surgeon, he wants to do surgery!
I went to a Neurologist and he wanted to do an EMG. I told him NO way will I be able to withstand electric shock to find which nerves and muscles are affected. I know 2 people who said it was excruciating. I already know I have a pinched nerve in my L4.
My left leg is disabled and I can barely walk. It hurts when I walk and it hurts when I’m sitting or
lying down.
I was very active before this happened to me. I used to speed walk every day, swim 50 laps 4 times a week and kayak in the summer and enjoy dancing, cooking and baking.
My quality of life has plummeted. I am disabled and try to do the best I can. I cannot stand for more than 10 mins without getting bad pain in my leg and back. I can barely get out of bed without having excruciating pain in the process. The pain in my groin makes me have numerous trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night with such urgency. Then, at times I cannot go back to sleep for hours. It’s a vicious cycle.
I prepare meals sitting down. I cannot garden anymore because I’m in so much pain when I bend down or even when I tie my sneakers. I cannot put my
socks on without using a gadget that is ingenious. I bless the persons who invented all these aids for the disabled.
My question to everyone on this site is:
Does anyone on this site
have a pinched nerve in their L4 and what are your symptoms and remedies? I would very much appreciate all suggestions and help as I’m afraid of having surgery at my age. The surgery can make me worse and can totally cripple me. Living with chronic and at times excruciating pain is breaking down my body and mind.
Thanking all.

I had a scraping of an area of my spine by a pain doctor and had no relief. Now I am having a major operation on my spine in which the doctor will remove bones by my spine

Moderator Question: Why are seeing a thread question that is dated more than three years ago? The asker of the question has likely made their decision and moved on...

Can you share which strain(s) of medical cannabis give you pain relief? I’m dealing with chronic pain from an injury to my spinal cord at C4-C5 and am trying to identify the correct cannabis to provide relief. I don’t have access to a cannabis Doctor. Thank you.

Things I have been told as I search for relief from pain caused by severe stenosis and multiple lumbar spine issues.
1. the skill of a surgeon does not insure a positive result. (HSS neurosurgeon)
2. surgery for cervical spine is more predictable than surgery for the lumbar spine. (University of Penn)
3. lumbar spinal surgery mostly helps with severe leg pain. not so much with back pain. (Rothman)
4. about 50% of lumbar spine surgeries provide long term relief. about 30% of additional surgeries are successful. (PCP)
5. there is not long term follow up of spinal surgery. thus the surgeon may label the surgery a success even if the patient is in severe pain a year or two after surgery. (Goole Scholar...best place to look for evidence based research if you know hoe to evaluate the quality of the research)

I have met with various surgeons who have offered me various surgeries or said "no surgery"
I would really like to find a surgeon who would give me a realistic assessment of my chance of a reasonably lasting positive result with surgery along with all possible options for each possible approach. Thus far I have been unsuccessful, If anyone has evidence that indicates the above mentioned "facts" are not accurate or a suggestion for a surgeon (neuro or ortho) it would be very appreciated.

Your summary list of spine surgery truisms is on target. It took me a long time to reach the conclusion, however, that no surgeon is going to be able to state with certainty what your specific surgical outcome will be. They may have some statistics (you state some above that I’ve heard before) - but every spine every patient every surgeon every medical facility…they’re all different. You have to make your own decisions about these surgeries and even then - there is a certain “rolling of the dice”. Wish that was different but it is the reality.