I had back surgery 5 weeks ago and I am so glad I did it. I kept breaking my L5, having lots of lower back pain, then the sciatic nerve pain which was almost unbearable. I tried chiropractic and exercises, but to no avail. Went and had MRI. I ended up having my L4 and L5 screwed together and fused; had the start of stenosis so he took out a section of the spinal column and covered it with mesh and rods; and said I had a lot of arthritis spurs and damage from younger years that he fixed and I should be good as new. And I am. I was also very scared before the surgery but had a fantastic encouraging doctor. I have to wear a back brace (wrap around with velcro around middle section) 4 months, said it will take up to a year for full healing. But they had me up the day after surgery walking, I am now walking almost a mile a day, feel the best I have in years! Just listening to everyone and not doing too much. Do something for a few hours, then lay down for few hours. I'm pleased.
How are you now, more than a year later? I've been avoiding anything surgical having read so many horror stories of problems either right away, or down the line from a fusion. You hardly ever hear success stories, so I can't help wondering if my view is skewed and the percentages of failures aren't as bad as I thought. I still feel it's a last resort for me, but I'm very curious to hear how you are doing a year post-op.