I am considering having a spinal fusion from L4-S1. I have had chronic back pain for over 6 months now and it has disrupted my normal active lifestyle. I have tried physical therapy/chiropractor/pain meds/bracing and nothing has helped. I have been diagnosed with an odd disorder where my L5 is so far into my sacrum it isn't really a vertebrae. There is still a disc with it though, so it is attempting to move abnormally. This has placed a lot a stress on my abnormally fused L4-L5 joint and has cracked it in several places.

I am leaning towards having the surgery but would like to know about some other people's personal experiences concerning: the surgery, the hospital stay afterwards, pain levels, recovery process, improvements or worsening, how long it took to get back to school, and anything that u feel may help me before i go through this process.

Thank you,
Marie