Originally Posted by Leesa

Hi ~ Well, since you are diabetic, I would THINK that any type of surgery would best be avoided!! Spinal surgery should be avoided for ANYONE, but particularly for you!

You have degenerative disc disease throughout the spine, but we ALL have that. It's just a part of aging, unfortunately. It's drying out of the discs, which makes them flatten and when they flatten they tend to bulge & sometimes herniate.

Then you have foraminal narrowiing -- the foramen are the holes that the nerves pass thru to get to the spinal cord, and yours are getting narrow.

Then there's mild spinal canal stenosis - narrowing of the spinal canal -- thank goodness it's mild.

But then you have SEVERE facet joint arthrosis -- which just means a degenerative disease of a joint. Doesn't tell you much, does it.

I would certainly want to take as CONSERVATIVE a route as I possibly could and try ALL conservative methods until they were exhausted. I would not jump into surgery until I had tried everything. Surgery will NOT relieve your pain. Surgery is only for mechanical problems, and not for pain. Usually, after surgery, you're left with the same pain or worse.

Then you have to worry about the "Domino Effect" which most doctors don't tell their patients about. It's when the levels above/below the surgery site fail, because they've had to take on more of the load. I had both my surgeries before the internet, so I couldn't research properly -- and lo and behold, both levels above the surgery sites failed, meaning more surgery. Then after THAT surgery, the level above THAT one failed, meaning more surgery. And on and on......... That's where I stopped. I'm now disabled.

So try to stay conservative. I know you're suffering. If you haven't already, try a pain management doctor too. I wish you the very best. Please let us know how you come out, will you? We'd really like to know. God bless and please take care. Hugs, Lee