pain and more diseases than I can handle

Hi Superglue, welcome to the forum. I am sorry that you are going through all of this. I would try everything else before surgery unless there are no other alternatives. I have fibromyalgia, spondylolisthesis , and spinal stenosis and who knows what else. I had a lumbar fusion in 2009 and it did give me back the use of my leg but it did not take any of the pain away. Many people do have good results though so it's all an individual thing. I hope everything will be worked out soon and you will have better pain control.

Welcome, Superglue. My right leg can get up to a 9 or 10, sometimes for days, but blessedly, it does not stay there. It does hover around a 7.

Here's what I know about doctors in general. Surgeons want to cut. GP's or internal medicine guys want a lab test or xray they can point at and say A-HA! And so forth. They want, in general, to make really sick people better, and people in real pain more comfortable. But doctors are only human. There's no magic wand.

At your pain levels, and this is my option-I am not a doctor, going with the more conservative option of bracing and injections may give you enough relief to get some quality of life back. Maybe enough for you to work with. Just make sure you give it enough time to work. Because once you open it up and do the surgery, it can't be undone. But remember, the braces come with their own set of problems. Make sure to educate yourself on that.

Then there is a phenomenon that causes chronic pain patients to feel higher levels of any pain after a long period of high pain. It's called enhanced pain perception or hyperalgesia. It actually causes you to become even more sensitive to pain, as cruel as that is.

I really do hope it helps. You have quite the list of hard pills to swallow on your plate. I wish you well.