Hollyn:
You left beautiful Minnesota to move to N.Y.?
Oh, I see, upstate New York. More beautiful up there than New York in general.
Ah......The land of Garrison Keillor, Lutefisk, The Guthrie Theater, The I.D.S. Building, Minnehaha and Theodore Wirth Parkways, The Mall of America, and the list goes on. Family does matter though and it's important to be close. We only see ours in North St. Paul at Christmas time.....sigh
! I have thousands of miles ridden on the roads and bike paths of Minnesota. Plus I graduated from the University of Minnesota and did my Graduate studies at Western.
I'm glad you found this site. I felt the same as you about fusion. I had two lumbar and two cervical discs installed. I am 10 months out tomorrow and the jury is still out. I keep feeling better every day though I did have a little scoliosis and facet arthritis pre-surgery that may have made me not an ideal candidate. On the other hand I was in top shape prior to the surgery which helped immensely.
Trace brings up good points from the surgeon she works with about the lumbar area. I have had 2 sets of epidurals in the lumbar area since the surgery to settle down the pain. I am very active with putting in over 1,400 miles on my bicycle this season so far. I am older than you by 20 years and am also concerned about disc longevity. Of course if I live long enough to wear them out in 40 years I'll be 90 and probably not as worried about them.
I would encourage you to continue to do research so that, no matter what, you'll be satisfied with the decision you made.
Hang in there. I'll say hi to Minnesota for you when I go there at Christmas to be with my wife's family.
Terry Newton