The aim of the study was to gain insight into patient experiences following lumbar spinal stenosis and surgical treatment. Lumbar spinal stenosis is one of the most common diagnoses for surgical treatment worldwide, and the incidence is increasing. The most common symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis are pain, reduced function, and reduced quality of life. The diagnosis has great costs for society and for the good health and well-being of both patients and their relatives. The study has a qualitative design. Purposive sampling was used, and nine in-depth interviews with open-ended questions were conducted in central Norway in 2018. The interviews were analysed according to Giorgi’s phenomenological method. Four themes related to different phases of the clinical pathway were identified. The first and second themes express the way in which patients experienced their life situation before surgical treatment; the third and fourth themes describe their experiences after treatment. The study found that patients had been in pain for many years and had experienced reduced participation in work and social life before the operation. Patients experienced a fresh start after the operation with full and productive employment. Achieving productive employment and decent work was experienced as important for good health and well-being (SDG 3 and SDG 8). The knowledge from this study is important for both patients and health personnel for creating health-literate individuals and organization for facilitating good health and well-being (SDG3). Knowledge about patient experience following lumbar spinal stenosis and surgical treatment should be included as a topic in the education of health personnel. Healthcare providers should offer the patients education programmes ahead of surgery ensuring environmental support and health-literate patients in the clinical pathway (SDG4).