I am new to this board, I have some mild bulging and herniation, but a great deal of incapacitating pain, having had numbness and restrictions for 5 years prior on how long I could stand, walk, etc., but I could live with it without drugs or injections. It ever occurred to me that it would progress to the level of intractable pain and disability I have now. Please try to get a course of action in place before it gets worse. I was never a candidate for discectomy, but I wish I was. If I were you I would get several opinions and not necessarily from just surgeons. I think simple herniations
are more easily dealt with if you don't put it off, ive been warned that longer term nerve impingement and irritation ca lead to permanent damage. I just had a great phone consult about my mri with a chiropractor and professional spine researcher I found online, and he read mt MRI so much more thoroughly than any doctor I've seen and ive probably got more options than I realized. Its very clear to me now what diagnostics I need before doing the discography and fusion that th surgeon said was all he could offer me. I dont know if im allowed to give his info or endorse here, but so grateful I found his site with so much info.