I've had the same thing for several months (5) now. I have bilateral sciatica, left worse than right. In constant pain. I cry nearly every day in secret from the pain and overwhelming feeling of doom. It's the most horrible thing I think I've ever gone (going) through. I am actually a chiropractor so feel I have to hide it, which only made it worse. I had, in the beginning urinary incontinence. That has subsided. I am able to tolerate less pain now than I could in the beginning. It wears you down. Most of the patients I treat that have a prolapse this bad just go into surgery right away. But I've seen the outcomes of these too many times that are bad. I know the body will reabsorb the disc material eventually. I've been doing decompression therapy A LOT!! I actually purchased my own decompression table and pretty much have been on it five days a week for the last 5 months. It helped a ton in the beginning and now when it flares up I hop on and it always helps for a while. It seems the amount that it helps now is starting to plateau. But that could also be because I'm feeling better and have gone out and tried to do stupid stuff like climb mountains then run back down. Since I am a physician I was able to have a follow up MRI two weeks ago. In the beginning my hernia from front to back was 7 mm. It was pinching my cauda equina (bottom part of your spinal cord) in half and completely obliterating the left nerve root and impinging the right. And I had to keep working. My roommate had to get up in the morning to help me get dressed, do my laundry, get my groceries, feed my dog, pick up anything I may have dropped on the floor, the list goes on and on. So the follow up MRI measurement front to back now is 5 mm. I've been working my *** off doing physical therapy for over an hour on my own 5-6 days a week and also swimming 30 minutes 4-5 days per week. This type of injury is horrific. What makes it worse is that no one can see it. So unless you've been through it there is no way to gauge how serious it is. I am disabled. I will be to a degree the rest of my life. This is hard for me to accept as I am extremely active. My dog and I last year summited 43 mountains. I rollerbladed 25 miles on my lunch breaks in the summer. You get the picture. I am getting extremely depressed. I fear my boyfriend (who is also EXTREMELY active) is becoming alienated. He just doesn't understand. I cant do my job very well and have to turn bigger people away just because I can't handle the strain. But I know there is hope. It's shrinking. If it's shrunk this much in 5 months, then in 8 more months it should be gone......if I don't injure it again. That is the hardest part. Once you start feeling kinda good, you go try to do something that used to be so easy and there you are again set back 2-3 months again. I've gained a ton of weight because I turned to alcohol when all I could do is lay on the couch. I just have to keep working hard and laying low. I don't know how bad your hernia is or how long you've tried dealing with it, but surgery for a low back disc herniation should be the absolute last thing you do. You need to be showing certain neurological deficits before surgery is an option......or you just can't take the pain any longer. I struggle with the decision of surgery or not every day. The thing is I own my own clinic and would have to be out for 6-8 weeks. Then what If I came back and symptoms were the same. Talk about depression!! And I've seen it!! Or they come out worse than when they went in. Let me know what happens. Good luck to you!!