Hi Cameron, sorry you have to be here but I'd like to offer a friendly hello
I'm a wee bit worn out too. I only went down the surgical route after all conservative methods had been tried/attempted/discounted.
The neuro surgeons were kind enough to allow 6 months from initial injury for me to progress from being bed bound to emergent surgical need. In which time I was crawling the walls with so much pain I couldn't think straight at all, along with all the associated red flags from nerve compression.
I had surgery, the pain after surgery was different and I was able to stand the following day. It was wonderful and short lived
A year to the day I was back in theatre having a revision surgery due to dropped feet etc etc etc. it was a much bigger surgery and took me 4 years to become relatively functional.
22 years and further nasty injuries later, the most invasive intervention I have had since is steroid injections.
I still have the wonderful side effects of nerve damage, I still have pain but I manage it much better than I used to. At times I have been desperate for someone to just open me up and fix this blooming back and take away the pain. These things will be forever with me, I have to live within limits to acheive maximum potential. After almost losing my life in a road traffic accident the limits were set in stone and I could no longer push through, my injured brain just knocked me out for a few hours! It has been both the best and worst thing to happen to me.
Sorry for rambling! Surgery will probably limit further damage but be prepared for it not being an instant fix.