I guess it was more of a broad suggestion. I was just saying don't nurse it. Maybe it was a lack of research on my behalf, but I didn't know that the disc stayed herniated. I thought once I started feeling better that the disc "retracted." I was later told that the disc is always herniated and when I thought I re-herniated it, I was actually just reminding my nerves that it was still there.
There would be days were I couldn't even sit up out of bed, literally. Other days I could only stand or lie down, no use of the restroom at all. I was miserable, and I'm only 23.
I weighed the options and my doctor and I came to the conclusion that three "re-herniations" in 1 year coupled with only being 23 would probably lead to a lifetime of pain, and eventually a crooked spine, arthritits and a crappy attitude from walking like I had a cob in my ___. I don't know how bad yours is or how old you are, but after a while it won't take much more than a strong fart(not literally) to re-injure it.
I feel your pain. This was easily the worst pain I've ever had, a pressure fracture in my wrist and dislocated knee would be next. It hurts just thinking about it. If yours is even close to this I would recommend surgery. I don't know the exact surgery I had, but I do know it was in the Discectomy/Laminectomy realm. They just went in through the lower back, cut through muscle, cut off the protrusion and sewed everything back up. He compared it to smashing a jelly donut and wiping off the jelly that squirted out. Typically all of the fusion surgeries are reserved for people who have had the Discectomy/Laminectomy surgery once or twice and keep re-injuring it. For the first surgery though, they would only do the Discectomy/Laminectomy stuff.
The surgery itself only took about an hour maybe a little more. I was in the hospital overnight, and was home the next day. The recovery time isn't too rough. You will probably be in bed anywhere from 3-7 days, depending on how well you handled it. I was told to lift no more than 10 pounds for 4 weeks and then increase that by 5 pounds every week thereafter. It only kept me from flying for maybe 3-4 weeks. The doctor will tell you not to sit upright for more than 15-20 minutes at a time during that time.
So my original point is that I did the painkiller route and tried to tough it out as long as possible, but realized I was just kidding myself. I would highly recommend the surgery for your long-term health, but if yours isn't very bad, and you think you can overcome then by all means. Hopefully this helps. Hopefully you start feeling better.