four years ago at the age of 33 I sustained a herniation of L5-S1. The pain was worse than anything I had experienced. I suffered from weakness and numbness to the left leg/foot. The doctors tried epidural steroid injections with and without ultrasound guidance, intensive physical therapy, and lots of pain pills. I could not walk from the car to the house without stopping to take a pain pill. They told me I was too young for surgery and they could do nothing else for me other than fill out paperwork for disability. I refused to accept that answer and after one year found an excellent neurosurgeon in Tulsa who agreed to help me. He performed an anterior discectomy spinal fusion with cages and injected a bone morphogenic protein. After surgery I underwent six weeks of water physical therapy. I had pain for appx 4 months after the surgery but steadilly improved. Six months to the day after the surgery I returned to work as a Paramedic and have had no problems since. I have regained the strength in my leg but continue to suffer from numbness. I was afraid of trying road biking because of the bending required but have had no problems at all.

The moral is this, research your options, you have to be responsible for your own health, and do not take no for an answer. I had many people tell me that surgery was the last thing I wanted and that I would be worse off afterwards. Sometimes you have to throw the dice and hope for the best. PM me if you wish and I will give you the name of the surgeon.