Hi Fred, sorry you are here, but I hope we can provide some support. There are many kind patients here to help you think things through or even provide another perspective. In the meantime:
1. Do you have recent imaging of your lumbar spine? Did you get copies of the digital images and reports? How is your lumbar spine described by the radiology report?
2. What level of pain do you have (1-10), and how does that affect your quality of life?
3. Do you have a spine doctor that you like and trust? What has he/she said about your situation?
If the spinal disc continued to herniate some time after surgery, perhaps the continued degeneration/re-herniation simply impinged the nerve. But we would be guessing without the benefit of your future imaging studies and surgical consult. If that is the case, that may bode well for your future recovery -- as that could be resolved through fusion, ADR or many other procedures.
I have more questions, but I don't want to scare you off...
