Update 2023:
(I had a whole post and my session timed out and I lost it, so "take 2")
I've been out of the loop here but glad to see this helpful community is still around. I thought I'd reply to help others see how things change over time and this really is a long journey.
To recap, my primary problem was periodic (3-4x/year) disc ruptures followed by intense, debilitating pain for a week or 2 each time. I decided to delay surgery (either ADR or fusion) as long as I could. So I kind of checked out of these forums and tried my best to get on with life.
On the "good" side, the intense pain I used to get has subsided and I haven't experienced the old cycle of "annular tear/protein release/nerve inflammation that lasts a week or 2" for a few years now. I think my disc is pretty much a dried up raisin at this stage so there's no more juicy protein center to leak out anymore. This is interesting because it shows that my old problems were really almost entirely inflammation from the protein and not direct impingement of nerves.
On the bad side, that's been replaced by a progressively constant duller pain, with occasional but shorter lasting sharp pain if I move wrong, and lack of mobility/activity. I'm scheduling another round of imaging to confirm but current indications look like my problems are almost entirely L5/S1 facet joint at this stage. So NJ Gene had great advice in 2015, just a few years early for where I was at on my journey.
I'll likely be pursuing facet joint injections & nerve ablation, hoping to keep delaying surgery. Surgery is the only real "fix", but if I can reduce the pain & restore some mobility, I hope to be able to keep living the life I want without surgery for a bit longer.
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