My wife has been batteling back pain for years now. She started with a discectomy when she had a buldged disc (that was when she was about 21), but then ended up needing a fusion a year later.
The difference before the fusion are night and day. Before she could not sit/stand for more than a half hour, driving in the car required many stops to stretch and walk around. She can't run and still cannont lift more than 15lbs, but she is only into 13 monthes of recovery since the surgery.
If the disc is that bad a discectomy will likely not solve the pain.She will be needing another fusion in the near future, but for now she is doing good with just the one. After a lot of researcha nd talking to many specialists we felt that a replacement, though an option, isn't right for her. The technology isn't quite there yet, and the surgeons said they would have gone with a replacement if she had been above 50,but being that she was 24, disc's have not been studied that long.
Alot depends on which part of your back this is occurring. I am assuming its in the lumbar which is where my wife's is. She did all the injection/PT/micro surgeries she could have and the only thing that worked was the fusion. Her case is hopefully more drastic than yours, she was born with degenerative disc disease so this will be a life long battle.
Good luck, and as many have said get many many opinions before anyone opens you up!
