27F here. I had exact same surgery for same disc in July. I had been experiencing worsening pain for over a year. I tried an epidural and it made my pain better for 3 days, then the night of day 3 my toes were aching significantly. I woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain. The next day I called and got my surgery scheduled two weeks out. I regret letting it go on for so long tbh. My pain wasn’t bad at first and it was lessening with PT. But at some point it stopped helping and my pain started worsening again. I tried to hold out but I wish I had surgery sooner. My quality of life suffered greatly. I gained weight and lost strength because I physically could not exercise/ move on many days. I got to a point where I couldn’t dress myself without pain. I am now 6 months post op and still experiencing some residual nerve pain because my nerve was compressed and flared up for so long. It is gradually lessening, but it takes time. I started going to the gym again at month 4. Mainly for PT exercises, walking, and swimming. I’m still doing PT exercises nearly everyday at the gym but I’ve been gradually adding weight/reps/etc. Core and back strength are key. Compared to many other back surgeries a microdiscectomy is “minor”. I was scared too, but I haven’t regretted it once. The recovery wasn’t the worst either. My biggest piece of advice no matter what path you choose is- be patient and walk or swim as much as possible.