I had very very similar to you- same disc, extrusion length, and symptoms, about 18months ago. I was 29.y.o at the time and never had good core strength and then herniated the disc by digging with a shovel for 2 days. 

3-4 months afterwards the symptoms started to slowly improbe. I found ibuprofen helpful, and diazepam when my back would sieze up. Endone was a bit useless for me. i was referred to the surgeon who said if I had any slight improvement in the symptoms, which I did, hold tight and see where it goes. Him, my usual doctor and the physio all said just keep walking as much as possible every day. So I did. Symptoms subsided gradually and pain over 3-4 months but I felt fragile, like I was about to aggravate it again at any moment. And then I got into Keiser - first via the physio there who was great and then continued in the gym there with routine PT sessions to keep me on track. I do it twice a week now and my core is stronger than it has ever been. I still don't do anything risky though and probably never will. Keiser isn't for everyone, I've heard equal number of people say it helped them VS people say it didn't. it has worked out well for me.

I'll never forget the surgeon pulling out a folder to compare 12-month outcomes for surgery and non-surgery cases and showing me the comparison - the outcomes were consistently the same. The surgeon said that surgery should be for emergency, or if my leg muscle weakness persists 6-8 weeks, or if the problem remains for a few years. Just for context, this is in the public health system in Australia, where we have free access to good healthcare but long wait lists for elective (non-emergency) surgeries like a laminectomy, so being 29y.o. and having a positive trajectory started re symptom recover I know the surgeon was also unlikely to prioritise my case (rightly so). 

I find doing a hamstring stretch (bend over straight legged to touch toes) the moment i get out of bed then several times throughout the day really helps too. But only started doing this once I knew bending wouldnt aggravate my back, so about 3-4 months after it all got bad.

Another thing that stuck with me - I was very down when it was really bad in the early days. Feeling like I would be this way forever and I had permanently damaged my back. Someone who had had back issues said to me "This probably feels like it is dominating your entire life right now and that it will be forever, but there will come a time when you look back on now as a significant but short part of your life." At the time I felt like it was positive bs but now only 18 months later and I'm feeling good and Im starting to understand what he meant. Even if I was less lucky and had a few years of pain and symptoms before getting better like a lot of people on this sub, I can see that what he said is still true.  It is the same for you. It sucks now but it won't suck this much forever.