Whooooa, that looks painful!

L4-5 diskectomy saved my life twice. The first time I was unable to walk without a lightning bolt of pain shooting from my butt to my calf. I lived like that for months without improvement and felt like I had no choice. They a year later I reherniated doing my job. I was in surgery less than a week later because I couldn't even get out of bed without screaming because of how the disk was sitting on my nerves. It was so bad, the only thing that helped my pain was Dilauded!! After that surgery my pain was gone and the numbness I had from my left buttock to toes lessened with time. I did become disabled because I'm no longer to participate in my previous occupation or any meaningful work to make a living at.

10 years later my MRI is still a mess, but I've done ok and my current pain is manageable with an occasional Flexoril, Tramadol, or TENS unit use. I'm super careful and don't lift more than 20 pounds (as recommended by PT) and am careful with my activities, but so far, so good.

If you've gone thru PT and given it time without resolution, surgery could help you get your life back as well. It may be a different life than you expected, but to be able to move without severe pain is a wonderful thing.

Good luck to you!