disc extrusion at L5/S1 - looking for friends who relate

I had surgery on that same disk in 2010. I can relate (unfortunately). The nerve damage is to my left leg and I still have trouble with it. I think my surgeon waited too long to decide to operate - he wanted to treat it conservatively for several years. Pre-surgery, I did not find that anything helped long-term. I have several rounds of steroid shots, weeks and weeks of PT which I continued at home, etc. Sometimes the pain in my back and leg would get down to a fairly low level and then I'd do something lame like pick up an empty laundry basket and I'd be right back where I started Pain pills and muscle relaxers were what got me through the day. Post-surgery/recovery I was told to go ahead and do any activities that didn't cause me pain. I had significant strength imbalances between my left and right leg that I've corrected for the most part since I've been working out fairly consistently for almost 2 years. If there's anything specific you want to talk about, feel free to PM me!