Back Problems - Herniated Discs

That sounds really painful. Running is very high impact, I wouldn't recommend it unless your specialist has cleared you to run. Can you borrow money from somebody (parents?) and see your doctor again? PT exercises should maybe cause a little discomfort, but probably not cause further nerve pain. MFP folks are wonderful...but not necessarily trained doctors or therapists.

I wish you the best. It is possible to recover from spinal fusions and exercise again--my best friend had an emergency spinal fusion years ago, and is able to exercise freely, although she is not a runner. (not because she can't, she just doesn't like it)

I have a complicated spinal issue that made surgery really dangerous. Herniated disc was the only thing I do not have. My profile tells my story. . I can relate to you in not wanting to experience that kind of pain,
I really do not think it is good for you to be running, at this point. It is high impact and you don't need to be doing that with your back history. With disc issues you have to listen to your body. If it tells you something is bad then stop doing it. This is one pain that the ole 'push through it' attitude will do more harm than good.
I would suggest to you what I did for mine. Go to the library and check out as many books on spinal issues as you can find. I remember one yoga book written by a guy who had ....whew, herniated discs and spinal fusion.
Walking on a treadmill really helped me. You can bump up the speed and encline if you are not getting results. I would think the elliptical would really push it as well. I have several friends on here that have lost allot by using it. I would bump up the intensity that you are using these instead of running at this point. Also, after using them go for a swim or be sure to stretch. I know that stupid paper of stretches they give you to use! If I go to. One more doc that tries to hand me that thing I will have a royal temper tantrum! I know that every doc I went to told me something different about the stretches. That is why I suggest the library! You will find yoga spefically for back issues..and it is free :-). Everything I have said is my own opinion based on experience and lots of research. Feel free to friend me :-).
Jac
Feel free to friend me

I've had surgery for herniated discs 4 times & I currently run. However, it's been a good 8 years since my last surgery. In your situation I would strongly advise AGAINST running. If you're spending hours at the gym you're doing it wrong. Period. Overtraining is just as bad as not exercising enough, by educating yourself a little you can make your gym time much more efficient.

First, do you keep a log of your stuff? Are you accurately logging food & activity? If not, log all your food & try to stay at a consistent calorie level for at least 3 weeks. Set up a reasonable workout schedule - 1 full day of rest & no more than 90 min at the gym the other 6 days (less is actually better) - & be consistent with that for the same 3 weeks. Then evaluate your results so you can see what you need to adjust. A deficit that is too large will stall your weight loss, so if that's the case you may need to eat more or exercise less to get your metabolism burning fat like you want it.

Second, stick with stuff like elliptical. It's the next best thing to running & you can modify the resistance to increase the intensity if you want to. Google High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I have a 10-minute routine I do on the elliptical every once in a while that leaves me dripping with sweat...best workout ever & the longest 10 minutes of my life!

I have a herniated disc and it is a struggle to find an exercise that is suitable that won't hurt. For me there is very little difference between back muscle soreness and actual back pain, there's a really fine line so I have to be very careful. I only do high impact occasionally when I feel like it and make sure I stretch my back thoroughly after each workout. Most of my workouts involve walking, seated strength training and cycling. If I had access to the gym I would probably use the elliptical, recumbent bike or the treadmill but only for walking. I did jogging for a short time and I was fine until I started to push for a faster time and longer stride, then things went downhill quite quickly.

Be kind to yourself and listen closely to your body - it took me a long time to accept that I can't push myself like other people and I'm not lazy if I don't, its just being responsible.