I need opinions :) doc wants surgery, I don't

Hello! (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

finding these sciatica and spinal stenosis reddits have been so so helpful and so relieving to see others dealing with the same shit I go thru.

I'll make it "quick" but I want to add details to help with decision making and see if anyone has had the same progression of symptoms.

I've (22M) been in pain... Forever. But only the last five years (really heavily working and being an adult all alone for the first time) it's gotten so so bad. (Been doing chiro on and off, some relief there, never permanent)

I've had three, basically what I call episodes. Where I'm in enough pain to call out and drag my ass to urgent care. Each episode was a few months from each other, each way worse than the last.

First my knee. It had been aching heavily on and off, got to a point where my heel was screaming. Got the shots and a prednisone pack. Worked fast.

Then my back. Horrible tweaking pain that made me collapse mid dog walk, my gf had to carry me into the car. Got the shots and Prednisone pack again. Hurt like hell could barely move but after a day or two, I could live, pain was just back in my knee.

And then the motherloade, my entire leg. I was in 10/10 pain. Literally the worst thing I've lived thru this far. A small crackle in my lower back while lying down sent LAVA racing down my leg and it was clenching so hard. I couldn't stop screaming for anything and I couldn't move, only writhe in pain. My poor gf and roommates were traumatized. I'm American so of course I can't afford the wambulance or the ER so my gf drove me 20 mins to the urgent care while I basically just screamed into a pillow. (Urgent care was closed on lunch when we got there! Imagine that!)

They gave me the same ol run around, the shots and the Prednisone pack. It took hours before I felt okay enough to even sit down in the car, where even that made me cry all the way home.

I was stuck lying down on my stomach for two days. I couldn't move without blinding pain.

Eventually, slathered in CBD oil, some-fucking-how I recovered. I could walk and move with pain but my entire left leg below the knee is numb. Like pins and needles "it's asleep" numb. Worse on the left most side of my calf. It gets crazy itchy but I can't satisfy the itch bc I can't feel it.

Eventually, I drag my Dr. House limp looking ass into the doctor.

I was prescribed 100mg gabapentin and Meloxicam 7.5 mg.

And I am so so grateful that seemed to knock the pain out. I've been on it for about 4 months now. And I know now that I'm very lucky to be on such a small dose and have it work. (I see you baddies in pain on the other posts on here stay strong)

But I have weird side effects like soreness and joint pain in my elbows & wrists (has never happened in my whole chronically ill chronicles) and the leg numbness never went away. But I don't trip on it as much anymore.

TL:DR:

After X-rays and MRI, I have a large herniated disc at L4-L5 with disc extrusion 2.3 cm. Causing narrowing of the spinal canal aka spinal stenosis and compression of the left nerve root and spinal cord. My left leg is numb af. Big pain gone but I don't like how the meds make me feel.

Doc basically said, "skip PT, you need Surgery." A possible discectomy and fusion.

This seems scary, and my chiro says absolutely not, and I might agree. I'm too young right?

I want to do PT anyways to see if it helps but I don't want to ignore all the underlying problems. Is the extrusion actually that bad? Has anyone recovered from something worse without surgery? What do I do lol

Any replies are so so so appreciated