Surgery, regardless of your age, should always be the last resort. It should only be done after all conservative measures have been tried and they have not produced results that show improvement.

Before having any surgery you should have, at minimum, at least one other opinion from another spine specialist that is not affiliated with your present spine surgeon or the hospital that he/she would operate in.

Have you been doing physical therapy during the past 8 months?

Have you had any epidural steroid injections during the past 8 months?

Most herniated discs will heal on their own, given time, physical therapy, and maybe some steroid injections and/or anti-inflammatory meds.

The fact that you are improving, and don't need pain meds would indicated to me that your doctor is looking for money and surgery would give him a check from the insurance company.

Get a second and even third opinion before considering the advise of your present doctor.

If I had been in your shoes, and where you are right now, there is now way in the world I would have any kind of spine surgery, but would have been running to find another spine surgeon who wasn't pushing surgery on me, especially when I was improving and not needing any pain meds.

Good luck

Fran