In my case, I put off possible corrective surgery for decades. I was successful in managing discomfort via core strengthening, stretching, judicious use of OTC pain meds, and an occasional shot. My original docs (internist plus neurosurgeon) were also my friends and neighbors. I knew I could trust their opinion w/o reason to second guess what I was hearing. They strongly recommended deferring surgical intervention for as long as I could stand it. One literally suggested I defer until I was lying in bed in pain and unable to get up. His logic: The risks of the surgery outweighed the risks on no-surgery until I just couldn't stand it any more.

The tipping point for me was frequent (multiple times a day) episodic leg numbness which I would describe as "sudden onset". Walking along feeling fine when, boom, my legs would go numb and if I didn't sit down fast, I was going to fall down. Like maybe down a flight of stairs...

I could still manage the pain w/o surgery but I had reached the medical point where continued personal risk plus concerns over permanent nerve damage mitigated towards accepting the surgical risks. I'm glad I had multiple discectomies, decompressions, and fusions.

Personally, I respect a surgeon whose diagnosis is "no surgery for now".

Wishing you the best! Gather information. Talk to others who've experienced what you're experiencing. Question. Never give up.