Barrow is a very well respected medical institution. But like others have said it never hurts to have another pair of eyes looking at your MRI and coming up with treatments.
I am fused L4-S1, also started with microdiscectomies/laminectomies at each disk herniation. I did try conservative treatments prior to surgery but once the nerve was being impinged so much that it caused muscle weakness and foot drop, I quickly moved on to surgery. My surgeon did tell me though that back surgery often doesn’t relieve back pain but relieves the impingement so nerve issues in the buttocks and down the leg should get better. All of us are different and depending on the degree of your stenosis or if you have scoliosis, like I do, it makes recovery different.
For pain relief post surgery I did use ice often, took gabapentin, walked as much as I could, followed the no BLT rule (bending, lifting and twisting), and saw a PT who used laser, ultrasound, massage, broke up scar tissue, dry needles and various core strengthening exercises. I later tried acupuncture, steroid injections, heating pad, etc… I prefer not to be on pain meds so just used Aleve when pain was great. My follow up MRI showed my fusion was set, so I chose to have my hardware surgically removed after a year. That provided some relief of the pain running down my leg. I also had my hips MRI’d where I learned I had a complete lumbar tear on one side and partial on the other. That pain was mostly more groin associated but made walking harder. After having that surgically taken care of, I refocused on my spine and the continuing sciatica. I ultimately went with having a Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulator implanted. For me that has been a game changer. I have been able to decrease the amount of gabapentin significantly. I still use ice occasionally for my back pain - especially if I overdo it on activities. I often use a heating pad in the am and pm and continue my PT stretches and exercise (in the pool if possible).
I think the name failed back surgery is interesting because I may still have pain but it did not fail in providing me stability nor the ability to move my foot and regain muscle strength.
Hope this helps you on your health journey.