[runner]

Greg,

How do you know you are having an inflammatory reaction to the disc? Have you had inflammation markers checked? Does a myleogram show fluid around the disc, indicating inflammation?
I definitely would get another second opinion. You may need fusion or you may need something else.
For me, red flags go up when someone starts talking about spinal cord stimulator. The scs is for cases where nothing else can be done like surgeons have given up on you as far as fixing you.
How worked up were you by your surgeon?

It has been my experience that doctors don't agree with each other. Some just want to operate without finding out the true pain generator.

If my original pain doctor had listened to me when I had pain at L5/S1 during a discogram, I probably would have had my back fixed with one surgery. So I had symptoms similar to you (in one sense, mind you) in that I had L4/5 done and then L5/S1 went less than six months later. My new symptoms included numbness in my legs and extreme sciatica and a slow increase in back pain. My legs typically go numb when I am sitting on the ground. Sometimes when I am just laying around. Before I had three ESIs, I had my legs going numb when I was standing. For instance, when I voted, one entire leg went numb. When my gabapentin medicine starts to wear off, the numbness increases. It tells me that it is time to take my medication. LOL.

Since you took such a bad fall, there could be all kinds of things going on. Wondering if you had your cervical area checked also?
Have you had a discogram on your other lumbar discs. A discogram can determine if you have discogenic (coming from the disc) pain at other levels.
I know how bad it is to live with pain and how restrictive it is. I wish you luck in your endeavor to get help with your spine.