Finally saw the surgeon yesterday. Forgot how wonderful he is. He actually spoke to me like an intelligent human being...almost like another doctor. As I figured he would, though, he basically felt like I should wait it out awhile longer to see if the herniation -- yes, he confirmed it is a true herniation -- might heal itself since I haven't lost any motor function and can live with the pain I have so far. He suggested giving it until the end of the year, then having an ESI if things hadn't changed, and if that still didn't change it, consider another microdiscectomy. I was thrilled to hear that he thought he could still do another micro instead of a fusion, though he said that fusion techniques have improved a lot just in the last few years, so even if I needed to go that route, it would not be as limiting as it used to be. So now it's just a matter of sucking it up and waiting it out and seeing what happens so I can determine how to handle it in terms of finding a new job. I have a meeting set with my old boss next week to talk about all that, so hopefully he'll have something positive to say that will give me some incentive to either hold out or go ahead and make a leap now, even if it's a little risky. We'll see.