I was reading your post and the reply below and felt i may be able to help by giving another perspective.

First off pain medications are not the answer. They may help in the short term with pain but I'm sure as a recovering addict you are aware of the overwhelming negatives of being on pain meds. One that you may not know is that more recent evidence demonstrates that long term Opiod use cant actually increase your pain.
Back surgery is performed too often in our society. There are times when it is appropriate ( more to come) but too often it is used in attempt to relieve pain. What Science and Evidence has shown and what our society has yet to accept is that pain is an output from your brain and not an input from your back. I need you to understand that I am not saying that you are making this pain up or that you are "crazy". Your back sends a "message" to your brain saying that something is going on and your brain decides whether it is painful or not. When pain becomes more chronic you don't necessarily even need those "messages" as you start to associate certain activities or positions with the same pain. When they do the back surgery they only address what is going on with your back. That is why back surgery can be ineffective in treating chronic pain. There are some instances when surgery is appropriate for back pain, but in my opinion much less that what it is currently practiced.
You mentioned that you have weakness. There are different kinds of weakness. Most times general weakness in your legs and hips is due to inactivity or possibly secondary to the psychological/ emotional effects of pain. If the weakness is more specific to a certain muscle group, is consistent, is getting progressively weaker and is correlated with the level of your herniation ( your physician/surgeon should be able to tell you this) then surgery may be indicated to prevent permanent nerve damage and muscle atrophy.
As a health-care professional I think it is unprofessional and irresponsible to give you specific advice for your condition on an internet message board. But I hope giving you some general information will help . Stay active, breathe ( there is a great response in the post about the pregnant woman a couple threads down regarding breathing and mindfullness), get multiple opinions ( ex. primary care, surgeon, physiatrist) do GOOD research not just googling and most important love life because no matter what you are going through you are still HERE and that means anything is possible.

sorry for the long response but I don't know if I will be back here