I also do not believe all herniated discs heal over time. My back injury was initially caused by domestic violence. Then car accidents, then I fell on the ice. Within a week my disc completely ruptured. I could not move or walk at all. The pain was excruciating, child birth had nothing on that amount of pain. I eventually got an mri and the surgeon said I always go the conservative route, but mine was too bad. He hadn't seen one that bad in over 10 yrs. The surgery didn't completely fix it, and I've gained weight from meds and the injury but I only take ibuprofen and baclofen for the pain now. I think I have a high tolerance for pain though. I am going to look into tramadol though.

I would recommend no more hardcore weight lifting. I really, really don't think that's helping at all. I hope I helped some and good luck.