[shilala]

A word on epidurals...
I had two. The first one was in a top notch facility. It was a powdered cortisone injection (I should say injections because they worked both sides of my spine in about 20 or 30 spots and also loaded my spinal cord). Despite all the damage, it really did help a LOT. Iirc, it took about 5 days to kick in, then lasted about five weeks.
The second one was done at the hospital by the house, under old xray machines, and they had me sweating so bad they had to bring someone in to mop the floor. They constantly stopped the procedure because my blood pressure was bottoming out. When they were done, I couldn't walk and they hauled my ass to the ER, stuck a bunch of needles in me and gave me tons of muscle relaxers to break the grip.
That was my last "conservative measure". It was excruciating. My doc and my surgeon called me the next day and I agreed to surgery.

Point being, they work wonders if done properly by good doctors in good facilities. I'd not hesitate to have one done again if I thought for a minute it'd be any help.