Not sure if this is any help to you, but I'll tell you my story. A couple of years ago I started to develop sciatica in my left leg, with pain in my upper leg and also the calf area. It gradually got worse so that after about three weeks it was seriously affecting my life. So much so that I had to come back early from a holiday in Australia. By this time I was swallowing vast quantities of painkillers and anti-inflammatories.
I tried everything, from physiotherapy, osteopathy, even acupuncture, but nothing worked. By this time (6 weeks after onset of symptoms) I rarely went into work and spent most of my time lying in bed trying to stay still, as any movement was agony. No longer would I scoff at people who skived work because of back problems.
Luckily I had private medical insurance and went to see a neurosurgeon who had me on an MRI scanner within 2 days. The scan showed I had a slipped disc (in the classic place - between the 4th & 5th vertebrae). After a lot of discussion, and humming and haaing from me (as the last thing I wanted was anyone wielding a scapel millimetres from my spine) we decided that my case was so severe it wasn't going to cure itself (as many do) and I elected for surgery.
I had a discectomy (in on Friday evening, surgery on Saturday morning, walking out of hospital on Monday afternoon and took the tube home!) and have never looked back. I still get a bit of residual sciatica but I'm 97% better than I was.
I don't know what your profile is, but I fitted the classic pattern - in my early forties, played a bit of sport, the usual rough & tumble and then tried to lift (the wrong way!) a heavy object while moving house - slipped disc!
Best of luck!