Ooh, just trying to catch up with all the news here. Should be doing online tesco groceries order but meh to that. Still no inspiration for a festive name-change either.
Starting on the totally non back-related stuff: Berrie, since when have they been able to do big toe joint replacements? Please interrogate your DH when he comes in (& has walked the dog, of course) as to exactly what the Dr. said. I have big toe arthritis in both big toes, left one is worse, & after seeing toe / foot consultant a couple of years ago I thought the options weren't great. Steroid injections (why am I not chomping at the bit there?) & fusing the toe joints together. Will be excited if this is true as mine's not getting any better.
Tell your DH that stiff-soled shoes / boots really help, if he doesn't already wear them. Fitflops are brilliant but I can see that might not go down too well. 
I wear them round the house (with socks in Winter - I'm dead stylish) as they make such a difference. Unless it's actually all the back drugs that help & the toes are really no better. Hmmm....
Well done for getting to A&E & getting checked out, mulledpavlov. I'm a bit confused about the nervey thing too. Do your bulging discs press on the nerve roots to the sides, as they exit the thecal sac? Mine does 'cause that's where the disc bulges, so I know I'm not at risk of cauda equina syndrome. But I thought a central bulge (& yours are, aren't they?) was by definition bulging on to the central bunch of nerves going down to the cauda equina. Hope you're okay today & the drugs helped last night.
Frostydom, I can't quite get my head round the difference in your treatment from what the NHS tends to offer. I never had a discectomy - hope that was the right decision in my case, but hard to know. Read loads & loads when I was offered one back in the Spring, though, & yes, the best results are certainly associated with large, central prolapses, treated fairly swiftly before nerve inflammation becomes chronic, & where the pain is around 75%+ leg-based. If the disc is otherwise healthy, with just a single, small tear in the wall, then apparently that's even better. Still never an easy decision, I know. I'm sure excellent aftercare must be a positive factor, & it certainly sounds as if you would get that.
Tinselaffe, I'm also very 
about the idea that coming straight off all pain-killers & relying on amitryptilline alone is going to sort out your pain. Nerve-drugs are usually an addition to an existing meds. regime. I guess if they seem spectacularly successful, then you could cut down on other stuff, but they all take time to start working. Don't know about all the drugs combinations, but my consultant suggested ami to me & he knows I'm on co-codamol. It may take a while to get used to side-effects with it, too. When I tried ami it wiped me out more than any drug I've ever taken, but that might just be me.
I've seen the GP this morning. She's lovely but it was kind of depressing. She's got the letter back from the consultant, I need to see this as a chronic condition now & be prepared to take the medications to keep active. I can keep all my drugs on repeat, keep experimenting to find the best combo, & restart pregabalin any time I need to. She said the local Pain Clinic won't have anything to offer other than drugs & injections, so unless I want to go for an epidural now, it might be better to keep that option back. I don't want an epidural, so I'm not going to be referred ATM.
Lots of pain again, including the lower right leg pain sitting down in the Carol Service last night. It's freezing cold here & I'm not feeling very cheerful! Trying to resist the stollen bites in the kitchen, as they contain an unfeasible number of calories.