I was in the Navy and suffered the exact same injury (only caused by repeated heavy lifting at work). Mine was left alone for three years because no one at medical believed me and I only got an MRI on it done when my left leg went into severe spasm (like, couldn't put weight on it for weeks type spasm). I was Med Boarded out after three surgeries and am now medically retired from the military. My left leg doesn't function properly any more and my left calf muscle has atrophied thanks to the nerve damage caused by the sustained irritation of my herniated discs. I walk with a limp, I can't really run (simply can't, not a pain thing, just a "leg won't respond" thing) All that being said, what I think you need to understand is that your husband is subject to military medical policy. He may have already tried to talk to his doctor about it again, and may have been told that he's not going to receive any more treatment for it. Unfortunatley, that is the problem with medical care in the military. The doctors are officers and their word is law. That's why it took so long for anyone to do anything with my case other than BS physical therapy. I had to show up at medical severely incapacitated in order for anyone to take me seriously. Your husband may be stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I agree that he'll never be 100% again, but time will bring a certain amount of that lifestyle back. I still have great pain, but I've learned to live with it and find ways around the things I used to do. For example, I loved playing soccer, but I can't any more, so now I coach my son's soccer team. The best thing you can do is to help him find ways to do or be involved in the things he used to love doing. Also, just express your concern about dependence on the pain meds. What I did was I worked out with my doctor a rotating list of meds that worked fairly well for me. Every so often we would switch to a different one to prevent any dependence from forming. I now don't take any pain meds because I'm nursing my almost 2yo son. It's been tough not having any pain management, but a blessing in a way because it's made me more aware of my backs limits. I think pain meds can sometimes cause more harm than good because they allow you to push yourself in ways you shouldn't be and cause you to hurt yourself again. Try discussing all of this with your husband and suggest that he take a little leave and see if he can't do with a very reduced amount of meds (like only when he's really in a bad way) during his leave period in order to kind of break the cycle. He needs to spend the time mostly resting and learning the new ways he has to move in order to not aggravate his problem.
Best of luck to you, feel free to message me if you guys have any questions. I've been through all of this and unfortunately, there isn't too much you can do.
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BTW, IF he can get a consult with a specialist, he's needs to see a neurosurgeon. They deal with herniated discs and the nerve damage that can follow.
