Conservative treatment is the mainstay for many chronic diseases. This means that your healthcare team will most likely encourage you to avoid surgery unless it is life threatening issue. Why is the stigma of surgery avoidance associated with poor outcomes? This day in time savvy surgery techniques and fewer post operative complications complications are more likely to restore your quality of life to a livable level. In other words three years or more of taking pills with or without complimentary treatment can be more costly in the long run with a poor quality of life.
How will you know if surgery sooner rather than later is best for you? Talk with your doctors and healthcare providers. If you find there is disagreement, seek out more opinions until you find what is best for you. Surgery is preventive and can improve one's quality of life in months especially if conservative treatment fails. Conservative treatment may help, but after many years it is less likely and becomes more costly in every way primarily in worsening of symptoms.
Spare yourself countless years of needless suffering. Do your homework. See what treatments work best for you. Talk with your healthcare providers about new treatments, and look for doctors (specialists) who have experience in the area. If you've been getting around with the same nagging symptoms and watching your years pass you by without improvement or feeling good on the same treatment year after year, get on with it! Consider surgery if it is an option.
Great health is true wealth!