I can't say that you story is too far from mine. I went back to work much earlier, but limited to work from home (bed) office (one week). Still on and off pain meds at 5 weeks, but severly reduced (average 1 per day at bedtime). I am in physical therapy 3x weekly and still doing exersises at home along with home stim unit/ice (IF, not TENS) 4x daily for 15-30 minutes. Still on Celebrex 400mg (3 more weeks to complete 8 weeks) and occasional Norco 5-325. Skelaxin is my friend though. When I do not take it, I have issues with typing on my laptop for more than 20-30 minutes (just stiffness) at a time...

Best of luck with you recovery.