GAH!!! I hurt just reading this!!! I had a herniation about 17 years ago, just before I turned 20 (L5-S1 level). No surgery, but it did end my college football career. Every once in a while, I get the flareups, too, though it's not too bad, for the most part. No axial loading when I've lifted weights, and I'm careful with any heavy lifting I do. It's improved enough for me that I started running triathlons last year.
If you've dealt with it before, there's no need for me to tell you what to do. Ice and an anti-inflammatory to help the swelling and inflammation go down to give you some relief. Chiros can help (I go to a great one, myself), but maybe a stronger prescription from a MD will help you find relief sooner.
And one more thing that I remember the doc told me when I was doing my rehab and thinking about playing football again (I played in the spring after I had hurt it, but walked away that summer). How your x-rays and MRIs look are not an indicator of the level of pain a person is feeling. It's about tolerance and how your body is built. He said he seen people who look horrendously bad in the images feel very little pain, and people who seem to have very small issues in the images be in excruciating pain.
Best of luck to you...I truly feel your pain!