Anyone who has already suffered from a slipped disc will know that it can cause severe pain that can disrupt one's lifestyle.  If your only recourse is to have surgery, it is important to ascertain that it will be done to relieve sciatica, which is pain radiating down the leg, and not to treat chronic backache, which is often misinterpreted as a slipped disc.
A slipped disc can be caused by two factors.  First, it can lose its water content, making it degenerative.  This means that the disc's ability to function as a shock-absorber is compromised, making that portion of the spine less malleable.  This in turn results to episodes of chronic low backache, which may occasionally be associated with sciatica.
The second thing that could go wrong is when a pre-existing degenerative disc prolapses.  In anatomy parlance, this means that the soft center of the disc bursts through the hard outer rim and presses against the nerve running just behind it.  This results in sudden and severe low back pain, radiating down the back of one or both legs, sometimes as far as the foot.
While most flare-ups can be ideally managed through simple, conservative treatment like rest, analgesics and manipulative therapy, patients with an acute disc prolapse are likely to be considered for surgery.  This is especially true if they have been suffering for six weeks with no sign of improvement.
After surgery, wait until the wound is completely healed (around seven to ten days) before simple exercises can be started.  Make sure to exercise the important muscles in the lumbar spine by swimming twice or thrice a week.  Swimming is more fun rather than doing press-ups.
Once you've left the hospital, adopt a positive attitude right away.  Try, within reason, to join normal activities at home, go out for a meal or visit friends.  Expect a certain level of back discomfort for a few weeks.
If you're bored at home and are aching to go back to work, consider that those who work in an office or in a supervisory role may do so after about ten days from surgery.  However, those who are involved in physically demanding work or who have major traveling to do, will have to wait at least a month before resuming normal duties.  As for sex, it can be resumed any time within the limits of postoperative discomfort that persists.  Place a pillow crossways beneath the back for ease and comfort.
If you're heavily into sports, wait six weeks before hitting the fairway, eight weeks before playing tennis or badminton and twelve weeks before playing soccer, volleyball or basketball.
Moving forward, it is very likely for disc surgery patients to live a normal life.  Recurrence is rare but patients need to understand that the operated disc will never return to its normal state.  It may even be the cause for occasional bouts of low backache after heavy workload or extended periods off sitting, such as on long car journeys or long haul flights.