When they give advil (equivalent) by Rx, the dose works out to 800 Mg 4 times a day. If you are one whose stomach is ok with advil, it's good to know how high you can go.
When I had my ruptured disc in 97, no drugs could touch the pain, not even the injection from my doc. I got lucky, physical therapy, chiropractic etc got me going and I didn't have to go under the knife. Low back surgery doesn't actually have outcomes a whole lot better than not so I'd say avoid it if you can. Latest research suggests easy movement (walking, gentle swimming) is better than lying on your back for days until the pain retreats.