I've had this done (complete with the titanium plate option):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anterio...omy_and_fusion
... necessary after a freeride mountain biking accident.
That was in 2003. Within 6 months (4 months laid up, 2 months rehab) I was fine and am still fine today. I'm sure I'll have problems as I approach my mid-40's, but for now, I feel as good as I did when I was 20 (I'm 33 currently).
Just go under the knife.
I mean, how long have you been living with this pain? It's destroying your quality of life.
Sure you can do bandaid fixes here and there to deal with the pain, but you're still going to be making plans to go on trips and partake in physical activity based around your back problems.
Quality of Life
Keep those words front and center, and do what you have to, to get that back as quickly as possible. Surgery sucks, but you'll heal and the drugs are fantastic (as I'm sure you know, since it sounds like you are on a few to deal with this already) while you get back to your old self.
Taking drugs, indefinitely, to deal with the pain is just going to kill you off early from kidney failure.
Get your quality of life back asap. Our lives are a flash in the pan. Get the most out of it. Get surgical.