IPhone :: Update From IOS 5.1.0 To 5.1.1 Asked For A Restore?

Today I decided to update my non-jailbroken white iPhone 4S through the notification that had been outstanding in the 'Settings' app from iOS 5.1.0 to 5.1.1. After agreeing to the terms and conditions the phone rebooted and displayed the apple logo and a progress bar underneath. I left it as it was but when I came back after 10 minutes it displayed the 'Connect to Itunes' screen. I thought fair enough maybe the actual update has to occur through itunes so I did as it told me. Next thing I knew, my phone was in fact in Recovery mode and required a restore.

I was furious. This meant that all the data on my phone had to be removed and why? no idea. All because of a ridiculous update that had to be done eventually. Before I restored it I searched if any others had been through the same scenario and indeed it was a hot topic but the only appropriate solution was in fact to restore. The iCloud backup was also pointless because about 2 months ago my phone claimed my iCloud backup storage was full so I eventually deleted everything from it but it still showed that it was full so I ignored it thinking that I wouldn't restore the device anytime soon.

So here, now I'm asking for a way to reverse or retrieve all my data? I've still got my contacts, my apps are currently being synced, but all my messages, alarms, photos, music, etc are gone.

Info:
iPhone 4S, iOS 5.1.1