buldging disc in L-5 S-1 and ccompromising nerve

[kl8182]

i was diagnosed with chronic back pain last year but had no idea why i was in constant pain. the new doctor i saw today looked over my mri and told me that i have a disc that is buldging out and its compromising the nerves in that area. he said that its not something that can be fixed with surgery and has referred me to phyiscal therapy. however i have already done two months of therapy and am currently on the e-stim machine. is this a permanent issue with my back as i have been in pain like this for over a year?

[skmedlin27703]

normally bulging discs heal themselves... When they do not heal I have found through research online that they ofter do a Microdiscectomy.  This is when a portion of the herniated disc that is pressing on the nerve is removed.  Other times they do a Spinal fusion.  This is when the disc space in between two vertebrae is fused into one solid long bone. I hope this helps.

[skittles1305]

i know exactly how you feel, i had the exact same thing. i was living with a bulging disk in the exact same place for a very very long time. sadly my doctors did not catch my issues until the disk had fully ruptured. i also have issues with my si joints. physical therapy did not help me much either. my doctor began doing steriod injects in my spine and those seemed to help a bit along with pain meds. i finally ended up having my l5 and s1 fused. my doctors just this week tried the mystim implant and it made me miserable so i really hope it works for you. personally i would not say this problem with pain will last forever there are treatments and other things you can do. i would ask your doctor about possible injections to help with swelling and what not. and if your doctors are not giving you the answers you need i would honestly look for a new one. im currently in the process of a second opinion myself. i hope this helps and really hope you feel better soon.