How long is it OK for me to wait?

[MaggieOuchie]

I was diagnosed 3 weeks ago by CAT & MRI with a large central herniation at L5-S1 after being in ongoing pain subsequent to a pelvic-fracture from a bicycle accident last October... As my low-back & leg pain has not subsided as it should if it were from my pelvis which supposedly has healed by now, my regular MD sent me for imaging that showed the heriated disc and some bulging discs as well.  I have been referred to a NeuroSurgeon but I cant even get an appointment until some unknown time, there is a backlog on triaging the incoming referrals, and I've been waiting 3 weeks and they cant even tell me when they might call me to tell me when I will get an appointment.  There is only ONE Neurosurgeon here, and the next closest one is 1.5 hours each way, or Boston which is 3 hours each way.  Since it hurts so much to ride in a car, I need to know how urgent is it that I start getting proper treatment.  I've already suffered this for 7+ months, and my friends are worried that I might get permanent damage if I dont start getting treated soon, or it might be too late for "conservative" treatment even by now... Is there anyone here who knows what they are looking at enough to look at my MRI pictures to tell me if it's OK to wait some unknown amount of time to see a NeuroSurgeon, even just to get advice about what non-surgical treatments might help me?  Is it too late already?  

I selected some of the most important MRI pictures of my "large" herniation (at L5-S1) and saved them to disc and uploaded them to PhotoBucket here:
     http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t295/peg7larson/BackAche_Spinal_MRI/
The two most obvious examples of the worst of my herniation (from what I can tell) are here:
     http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t295/peg7larson/BackAche_Spinal_MRI/?action=view&current=T1_T2_Sag_Pic5.jpg
     http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t295/peg7larson/BackAche_Spinal_MRI/?action=view&current=LumbarT2AX_28.jpg

Oh Yeah... I am a 50-year old skinny/overworked mother of seven who has had intermittent low-back pain for years, but never this bad before, and never constant like it now is.  I have tried two physical therapists in town a few times when my diagnosis was just pelvic-fracture, and I felt like it hurt more than it helped, so I am hesitant to do PT without a NeuroSurgeon to specify the treatment regimen, even though my primary care MD told me to find another Physical Therapist while I am waiting.

Thanks in advance for any help, advice, etc.!!!  

[MaggieOuchie]

I finally got an appointment with a NeuroSurgeon for next week.  I have to drive 1 1/2 hours each way, but that will be better than waiting months to see an overworked surgeon, and the place I'm going to just might be more experienced with my type of injury than the local NeuroSurgeon.  Of course, my main goal is to avoid surgery, but I realize that I need an experienced NeuroSurgeon's guidance to get the right kinds of therapy and treatment for my specific type of injuries.  This morning, I just picked up CD with all my imaging from the last few years (to bring with me to the NS appt.), and there is a spinal Xray from about 6 months before my accident, so I'm going to have some fun looking at all my older images today.

Thanks to the several people who replied here and sent me direct email.  I definitely am getting some really good help and relevant useful information here!

[hardiz]

that is large! but it depends on the symptoms as to what the doc will do