Hi playa ray,
I'm sorry to hear of your problems.
Your doing on of the best things you can do right now, research and then more research.
You want to find out all you can about your injury and your option of treatments. Knowledge will be your best friend, believe me.
I can only tell you from my own experience and yrs of researching, okay.
For myself I fell at work in 1999 and had never had anything more then the nagging back aches one gets from over extending ones self.
My first MRI read much like yours and I am now permanently disabled.
An MRI is not as reliable as the Dr's like to have you think, fact is that in the majority of people back problems will heal on their own with time and the right treatment, unfortunately that is not always the case.
As with me my injuries were much more extensive then just bulging disc as it was I had several tears in my disc also, which caused them to leak the gel out on to my nerves and going untreated ended up with permanent nerve damage.
Surgery should always be only as a last option, it probably wouldn't hurt for you to see a surgeon but I sure wouldn't jump in to and I wouldn't trust a Dr that would operate on me with just a DX as yours is at this point.
I don't agree with the Dr telling you it's okay to be going back to work and lifting and all.
You really need to seek out other opinions.
Best of luck and don't hesitate to ask all the questions you have and get answers you trust.
Linda

By the way Hi Billie!!!