Let me see if I can try:

At L4-5 the disc is moderately degenerated and narrowed. Degenerated means that the disc dried out (which comes with age, and some of us get it sooner than others. The disc space is narrowed because the disc dryed out. The disc flattens and that causes the vertabra to come closer together so that means there is narrowing of the disc space.
The herniation is most prominent midliine and to the right. The herniation also causes severe deformity of the nerve root. *this will cause PAIN.

L3=4 Mild disc degeneration without herniation. You do have a very minimul disc bulge but it does not touch the thecal sac.

I'm NO DOCTOR, but from what I can see, I would doubt that surgery would be called for with this MRI. Probably what would be best would be Physical Therapy since later studies have showed that people who have had fusiion and regular surgery have had the SAME RESULTS as people who have just had physical therapy!!! If I were you I would avoid surgery AT ALL COSTS.

Surgery will NOT fix pain. Surgery is ONLY for mechanical problems, but it never fixes pain. Most often you are left with the same pain or worse after surgery. Plus you are never the same after surgery. There are things you just cannot do anymore, and you end up having to take strong pain medication to control the pain.

You must try every and ALL conservative methods that a pain management doctor can offer, and that includes the spinal cord stimuator implant before opting for surgery. Ive talked to thousands of surgery patients, and I would say that more than 75% of them wished they had NEVER had surgery, and that includes myself, and I'm worse now than I was before -- in fact I'm on Disability and am now inoperable. I can't be fixed now. So think long and hard before ever going under the knife because there are MANY MANY issues to think about.

I wish you the very best. If you have any further questions, please let me know, ok? Hugs, Lee