Hey everyone! I have not had surgery yet but have been referred to a surgeon. However I want to know if anyone else have a similar issue, as I do.

So I just received an MRI on my lower spine, and its showing 2 bulging discs, arthritis and right above the tail bone, that disc is narrowing.

My question for you is, has anyone had bulging discs, then had wls, and it helped cure them from less weight on the spine? I just want to get an idea of what I need to address first. Thanks!

I have osteoarthritis and show multiple symptoms of it in my back, my knees, and my hips. I also have a bulging disc in the L4-5 part of my spine. I knew I had a potential bulging disc before my surgery as I've had symptoms of it for YEARS, but my insurance requires physical therapy to get a MRI and I had a bad experience with physical therapy due to a workers comp injury in 2013 so it took another issue for me to finally give in and do physical therapy and I literally just had my MRI on MONDAY and got the results yesterday lol.

I had my WLS (almost) 15 months ago. The surgery has done a lot for my back, but osteoarthritis and a bulging disc isn't going to go away. The issues are still there, but carrying around less weight puts less pressure on my back and I have less bad days then I used to.

As to what to do... that is really up to you and your pain tolerance. If you can withstand the pain in your back long enough for you to have your WLS and wait a good year to take some of your weight off and THEN potentially have back surgery (if that's what you're needing) then I would suggest that just because your recovery would likely be a lot easier on your back that way. But if the pain is really bad then by all means address the back issue first.

I'm sorry that you're going through all this and I wish you the best in both your WLS and your back issues!

I have two oozing discs in my lower back. Weight loss has helped. I experience more discomfort than pain now if I stand for an hour or so. I find my back gets ‘tired’ if I’m doing too much bending, lifting, etc. versus discomfort or pain as I used to experience. I only took pain meds or anti inflammatories occasionally before surgery like if my back was stopping me doing things. Now I don’t need to take any meds.

I found acupuncture more helpful than physiotherapy.

I have a herniated and bulging disc In my neck and lower back and as my weight has gone up and down over the years I can tell a difference. The pain is always there but a little less with the lower weight.

You cannot cure a herniated or bulging disk from losing weight. You can however make them more tolerable from less load on your spine. Same goes for knees and hips.