MRI reads
At L4/5 there is minimal disc osteophyte complex and mild hypertrophy of the facet joints with no nerve displacement or stenosis.
At L5/S1 there is a 2 mm retrilistesis with broad based disc ostephyte complex producing mild right foraminal stenosis with slight displacement of the right L5 nerve root.

not 2 mm retrilistesis
2mm retrolistesis

Only your doctor can explain what this means to you. I had something similar and for me it meant that the osteophyte (think calcium growth) was pushing on the nerve.

When do you go to your doctor?

see a neurosurgeon next week. thanks

Good. Also not sure if you realized....it's displaced in the report not dislocated. Dislocated is usually used to talk about a joint that is out of a socket. i.e. dislocated hip or shoulder.

Thank you 51 percent. Tigg2 I just saw that . oops

Best advice I can give is to keep your mouth shut at your appointment. See what the doctor has to say. Ask questions based on what he says. Try not to let him know you were trying to figure this out on your own. Most doctors get upset if they think you know too much. I think they fear that you are searching for a diagnosis when we do this. So try to play it calm.

51percent gave you a lot of good info. Especially the part about not having surgery. But your doctor might feel otherwise when he looks at your symptoms. Sometimes a mild problem causes major problems.

Sounds like good advice.Thank you. Something is definitely causing major problems. I can't stand or walk more than about 5-10 minutes and my lower back starts hurting radiating into hips then pelvic bone. If I'm bent at all like when washing dishes it starts hurting even sooner. I can forget trying to bath the dog. Bent completely is terrible. I guess if he doesn't think the MRI shows the problem I'll have to go ahead with pain managements suggestion and get a discogram done. Just fear that completely. From what I've read it can be extremely painful.

MRI report alone doesn't mean a whole lot.. A doctor has to correlate it to the image itself and to physical exam, such as motor function , sensation and your pain level and location.
Some people have all kinds of abnormal film reports but are asymtomatic.
I hope you get the answers you are looking for and some relief to your suffering!!