[JinSong]

Well, in that case it's good that it's not attributed to any specific disc type!

As I'm waiting to see if I can push through more appointments for second opinions, I had sent my MRIs and history off to Barrows Brain and Spine Institute in Phoenix, Arizona (feel free to delete that info if giving out names of facilities is not okay) for a remote consult. I didn't know that such a thing existed, so that was a nice discovery. They won't discuss surgical options, but at least they can confirm that you're a surgical candidate. I'm waiting to hear back from them though, because they interpreted my MRI a bit differently--I think they may have just made a typo in the disc levels! In case anyone's curious, this was what they came back to me with:

After careful review of your films the MRI imaging demonstrates a moderate
left para-central C5-6 disc herniation with compression of the spinal cord and mild
compression of the outgoing left C6 nerve root. There is a smaller left para-central disc
herniation at C4-5 without spinal cord deformity or significant impact on the outgoing C5 nerve
root on the left side.

The recent onset of left arm symptoms may reflect a structural change at the level of the spinal
cord and nerves or could simply indicate that the left C6 nerve root is becoming less tolerant of
chronic compression.

You are certainly a surgical candidate given your progressive symptoms, spinal cord
compression, and lack of response to physical therapy.

I'm guessing they meant C6-7 instead of C4-5 because as far as I knew from my other appointments...all I have at C4-5 is a bone spur. I emailed them to confirm, but regardless, I think the lesson here is that MRIs can be interpreted in different ways by different professionals. In this second consult here they seem to be much more concerned about the spinal cord compression, which was not really noted strongly by the original MRI report. The first surgeon mentioned a potential for permanent myelopathy in the future, but didn't really stress what's already going on there now.