Ok, has anyone ever had their doctor explain their cervical MRI to them?

[LeftyFingerPop]

Here's the story.

First off...to the Mods...I am not asking for medical advice per se. I am, however, asking DUer's if they have had similar experiences with cervical issues. I fully intend to speak in detail to my doc about this.

I have posted before that I have been having crippling pain in my left arm of an unknown source. I have also posted that I had a meltdown in my doctor's office because I could not get past his "assistant" when requesting pain meds. Also, my doctor is on vacation for the next 2 weeks.

After being given the run around for about 3 months, I was finally able to get an MRI of my cervical spine done last week. I was given copies of the pictures on a disk, but I can't figure out how to get the pics onto my computer.

Well, I'm not a doctor of course, but being the inquisitive guy that I am, I did several Google image searches to see what a cervical spine is supposed to look like, and what it is NOT supposed to look like.

My cervical spine looks "rippled" in the pictures.

There are FOUR disks that look fucked up to me. You can see them bulging out of the area that they should be contained in. They press through the white area (spinal fluid) and then touch and press into the spinal chord itself. When you compare these four disks to the other supposedly normal disks, it is scary fucked up looking, even to a layman.

There are also shots of my spine looking downward through the disk...but I can not find enough information on these to even have a clue about what I am looking at.

So, if anyone has had a similar MRI explained by them to their doctor...I would like to know what they told you.

Again, I will be speaking to my doctor, as soon as he is done golfing.

Thanks.

[LeftyFingerPop]

1. .

[The Straight Story]

2. Mine:

I had some MRI's done of my lower and upper spine and have some herniated discs in both spots (after some work accidents). My discs hit the spine at times and cause me issues (examples: One time I sneezed and collapsed on the floor due to pain and could not stand up, and I also have had issues in my chest due to the compression in my neck).

My doc basically told me that I would have issues in various parts of my body because of these issues (and he was right).

Get a copy of the MRI's and see some specialists.

[LeftyFingerPop]

7. I hear ya...

I dropped to my knees because of ARM pain for fuck sake.

The specialist is the one who is on vacation.

[Kali]

3. I haven't experienced what you are asking about (no insurance for one thing)

but disk problems are obviously pretty common. Have you googled "ruptured disk" or similar phrases? You must have a read-only cd, but you might be able to take a picture of your monitor and post that if you want to show it.

Are the 4 that seem fucked up the only shots of YOU, or are their normal ones on your pix as well? I am asking what you are comparing your 4 to. Your own spine or something else perporting to be normal off the internet.

[LeftyFingerPop]

8. Hi Kali...

I am comparing the bad disks to both my own "good" disks, as well as the good and bad disks as shown on the internet.

My bad ones look completely different than my good ones...and the MRI pic makes it obvious that they are bulging where they should not be.

[Ellipsis]

4. The images are mostly likely a DICOM standard format. Try this link

http://home.nyc.rr.com/wccradtechclub/WCC-RTCLUB/dicom.html

take care

[LeftyFingerPop]

6. Thanks so much for this link...

I'm currently distracted with another issue, but I will certainly take a look at this.

[Connonym]

5. which cervix are you referring to? (sorry couldn't resist)

I've never actually looked at my MRI but I've got a couple herniated disks. When they're herniated they bulge out and don't provide the proper level of cushioning between the vertebrae. It can lead to pinched nerves and so forth. Mine are in my lower back so I have symptoms in my legs whereas in the cervical spine you probably have symptoms higher up on your body. Based on my experience, both personally and having worked for doctors, I'd presume that if there was anything immediately dangerous based on your MRI they would have had another physician tell you and not made you wait until your regular physician comes back to town (although sometimes things slip through the cracks) -- but it's generally I'd take that as a good sign that it's nothing really dangerous. As for the pain issue, does your doctor not have another physician covering for him while he is on vacation? Did you have the MRI done at a hospital? Perhaps based on your MRI they would have a physician who would be willing to cover you with pain meds until your doc comes back.

I herniated 2 disks in my lower back about 8 or 9 years ago. I had a pinched sciatic nerve as a result and there was a lot of back pain with numbness and tingling down my right leg to the foot. I had physical therapy which helped but didn't fully alleviate the problem. I had taken a couple courses of oral steroids and that didn't really help either. Ultimately I had a steroid injection directly into the epidural space surrounding the herniated disks. The steroids targeted in the specific area work better because they don't have to travel through your body and there aren't the same kinds of side effects (but there are different potential and sometimes risky side effects of their own). This ultimately relieved the swelling to the point where I could function without constant pain although it didn't un-herniate the disks and I still will occasionally have bouts of pain and numbness in the back and leg. I would urge you to try not to panic, it's pretty unlikely that they'd consider surgery or anything drastic without first trying more conservative therapy. Of course you should not take this as medical advice and do see your doctor as soon as you can. If the pain is unrelenting and/or you are unable to function it would not be inappropriate to go to an urgent care or emergency room to seek assistance. Unrelenting debilitating pain is considered an emergency and is not an inappropriate use of emergency facilities. Best of luck, I know how much it can hurt and, unfortunately, it's something that can take a while for the inflammation to reduce before you see a lot of relief from the pain. Hopefully you'll soon get some relief from the pain.

[LeftyFingerPop]

9. Thank you for this info...

Christ...I just typed you a long reply, and I hit the wrong button and lost it.

Suffice to say...

The doctor that is on vacation is the hand and arm specialist.

I was referred to him by a pain management doctor.

He agreed to manage my pain.

His non-credentialed assistant runs his practice.

She fucked me over in a big way.

I lost my temper with her after 3 months of horse shit.

Since she runs the practice, and he is on vacation, I doubt if I will be getting a phone call anytime soon about the MRI results.

[hippywife]

11. Can you contact your

pain management doc and explain that the other guy is out of town and that you are out of pain meds, both which he can verify with the other doc's office?

[LeftyFingerPop]

12. Good idea but....

They are in the same practice and share the same assistant.

I blew up so fiercely at her, that I am sure she will hang up on me. I don't know if I can talk to her in a civil manner because I am still angry. If I told you the whole story, you would understand.

I was disrespected, my pain was diminished, and control was placed on me by someone with no credentials.

Between the MRI screw ups and the denial of the pain medication by her, I finally snapped.

My guess is that she will tell the doc what happened when he returns, and he will tell me to seek treatment elsewhere.

After all, nobody wants to hear anything bad about their assistant...even if she fucks over patients to the point of making them explode.

[hippywife]

14. My internist has been through

3 assistants since I started seeing him about 8 years ago, so I can relate. I lost my cool with a couple of them, too. He gave me his pager when I told him the trouble I had with one of his assistants so I could get to him directly. He finally got a good one and now he's moving away. I'm seeing him this afternoon for the last time. :cry:

Sometimes doctors themselves are captive to the poor policies and dumbfuckery of the practice they belong to. I'm thinking that's part of the reason mine is moving away.

I hope you can get around this girl and get some help. :hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

16. Well, coincidently, I just got a certified letter...just now.

My orthopedic guy has fired me, which I fully expected.

"Your interactions with our office staff suggest that the foundation of a constructive doctor-patient relationship does not exist in a way that is in the best interest of your health. Since your condition requires continued medical attention, I suggest you place yourself under the care of another physcian without delay".

I'm well and truly fucked...this means another 3 months of pain.

Don't know exactly how I am going to stand this....

[ThomCat]

10. My pain management doctor

will go over any MRI or X-Ray film if I ask him. Every time I get an epidural (9 times now) he takes x-rays and shows me the images.

I hope you are managing your back pain. :hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

15. Thom....

See my above posts about what happened.

I'm not managing my arm pain, it is managing me.

It wears me down, throws me to the ground, and makes me cry.

If I told you what a goat fuck this has been with doctors and insurance companies, you would not believe it.

Thanks Thom :hug:

[mopinko]

13. get thee to a neurologist.

it isn't that your arm hurts, it's that the nerve that serves your arm is being pinched. i had this happen to me last september. by the time i got surgery in january, the pain had completely taken over my life. i had 2 herniated discs.
the surgery did mostly fix it, but probably because it took so long to get in, i still have a couple of "issues". all in all, tho, they are minor, and i am back in control of my life, or at least what passes for control in my world.
was there a radiologists report with these pics? i find it kind of amazing that they would just give you these pics.
if you can make your own appointments, find a good neurosurgeon. it is scary, but you can trudge along until you can't stand it any more, then get it done. or you can get it done now, and feel better now, and have less permanent damage.
seems to be as common as mud these days for people's discs to decompose. i worry for the future of our planet. can't help get all tinfoily when i think of how many people i know who are coming apart at the seams.