I will try to make this short as possible.
I have had back pain for more then 20
years, I am a 37 yo female living in
constant pain. I had fusion surgery at
l4-l5 5 years ago and a laminectomy at
l5-s1 3 years ago. I have had nerve pain
in both legs right worse then left,
different areas of numbness and tingling,
burning feet and constant low back pain
like a gnawing or burning also pain in
right hip and knee which gets worse when
back pain does. I am currently taking
oxycodone, antidepressants, and a few
other meds which really dont help much
other then take the edge off for an hour
or so after I take the pain med, have been
for nerve block injections prior to and
after surgery, therapy numerous times also
before and after. I saw my primary care
doc in March and she was supposed to set
me up for mri and evaluation by new
neurosurgeon. 2 months later in May this
still wasnt scheduled. I called for the
3rd time and finally got mri appt. The
results came back as follows.
Magnetic susceptibility artifact is seen
within the L4-5 disc space related to
prior surgery with metallic cage interbody
fusion.
There is desiccation of the L3-4 disc with
mild to moderate disc space narrowing.
There is mild scoliosis convex to the
left.
At L1-2 L2-3 Normal
At L3-4 There has been interval
development of a right paracentral and
lateral disc protrusion mildly indenting
the thecal sac. There is no evidence of
central canal stenosis. Mild neural
foraminal narrowing is present with mild
facet joint degenerative changes.
At L4-5 There is laminectomy defect. There
is no evidence of disc herniation or
central canal stenosis. There is moderate
neural foraminal narrowing, left greater
then right. Mild epidural enhancement is
present.
At L5-S1 There is no evidence of disc
herniation or central canal stenosis. A
laminectomy defect is present. Facet joint
degenerative changes are seen. There is
mild epidural enhancemt. There is mild to
modertae right and mild left neural
foraminal narrowing.
Conclusion:
1. again seen are postsurgical changes at
L4-5 and L5-S1 with epidural scarring.
2. Interval development of a right
paracentral and lateral disc protrusion at
L3-4
Nothing is mentioned in the conclusion
about the forminal narrowing seen at each
lvl. Is that something that is normal ?
I got a copy of the Mri sent to me and I
was told I would recieve it after the Dr
was notified. But I had my results days
before I heard from primary cares office.
When they called, the nurse said
everything appeared normal then asked if I
had any pain numbness or tingling, I told
her I did and that was why the Dr ordered
the new Mri in the first place and that
they were supposed to schedule an
appointment with a neuro who specialized
in just backs. I was told they would do
that and call me back. They did and my new
appt isnt for 3 months. I was wondering
what other people think about my
situation. To me its not normal to have
pain all the time and those results dont
look all that normal either, but I am not
a Dr just someone who is suffering day in
day out. If anyone can give me an opinion
of what they think of the Mri results or
if they have been thru the about the same
thing, I would appreciate it. I know I am
not alone although I do feel that way
often. Sorry this was so long and thanks
for your time.
&
