HELP WITH MRI RESULTS PLEASE

[jmac888]

After 5 years of constant neck,back ,shoulder,arm and leg pain,tons of PT,massage you name it,including shoulder surgery,i finally pushed for a MRI on my neck,i have a appointment next week with my orthopedic who ordered it,
i am a 41 yr old male,any input would be greatly appreciated,doe,s  it look like i will require surgery?if it was,nt for my supporting wife,faith and three little ones,i dont know how i would have kept it together? i wake up in pain and go to bed basically the same,i use ice whenever possible,and have been prescribed 2x a day percocet,which is no where enough,
C2-C3 mild bulging of disc annulus
C3-c4 slighlty more pronounced bulging,pronounced centrally,mild to severe bilateral neural exit foraminal stenosis which appeared to be due to primarily to hypertrophic bony osteophyte encroachment.
C4-C5 more pronounced bulging of the disc annulus which was more prominent centrally and it was bordering on a small central disc protrusion.   This however, did not cause any signaficant spinal stenosis.  There was mild to moderately severe bilateral neural exit foramina stenosis which appeared to be due primarily to hypertorophic bony osteophyte encroachment.  
C5-C6 there was much more prominent bulging of the disc annulus bordering on a broad-based disc protrusion.  This cause MODERATELY SEVERE  SPINAL STENOSIS as there was loss of most of the CSF signal surrounding the cord at this level.  Quite PRONOUNCED and MODERATELY SEVERE to SEVERE BILATERAL NEURAL EXIT FORAMINAL STENOSIS due to encroachment by both the bulging disc annulus as well as hypertrophic body osteophytes.
Any input is greatly appreciated.

[ferret5]

Im glad you were able to get a surgery consult so quickly. I can definitely sympathize with your pain. I have alot of the same issues on my mri, but yours is much worse with the severe stenosis and loss of signal at c5-6, so I can imagine your pain is even worse. I was lucky enough to get to a tolerable pain level with combo of physical therapy, radiofrequency, injections, etc, but it was a long road. Im no expert, but looks like you are going to need surgery. Its a hard decision I know. You hear so many stories, good and bad. But, you have a real potential for permanent nerve damage, so I glad you are getting to the surgeon so quickly. good luck

[jmac888]

i see the orthopedic surgeon on friday who did my shouder surgery and ordered the MRI ,one of my sisters who is a ICU nurse told me a name of a neurosurgeon who i am to request for a referal to see.she will also look to talk to him for me.I  will make sure to tell him of all my symptoms including the throbbing headache i had through out the night last night,hence me calling in sick today for work.I just pray all of this comes to some sort of conclusion,whatever that may be . All of this is not only frustrating but also very frightening! i am very grateful for this board to be learning and also to not feel so isolated! Thanks again ferret5

[ferret5]

sorry to hear this. in your last post, you just mentioned a few bulging discs, this is obviously more than that. You mentioned last time about the numbness in the foot when you first wake up. I hope you mentioned that to the doctor--with these MRI findings, you have to let him know of any weakness or numbing.  What type of doctor are you seeing now? You really should see a neurologist or neurosurgeon to get a good assessment for nerve damage or potential nerve damage.