lumbar results mri

[squeakyboo]

i have had terrible pain and cramping in my left leg and foot at night-plus pain in my right lower lumbar region.  when walking sometimes both legs cramp up and i have trouble sleeping-because of pain down left leg and foot-sometimes throbbing-sometimes sharp pain in lumbar region on both sides and left leg.  mri showed i have mild diminished signal in l2-3 disc.hypertrophic facet arthritis most pronounced at l4-5 andl5-1.mild bone marrow edema involving right superior facet of s1 which likely represents some reactive change secondary to arthritis in l5-s1 on the right.mild disc desiccation at l2-3.  facet arthopathy most pronounced at l4-5 and l5-s1.  my dr says just some arthritis in spine.  i am receiving pt right now and am on muscle relaxers and darvicet when i need it but it genrally does not releave the pain  very much. do you suggest i get a refferal to an osteo doctor or someone else who is specialist.

[aj20ok]

Having attended a presentation on endoscopic back and neck laser surgery, I am very interested in this procedure. However, the doctors who perform this work are on the east coast and I live in Phoenix.

I have undergone 2 open back surgeries, with the second one resulting in fusion from S-1 to L-6 with rods and screws. This was done in December 2000 to relieve the severe pain I had been suffering since 1944 in world war II. The decompression and fusion helped reduce the pain level for 2 to 3 years, when the pain level from 1 to 10 again rose to 8 to 9. An intrathecal pain pump was implanted in January 2006 in my lower lumbar area on the right side just below the waist line. Because of the subsequent debilitating pain at the site of the pump, the pump was removed and placed in my abdomen to the right of my navel. But again the pain has become so severe in the lumbar and radiating into the right hip, I now put a 50mc fentanyl patch on every 3 days. This is in addition to the hydromorphone and bupivicaine being delivered by the pump into my spinal cord 24-7.

With all of this, the pain is still brutal. My pain doctor believes the pain is caused by scar tissue impinging on a nerve(s).

Can you refer me to a doctor(s) in Phoenix who is a specialist in performing endoscopic laser surgery? Perhaps you might specialize in this procedure yourself?

Thank you,

aj20ok

[Prem Pillay, MD]

Lots of questions from different folks to answer:

To lyrics 1970:  You need to get a bone scan or an MRI of your spine to find out what are those patches seen on the chest X-rays.

To: eneffeneff:  A facet Block is an injection of pain meds and steroids into the facet joint to relieve inflammation and pain.

To: Teresa Cadena:  Your report does not suggest any severe pinching our your nerves to account for your current symptoms. You may need to get nerve tests:  EMG/NCS done.
Ideally you should have a good neurosurgeon looking after you who can address your problems.

Dr Prem Pillay
Director of Neuro and Spine Services
Neuro Spine and Pain Center

www.spine-neuro.org

[TERESA CADENA]

Hi, iv posted on the back/neck section and no answer, can you please help me with my MRI results? my primary doc said they are normal and he wont subsribe my pain meds any-more, here it goes/           discs T12-L4 are unremarkable////L4-5 DISCS IS SLIGHTLY FLATTED AND DEHYDRATED CENTRAL DISC BULGE AND SOME MILD FACET HYPERTROPHY BUT NO SIGNIFICANT FORAMINAL NARROWING IS IDENTIFIED///////L-5=S1 DISC IS FLATTEN AND DEHYDRATED NO EVIDENCE OF SPINAL STENOSIS OR CORD COMPRESSION///////////MILD FACET HYPERTROPHIC AT L3-4 AND L5-S1 MODERATE HYPERYROPHIC CHANGES L-4-5 NO NERVE IMPINGMENT MODERATE FACET HYPERTROPHY NOW I STILL HAVE NERVE PAIN ON MY LEFT LOWER BACK AND DOWN MY BUCTUCKS AND LEFT LEG AND FEET HURT AND MY FIGHT FOOT FEELS LIKE SOMETHING HOT WAS POURED ON, I NEED SOME TRUE ANSWERS PLEASE.THANKS TERESA.

[kec21190]

If you are speaking to your primary physician about the MRI results and the pain you are having then , DEFINATELY, get a referal to a specialist. A primary dr can point you in the right direction, but my goodness, you need to be working with a specialist. No doubt in my  mind: get a referal for an ortho or a neuro dr. good luck

[eneffneff]

what is a facet block?

[lyrics1970]

I also forgot to mention i have been getting tingling down my arm and into my fingers. Will any of this prevent me from having my knee surgery on July 10?

[lyrics1970]

I wondered if you could answer this question for me, I went for an xray on my chest because i had bad bronchitis.When they did the xray they found shadows on my spine the report said."There is patchy opacity seen on underlying the thoracic spine in the lateral view at multiple sites,as could be seen with mid multifocal air space idsease or, schlerosis of the multiple thoracic verterbrael bodies.in light of this latter possibility , at least correlation of the thoracic spine is advised. Could you plkease explain that to me in english.Im frustrated because i have been getting back pain quite abit and its taking forever for an answer.The second xray they couldnt get a good picture.

[Prem Pillay, MD]

I would suggest that you get some more advanced physio first. If simple pain meds and aquatherapy does not help then facet blocks could help relieve the pain.