any ideas?

[TonyM50]

Hello, my name is Tony in 2004 I had a workplace accident, which involved my back and I was in horrofic pain to the point where my legs were giving way and I was falling down in the street , falling down the stairs and so on, I was told it was everything from a pulled muscle to pulled ligaments, eventually I managed to get an MRI scan two years later, I was diagnosed with three prolapsed discs of which L4/L5 was causing a compression on the nerves in my back and knocking out my legs, I had a discectomy later in 2006, the pain was eleviated slightly but still suffered from back and leg pain, I actually went into hospital not being able to close my hands or hold a toothbrush and basically do anything for myself, I asked the consultant who was carrying out my operation if I would get the use of my hands back after the operation to which he replied, I doubt it very much, unless I'm mistaken you have Arthritis and I will put you in touch with a colleague of mine, anyway after various tests it was confirmed Rheumatoid Arthritis, the upshot of which I now take medication and self inject once a week without which I could not function, it would appear that because it was left to long for a diognosis my body went into trauma and kicked off the arthritis, in 2009 I had another scan and found L5S1 was now herniated and I was scheduled for another op, two weeks before my op they decided to scan me again, and the result was the disc had disappeared, great I thought no need for an op then I realised I was still in pain and was subsequently told this would subside but it never, three months ago August 2011 I had to have another scan they found L5S1 was herniated and gave me a date for an op, two weeks before this op I had another scan and guess what the disc had gone again, by this time my consultant was in trigued because he has never encountered anything like this, and has now refered me to a radiologist for more scans, all this time I cannot feel my left foot or toes the pain in my back is horrendous and I keep getting painful cramp in my left leg especially my calf, any ideas, yours sincerely A. J..

[caregiver222]

The 3T is superior for several reasons. Square one is that the time in the macine is cut down to a small fraction of the time for a 1T scan. Movement is the prime reason for a less-than-perfect image. The cost for a 3T is about the same, however hospitals don't like to advertise the fact they have two different machines bacause everyone would be requesting the 3T.

[TonyM50]

Thanks I'll certainly take your advice and push for a 3T MRI scan, and hope they can find what the problem is.

[caregiver222]

The nerves have what is called a "warm ischemic time". That is to say, if deprived of oxygen and nutrients because of pressure for a certain period the cells die. This condition, unfortunately is often irreversible. Square one is you require a 3T MRI. The 3T (the "T" stands for Tesla units)  machines provide a significantly clearer image of what is going on. To find where such a machine is located contact the nearest Siemons distributer (they manufacture the units) and find out. Get a 3T scan even if it is not covered by insurance, however a workplace accident should be covered by workman's comp. Good luck.