MRI results Part 2

Well I was able to look up my results on my eguthrie account for my MRI and this is what it says. I don't really know what a lot of it means but doesn't sound too good to me.

Provided clinical information: 33 years, Female, "low back pain

radiating down left leg to left foot, symptoms times one month, pain

not improved after physical therapy"

Procedure and materials: Standard protocol.

Contrast: None.

Potential limitations: None.

Comparison studies: None.

Observations:

The vertebral bodies are normal in height and alignment. There are

mild endplate degenerative changes at L4-L5. Otherwise, marrow signal

appears within normal limits. There is loss of height and signal of

the L2-L3 through L5-S1 intervertebral discs. The conus medullaris is

normal in position and appearance.

Axial images:

T12-L1: No disc protrusion, central canal stenosis or foraminal

narrowing is identified.

L1-L2: No disc protrusion, central canal stenosis or foraminal

narrowing is identified.

L2-L3: There is a mild disc bulge with a superimposed broad-based

central disc protrusion. High T2 signal is seen posteriorly in

keeping with a posterior annular fissure. Mild bilateral facet

hypertrophy is present. This results in mild central canal stenosis.

No significant neural foraminal narrowing is identified.

L3-L4: There is a mild diffuse disc bulge with a superimposed

broad-based central disc protrusion. Bilateral facet hypertrophy is

present. This results in mild central canal stenosis and minimal

neural foraminal narrowing bilaterally, left greater than right.

L4-L5: There is a diffuse disc bulge with a large central to left

paracentral disc protrusion which extends to the left lateral recess.

This measures approximately 1.9 cm in craniocaudal dimension and

appears to impinge upon the traversing left L5 nerve root. Bilateral

facet hypertrophy is present. This results in moderate central canal

stenosis and minimal bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.

L5-S1: There is a diffuse disc bulge with likely a small superimposed

central disc protrusion. No significant central canal stenosis is

identified. There appears to be moderate left-sided neural foraminal

narrowing.

The visualized paravertebral soft tissues appear unremarkable.

Impression:

Multilevel degenerative changes as described, most advanced at L4-L5

where there is a large central to left paracentral disc protrusion

extending to the left lateral recess which appears to impinge upon

the traversing left L5 nerve root. Moderate left-sided neural

foraminal narrowing is also seen at L5-S1. See above for level by

level details.

MRI results

The results came back that I have a herniated disc on my L-5. I have an appointment with a Neurosurgeon on August 14th to discuss treatment options. I have been feeling a little better. The pain is less intense. I still have a lot of tingling and weird sensations but I have only had to take pain meds 3 times this past week vs. taking them every 6 hours around the clock before. I am hoping I will be healed before I even go see him.

Just Some Rambling

Well we are already half way through July! In less then 2 months my baby will be a year old! It has been really hot here. I love it because we have been able to swim a lot and as a bonus it makes my back and Sciatica a little better when I am in swimming. Kevin doesn't like it. He prefers winter and would probably be happy with highs in the 40's.  Even the temperature of the pond is too warm for him. I rather enjoy swimming in bath water temps lol. 

On Saturday Morning I am going to have an MRI for my back. I hope this will show what the problem is.  I think what they are looking for is a herniated disc in my back that may be bulging and pinching a nerve causing the Sciatica. If it is large enough they may do surgery or there are Spinal steroid injections which scare me more then Surgery. I had two shots in the ER last Friday and that was bad enough! I am still praying this will just go away on its own but it has been 11 weeks now and no relief. 

Avalynn turned 5 in June and she now has her first loose tooth. She and Gabby are going to make the poor Tooth Fairy go broke! If their teeth are well taken care of she brings them $5.00 for the first tooth and a two dollar bill for all teeth after the first. Wow and I was always happy when I got 25 or 50 cents lol!  Avalynn has a speech teacher coming 3 days a week to work with her this Summer. So far that is going really well. She is pretty shy with strangers so I was surprised she got used to him so soon. She seems to thrive on one on one time with adults though so I think she likes the attention. Avy is her Daddy's girl. They have a great bond. She wants him to tuck her in every night and hugs and kisses. She is so smart and she knows how to use it to push my buttons. She is so stinking cute with her big dimples it is hard to stay upset with her for very long though. She likes watching shows about fairies and princesses. She loves playing barbies and Legos.

Kendall finally learned to crawl and she hasn't looked back since. Now she has startedchecking out the stairs. I will probably have to put a gate up at the bottom soon so she won't try to go up. She has discovered where Kito's water dish is kept and she loves to splash that all over. We put a baby gate in that door way but the little smarty has figured out how to go the long way around and get in from another room. I might need more baby gates! She has not started pulling up yet but she will get on her knees and look around for things to grab off chairs and end tables. It probably won't be too long. 

Nathan is doing well. He is really a good talker for his age. He is a Mommy's boy and I love when he grabs my arm and says "Cuddle me Mommy" and my arm has to be in a specific spot across his chest or he gets upset. He has finally gotten over Dora and Diego I think. He now likes Jake and the never land pirates but he calls it "Yo ho let's Go" . He loves Helicopters and when he says it sounds like Hela dough dough dough.  He also loves tractors and any other kind of heavy machinery.  Trains are another thing he loves. He always wants to walk to Daddy's work since a train goes right by there. He loves playing in his sand box and pretty much anything that gets him dirty but then when he is done he gets anxious to be cleaned up right away. 

Gabby is my sweet girl. She always wants to help me. Sometimes she can get a little sassy but for the most part she tries her hardest to be good. She is our talker, sometimes your ears hurt when in a car with her, lol. I call her Gabber Jabber Jaw. She is very social and as soon as we get to a play ground she says "I am gonna go find some friends" and she always does make a friend.  She. Has been having a lot of fun on the Trampoline their Grand parents bought them last Christmas. She likes watching shows like "Good luck Charley" and I am ashamed to admit we watch  DVR episodes of "toddlers and tiaras" together on occasion  and talk about the bad behavior of both the kids and adults.  

In August Kevin is going to take Gabby and Avalynn to their first NASCAR race at Watkin's Glen. I am so sad I cannot go. With my back problems I know I could not handle being there the whole day. I barely tolerate walking around a grocery store. :( Kevin and I actually met because of NASCAR. Kevin had a message board I joined and at first I annoyed him lol. But then one day we started chatting on Yahoo Messenger and eventually started to call each other and fell in love, got married and 7 years later here we are  with 4 kids, 3 cats and a dog! I think Kevin actually got 4 tickets in his package deal so if some miracle occurs and I am totally healed I might go.

 

Sorry no pictures, I am still trying to figure out this iPad app for blogger. To see what we have been up to in pics follow me on Instagram Rainboots80 and I think Imhave a link to it on the right side of my blog.

MRI

My insurance has Pre approved me to get an MRI so hopefully we can finally find the cause of my Sciatica pain. I am a little nervous because this may mean I will need surgery. Saturday Morning is when I will be having the MRI. Then I think a Neurosurgeon will have to go over the results.

Family Update

Well I have not been blogging much lately. One reason is because I don't think anyone reads it anyway. Another reason is because I have been dealing with Sciatica and been in a lot of pain most of the time. I have been using my ipad mini to get on the internet and I cannot figure out how to use blogger on there so I had to get on my lap top to write this post. With my Sciatica I can barely sit. Laying down on my stomach is the most comfortable position so I even have to eat on the floor while my family is sitting at the table to eat. I am going to physical therapy and have been seeing a chiropractor and even had an awesome massage but still no relief from the pain. My doctor wanted to do an MRI to see what is causing it but insurance said I have to do 4-6 weeks PT before they would pay and they will only pay if the doctor is going to do surgery or steroid injections into my back. I really don't want to have to do either of those but I will if it comes down to that. I know I cannot live like this the rest of my life. I feel like I can't take care of my kids properly and the house is a mess. Anyway enough about me...

Kevin went to the Poconos NASCAR race in June. He had a good time. Next year I think it would be fun if we could take Gabby and Avalynn to the Watkin's Glen race. It is close to home and I think they might enjoy it and I would like to go to a race again but don't want to go too far away while the baby's are still young. My Van broke down last week and my Wonderful Husband was able to fix it. I am so proud of him for changing the Alternator. Cost an arm and leg but would have been more if we had to have a garage install it.

The kids and I went to Maryland and Washington D.C. June 21-23rd with My Mom, Sister shelly and her family. Kevin had to work and was not able to come with us. My mom had to drive the whole way because I was on my pain killers to be able to bear the ride down there. It was uncomfortable but I survived, lol. Angela is staying in MD this summer doing clinicals to finish up her Master's in Occupational Therapy! Really proud of my baby sister! Her boyfriend Craig also lives there. He was a huge help on our trip. He was our tour guide through the City. We rode the Metro train in and that was Nathan's favorite part of the trip. He is really big into trains right now. We went to the Zoo and the kids loved it even though it was close to 90 degrees that day! The we got back onto the train and went to see all the sites. D.C. is really pretty in my Opinion. It was so hot and we got the kids an Ice Cream and Nathan's melted all over him, yuck. Our Hotel was nice. It had two pools and I think that was Gabby's favorite part of the trip. She is  a little fish and loves swimming! We had a great trip and hope we can do it again some time when Kevin is able to go and my Sciatica is gone so I can enjoy it more!

We are trying to enjoy the summer. It has been raining a lot lately but the temp has been pretty nice. I think Kevin would like it cooler but I like the heat as long as it is under 90 I am ok.