disappointing letter from rheumy

babette

Hi all

As you may know I have been waiting from a letter from my rheumy to give me info on the results of an MRI scan I had on my lower back and pelvis in August. Well the letter duly arrived yesterday and to say it is brief and lacking in detail would be an understatement. To quote " her MRI scan has revealed minor degenerative change at her sacro iliac joints and degenerative change at her lower back but with no frank root compression." that's it, that's my diagnosis!! No mention of which vertebrae are affected ( L3, L4 and L5) or that there is a hemangioma at L3, that the discs are worn away to nothing between L5 and SIJ, nothing about OA; just " this all looks degenerative in nature rather than inflammatory". Thank goodness I've read enough to put all this together and have also peered over my GP's shoulder and read the radiology results off his PC or I'd be no closer to knowing what was wrong. Most annoying; she also says I should get simple analgesia and physio in the long term and has recommended pilates. Did she not llisten when I told her I already do yoga 3 times a week!!!! Aaaaargggh!

No wonder most people don't have a clue what exactly is wrong with them, this letter was carbon copied to my GP I just hope he can read between the lines too. Is it that they don't want to tell people that they have arthritis in case they keep visiting and pestering them for help?

Babette x

Wonkylegs

HI Babette,
so sorry that you have not got any more detailed idea of your problems than you had before (fromt eh soudn of it!)

I would suggest you talk things over with your GP and see what they think ....... they are the ones charged with your overall care, so may have a greater understanding, or an ability to get certain people to be more detailed in their summaries!!!

woodbon

Hi, Physio may help you, as although you do yoga, you may not be working on the muscle group that would help you most. Or you may be overworking some of your joints. Have you told your yoga teacher about the arthritis? Mine (when I used to go) would alter exercises for people who had a joint problem.

Also see if you can go back and discuss this diagnosis in more depth, she shouldn't mind, after all, its your body.
Good luck I hope you get some more information. Sue

salsal

i waited a year for an mri on my very swollen ankle the consultant handed me the report and after several pages of waffle the conclusion of the very expensive test was,,,,,,,,,,,,inflamation :shock:
so understand your frustration

andypipkin

Hi iam new to the forum but iam not new to MRI's i have had my fare share i also think to many doctors put to much to much faith in these scans, caus soon as i recived the all clear on my scans every doctor for the next year. just kept saying well your scans are clear so they is nothing wrong with you. I had my next set when they were looking for infalmation but like all of tests it my spine stiffness and overall pain settled a little just before my tests and the scan came back fine. I get severe sciatica but the scan showed no root compresion it becomes very fustrating, i was then told arthritic changes to the spine can take along time.So how many scans will i have to go through till the arthritis shows. I don't mean to go on but i know where you are coming from like lying on the rock hard bed there use for the scanner, which causes me great pain also the fact that you have got to stay still which is hard for anybody who suffers from a arthritic spine.

babette

Hi woodbon

Yes yoga teacher knows about my arthritic spine, but I can still do forward bends lower than anyone else; they help click my spine out of a stiff, rigid postion and make me feel better! I do a very gentle flowing form of yoga called Dru so I am not really overstressing my joints or muscles. It has helped enormously with my balance, muscle strength and general feeling of well being so I'll keep at it. But I appreciate your concern that I could do myself some damage. Thanks!

Hi andypipkin

Love that name! Yes I was cripplingly stiff and sore for a week after my experience with the MRI scanner; I think that's part of the reason I was so disappointed by rheumy's brief diagnosis. I had the pain but no gain in information. I also have no root compression, but my arthritis first manifested itself with severe sciatic pain in my right leg, so who knows. It'll probably just get worse. Thanks for your message. It's nice to know you're not alone.

B x