So last night I went to aesthetic‘s party, and it was fun, I talked and walked around and met some nice people, but it also made me realize I had not updated the back situation since Tuesday. I enjoyed the party, even though I wonder why they live so far out, miles from my house…
Okay, on to back. On Wednesday I went to Northside Spinal Center for them to judge what was up, as my Dr felt it was better I seek more professional help. I took them my CT scans and MRI. Well, it was an interesting visit. First up I was there 5 hours! and next was that they kept asking other Drs to take a look as I was so interesting. I finally saw my own MRI and it looks pretty intense the damage to my vertebrae, and the break in the soft tissue. Then I saw my CT scan, and you can see the calcification right near the damaged disc. Then I spoke to the Dr who did the injections. What he does is give you an epidural, then inject cortisone in the damaged area to reduce swelling and help break the pain cycle and help the disc heal. He did not feel I was a good candidate as my damage is so high up and it would not supply much pain relief. Next up was neurosurgeon, and they felt they needed to take the calcification out as it is in my spinal canal and almost touching my spinal column. My reflexes were tested, and found to be slightly off in my left side. I was tapped on and asked repeatedly about my pain and whether I could walk.
The upshot of all this is I have in Dr terms “Thoracic Radiculopathy and a calcified lesion in the spinal canal of the thoracic spine” now I googled these terms and did not find much.
The next thing I was told is to be very careful, as any trauma or fall or blow could drive this lesion into my spinal colomn and cause serious damage. woohoo! I decided to go with the low invasive therapy first and see if that helps the pain – the medical back corset – which got fitted Thursday. I now feel very uncomfortable and like I am on show a bit, as it is hard to wear under clothes, and so also able to be seen.
Work is tense as I cannot bend or lift or do much, and I had to cancel my working at my second job, as it is to labour intensive, but I am trying positive, and get a second opinion and maybe even a third.