The RESULTS are in!!!!

[losingmymind2day]

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Hey everyone!!

The results are in an I have NO idea what he was talking about when he explained it to me.....He told me that he was correct with his assumption that I had a herniated disc.

He said at 2 levels I have disc herniations...I might get this wrong, but I think he said it was at the level L4 & another at the level L5. Which he said explains the loss of both reflexes (knee and ankle).

L4 has a herniation that is affecting my left nerve root, and a bunch of other stuff he said..Oh boy I am REALLY bad at trying to remember everything he said, SORRY!!

L5 has a centralized protrusion (I think thats what he said) is there a difference between herniation and protrusion?? He said that he is really concerned with this level and that he wants to send me to see a Nuro Surgeon, WHAT IS A NURO SURGEON??

There was a bunch of other stuff that showed up that he was trying to explain to me but I can't remember most of it. Isn't that horrible?? I thought I would be able to explain it word to word to you all, and then you could help explaining it to me further, but u can't do that if I am only able to give you a word here and a word there.

I don't know how much you are going to be able to get from this explanation, but I thought I would throw it out here anyways. How do you guys remember what they say to you, or the results of any testing you have done??

Well, I hope you are having a good day and are not in too much pain!!

Thanks for all your help, SORRY I couldn't be more detailed about my results.

Aimee[/color]

[dshobbies]

Your questions are one of the reasons we all say you need to educate yourself. Why you have to ask other people instead of doctors trying to reassure you is a question we all have.

A herniation (protrusion) is when the disc material, described by Mark as crab meat like, bulges out of its normal space, kind of like a tire that is bulging.

The discs are named for the vertabrae they cushion. S1 is the lowest lumbar, followed by L5, L4 and so on. A disc would have the name S1/L5 or L4/L5. Above the lumbar is thorasic and cervical.

A neuro surgeon or an ortho surgeon can both perform back surgeries but you want someone who specializes in spines. If you're being sent to a surgeon, we can assume it's for a possible surgery. They might want to perform a discectomy where the protuding part of the disc is cut off. This is where you education comes in.

You have to ask your doctor what other remedies, including non-surgical might be available to you. Ask what kind of outcome you can expect. Then get a second and possibly a third opinion.

What doctors don't tell you is that a discectomy may very well compromise your disc, create scar tissue and have as adverse effect on adjacent segments. That's why surgery should be your last resort. It can also compromise the success of future surgeries.

While it's very premature to be considering ADRs, it is something you should be discussing with your doctors. If they are unfamiliar with the procedure, they are not likely to recommend it. However, this is quite a drastic step and one that should only be explored when you have all the facts, understand them and can make an informed decision. Until then, ask your doctors and ask us all you want. If a doctor doesn't want to answer your questions, find another one.

Good luck,
Dale

[mmglobal]

Aimee... total loss of reflex in ankle and knee? My guess is that you are going to wind up with surgery soon... you need to understand your options about minimally invasive surgeries vs. traditional open surgeries... even the same type of surgery can differ greatly from one doc to the next. Also, you need to understand what you may graduate to if you don't have a long-term positive outcome. There is a lot that goes into making an informed decision... you have a lot of homework to do.

Mark

[Maria]

Aimee,
I always ask for a copy of my report and for a copy of films or CD of films.
This way I have a copy for personal records and to take to whichever specialist I might choose to utilize for a consultation.

As Mark stated, it sounds as though you will progress to surgery. I cannot stress the importance of educating yourself quickly as to what options might be available to you regarding surgery because your long term outcome may likely depend on the information you obtain and the surgeon who performs your surgery, what type of surgical procedure you will have, how your body responds to the surgery and of course in terms of who performs your surgery, the knowledge and skill of the surgeon and what is available to him/her in terms of best decision making for your particular case.

I am someone who injured myself orginally at age 28 and have lived with pain and failed results from a surgery back in '92. While I have been a candidate for more surgery, because of the degree of failure of the surgery in '92 I have been scared to have more surgery. Thus prolonging my problems and most likely worsening my own spinal situation.

However I have sought enough opinions that I felt good about that much whenever I should decide to proceed with a 3rd surgery.

You are young. Your outcome may well depend on your informed decision makng. Please start now to educate yourself. Start with getting a copy of your reports to take to a 2nd surgical opinion.

If this emergent and you must have surgery immediately because of neurodefecits progressing rapidly then you likely have to take care of business and have surgery right away. I'm not sure what the Neurosurgeon told you so don't want to encourage you to prolong things if surgery is considered urgent or emergent. If not, you've likely time to educate yourself to options a bit and get a few more surgical opinions.

check out www.chirogeek.com to read about the different topics. There you can read about protrusion vs bulge, vs. herniation and so forth.

Get started now! take care ~Maria

[ans]

A: Sorry to hear this. Where are you? Many here know excellent docs in various cities for opinions (and you want 3 IMO); surgery is a big deal. However, if you see two excellent ones and they agree, granted your neurological problems, then maybe it's good enough. Take care, ans