MRI Results

I've been having lower back pain for over a year. With my ever worsening ability to gauge how much time has passed, it could even be 2 years. I tried to get an MRI in the US. The great and sovereign insurance company (Aetna) would not let me get one without having physical therapy first. Of course,

1. They never said HOW MUCH physical therapy

2. How would someone know what sort of therapy to do without knowing WTF the problem is???

But I went. The PT did do an x-ray. I was going. They also did some dry needling. It seemed kind of dumb really, because I wasn't doing anything I couldn't do at home. And PT is a long-term game. At $75 a pop, it seemed dumb and expensive. I gave up eventually. Really, I had too much to do with all the move hubbub.

Once in Portugal, we hired Serenity, a medical concierge company. They found us an insurance broker. Turns out in Portugal if you are 60 or older, the only company that will insure you is MGEN. Whatever. The premiums for the 2 of us are less than I was paying for just me.

Scott was having a lot of pain in one knee. We told Serenity and they got him an MRI in a week or so. He's doing well now.

So I had an MRI in April. No discussion of PT first. Just went for the test! It took somewhat longer than I expected to get the report. They gave me a CD of the MRI itself when I left there.

1. I got nothing to play a video CD in anymore

2. I haven't been trained to read an MRI (I know, weird, right?)

Oh, I should mention, I paid 150 euro out-of-pocket for the MRI.

The report finally came, in Portuguese. I sent it on to the doctor. Here is what Google Translate spit out

Lumbar lordosis maintained. No scoliotic deviations were identified. In L1-L2, L2-L3 and L3-L4, no osteodiscal alterations with a significant impact on the size of the spinal canal or on the permeability of the conjugation canals were identified. In L4-L5, grade I/V anterolisthesis and diffuse posterior disc proclivities were identified, shaping the thecal sac, together with hypertrophy of the posterior articular masses, causing agglomeration of the intrathecal roots. No signs of conflict with the L4 roots at the foraminal level were identified. In L5-S1, diffuse posterior disc herniation was identified, contacting the emergence of the left S1 root and reducing the amplitude of the conjugation canals bilaterally. No signs of conflict with the L5 roots at the foraminal level were identified. Permeable sacral conjugation canals. Normal signal evolution of the conus medullaris. Normal signal evolution of the lumbar vertebral bone elements. No abnormal paravertebral masses were identified.

So I ran that through ChatGPT. It gave me a lengthy explanation of each of the terms it used and then gave me this summary.

Summary in Plain English:

At the L4-L5 level of your lower spine, there is a mild forward slip of one vertebra over another. The disc between them is bulging backward and pressing on the sac that holds the spinal nerves. Additionally, joint thickening is narrowing the space even more, causing the nerve roots to be crowded together inside the spinal canal. These findings may be associated with symptoms like lower back pain, sciatica, numbness, or weakness in the legs, depending on severity.

If you have symptoms, these findings could explain them, and you should discuss this with a spine specialist for proper management.

I had a tele-appointment with my doctor earlier today and she confirmed what ChatGPT wrote. Then she said the s-word. Yep. Surgery. It turns out her mother, who is my age and a yoga instructor, had almost the exact same MRI result. She had surgery and while not 100%, is much, much better than she was.

UGH. So she's going to send me the names of surgeons who do this. I'll get more information once I see one of them. Dr. Joana said that the situation as it is is actually dangerous and could lead to paralysis. Sounds like damned if I do, damed if I don't. I'm quite ready to be able to walk without this debilitating pain and start LIVING here.

Stay-tuned. If you're a prayer, prayers appreciated. Or good vibes, or....