Hi Jenn and welcome to Spine-Health. The dictation from the radiologist is only one piece when diagnosing you. I have had 11 MRI's and each time I go and look up all the terms and try and relate them to me. The problerm is that the neurologist takes the MRI and uses it along with your symptoms and his/her physical exam of you to diagnose you. Thus, only your neurologis or surgeon should be the one diagnosing you. You might want to see a NS (neuro surgeon) as well.

I wish you luck and please PM me if there is anything you need. We just went live with this site so a PM is the best way right now to get my attention.

take care...........Paul

Also, in December I had a 3 level Cervical laminectomy so I know abit about the neck. After you get your diagnosis I might be able to dispell some of your fears. God knows I had enough fears to go around before my surgery!!

Hi Jenn, I also agree with Paul, My CT report looks really scarey but my symptoms are only for one level on the left. I agree see a Neurosurgeon and discuss sypmtoms with him and they will explain the report to that.

Hi Jenn! We have SO much in common it is scary. I am 33 years old and was in a bad car accident when I was 18. I was sitting in the front passenger seat of a Toyota p/u and we t-boned another car during a blizzard. I wasn't wearing a seat belt either and it the windshield with my head. I shattered it, and completely punched out whole the size of a silver dollar. My forehead was slashed up as was my left eyelid. I had to get numerous stitched. I still have the scars today.

While I don't have a big problem with headaches I do have a big problem with my cervical spine. I had been having neck pain for about a year before I finally got an MRI which showed a large herniation at C4/5 and bulging at C5/6. I have been thru meds, PT, cervical ESI (which didn't help). I am now seeing a physiatrist and am hopeful she can help me with trigger point injections, traction, etc. I am scheduled for an EMG next week to check for nerve damage.

I know exactly how you feel and what you are going thru. Welcome and feel free to PM or email me so we can commiserate.

Jenn, read yor post, I had a somewhat similiar read on my mri, various bulges and spurring, at different levels in the cervical spine. One problem is we never know anymore who is reading and dictating the results of the mri, So much is out sourced anymore. What I am trying to say is you may have had your mri in New York City and the physician that read it and dictated the findings may have been in Korea or India with a hundred to do that day. How well did he look at your films,who knows. I agree with Paul, It would be a good idea to find a spine specialist and let him look at yor films, mine that read mild to moderate bulging at c3-4,4-5,5-6,and 6-7 when read by a good spinal reconstructive surgeon turned into mild at 3-4,4-5 and severe at 5-6and 6-7 with exhuberant spurring at those levels. in closing, that meant I needed a c5-7 acdf with cages and hardware. Do yourself a favor and find a good specialist to give you another exam and opinion.

Jen
You make want see another doctor and take all your films to that doctor. If the doctor you are currently seeing isnt answering your questions, and you are not confident in his/her work, the I would suggest seeing a different doctor, NS or OS who specialize in the spine. Neurologist dont always know the spine that well. I had a conversation with two neurologist about 9 months ago, was explaining my symptoms and test I had had done up to that point and how I still had pain usually a consistent 5. The two didnt understand why a back brace would just fix everything. They had their little brains wrapped around me having scoliosis and kyphosis. It was frustrating, I felt like I knew more about the human spine than the both of them put together. This is only my opinion, but I would see a different doctor, especially if the one you have now isnt explaining things or talking to you.

Hi Jen,
Like the others have said here, its always important to get second readings of your MRI reports. Each doctor can see things slightly different and may have different analysis of each test. What you want to get is detailed information about your MRI in terms that make total sense to you. Then you want confirmation from more than one pair of eyes that they are seeing the same thing.
First time I read a MRI report, I thought they were going to take me in for Emergency surgery that very moment! They reports can be very scary. I've tried and tried over the past 20+ years to figure out how to read MRI reports. Now that you can get them on CD's, I've even compared reports from one to another. I gave UP! MRI analysis is for the professionals only!

I went to my Primary doctor to ask his opinion on the result and the neurologist. He will be sending me to physical therapy first to see if that will help and to get the range of motion back in my neck. He also said when and if I need to see another specialist, it would not be the same one. YEAH!!! If physical therapy doesn't work, then we will go on with something else. A friend told me that P/T would be a waste, but I am just glad to be doing something about it now. My arms seem to be hurting more often. Has physical therapy helped anybody with similar neck problems?

Hi Jenn, I agree with the others, you can't go just by what the MRI reports say. The surgeons look at the actual films, not the reports. I asked the ortho spinal surgeon who saw me a question about something in the report. And he answered that he never even looks at the reports. He reads his own films and doesn't care what the radiologist says. A neurosurgeon or ortho spinal surgeon will take what he sees in the films and evaluate that with your particular symptoms.

The first thing my PCP did was send me to PT. It did help somewhat. I got improvement in range of motion, but it didn't do much for the pain. Although the hot packs, electrical stim, deep tissue massage, and all those are very pleasant. I imagine if the PT doesn't help you, your PCP will send you to either a surgeon or a pain management program. Good luck and come back and post as to your progress. Marti