Re: MRI question
From: Ginny King (gking@myrickre.com)
Fri Jun 18 19:09:14 1999
At Thu, 17 Jun 1999, Christine M. Smith wrote:
>
>Hi Everyone:
>
>I have a question for all the MRI veterans out there. Does the fact
>that I have not heard anything yet (procedure done Monday night) mean
>that it is most likely normal? It probably wasn't read until Tuesday. I
>would think that they would call the doctor's office if it showed
>anything, no?
>I left a message on the office answering machine to be sure and call me
>with the results either way so that I can discuss with the doctor what
>I'm going to do next. Normally I'm not so impatient (well not quite
>anyway) but I would think with such a high tech, expensive test they
>would treat it a little differently. In the hospital, results are
>usually on the charts by the second day after the procedure and in some
>cases, the next day. Sometimes I dream of being a doctor's office staff
>member and dream about the wonderful way I would treat patients. Like
>calling them immediately with results when I know they've been through a
>long diagnostic ordeal, and just asking them how they are doing. HA,
>dream on Chris.
>Although the back discomfort is not gone, I am feeling much better. I
>have been sitting around the house basically doing nothing, although
>yesterday I weeded the garden a little. For those of you who have
>adhesions that affect your back, do you get this response? If you rest
>and not exert yourself, do you consistently have less pain?
>I posted on another forum and the doc told me that Crohn's can sometimes
>present with only "extraintestinal" symptoms. Eye inflammation, joint
>discomfort (he mentioned sacroiliac, spine and hips) , rashes/lesions
>Two GI docs have told me no. One, by punching on my abdomen and saying
>"Nah, doesn't feel like Crohn's" and a negative colonoscopy (which tells
>him it wasn't in the colon or terminal ileum) and the colo-rectal
>specialist who didn't consider it at all. (he was into joints) But so
>far I have had no responses from docs on several forums (ob-gyn.net and
>a neurological forum) about back problems causing only abdominal pain.
>Looks like something they don't even want to get into! Adhesions is
>another topic they seem to avoid.
>
>Chris S.
Hey Chris,
I don't know how to answer all of your questions but I do know that when
I recently had an "emergency" CT scan on a Monday, I did not get a call
back from my Doctor until the next Monday. The CT did come back normal
with the exception of what "looked" like a cyst on my ovary. I had
called the Doctor's office several times during the week to check on the
results and still it was a week before they called me back. It is
especially frustrating to go through a weekend wondering. I did go to
another GI on Thursday to re-evaluate my problems. He wants to repeat
the colonoscopy and do an upper endoscopy?. Because of the blood, pain
in the right side and back problems I have (spondylitus) he is back to
thinking that my problems may be Crohn's complicated by intermittent
bowel obstructions caused either by Crohn's or adhesions or both. As my
back problems are arthritic in nature, it seems to tie in with an
auto-immune disorder as opposed to a back problem causing bowel
problems. With your symtoms I would have to wonder if your back pain is
caused by arthritis then it would seem logical that further
investigation of an auto-immune disorder should be revisited.I seem to
have back and side pain when I rest and when I try to continue my
activities. When I spend a lot of time in bed my back problems tend to
get worse. According to the Doctor its because of the way I may be
resting on my hip that is causing inflammation of the sacrum and that is
pressing on the nerves, in particular the sciatic. However, when I am
active, I tend to have more of the blinding, ripping pains in my side
that wrap to my back, maybe agravating the adhesions? I hope you hear
soon about your MRI. Try and have a good weekend. Thanks. Ginny
--
Ginny King