M R I

While you might think that is a redneck rendition of the "I am he, as you are he, as you are me..." lyrics from The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus," I am actually referring to magnetic resonance imaging.

I've been having pain in my back for a little more than 2 weeks now. It's not like any that I've ever experienced before. First of all, any pain I've had before has lasted for like 2 days, tops. Rest, heat or ice, take it easy for a bit and I was fine again. Not this. Secondly, any time I've had back pain before, it's been something in a muscle. This felt like it was right in my spine, 'round about the 5th thoracic vertebra.

When it didn't go away after a couple of days of rest and trying not to aggravate it, I made an appointment to see my doctor. I'm really not all that fond of the medical system that we have. I think they're often too quick to fill us up with chemicals, and that they more often treat the symptoms rather than the problem. But, our doctors can be good at dealing with some of the problems we encounter, and they've got some good diagnostic tools. And to get anything done through the system, you have to dance the dance, you know?

So I went to see my doctor. He saw me for what probably approached 5 minutes (about a third of the time that I sat waiting for him in the exam room), felt one spot on my back, and sent me off for some x-rays. The x-rays didn't show anything. We had talked about sending me to see a back specialist in that case, but since the specialist would most likely want to see an MRI first, we set an appointment for me to get that done.

The MRI was scheduled for last Wednesday afternoon. When I got there, the technician told me it should take about 20 minutes. They put me on the table and loaded me into the tube. I'm guessing about 3 minutes went by before I instructed the staff that they could remove me from the tube at that time. I'd never experienced claustrophobia before, but I'd also never been that enclosed before.

So, first thing Thursday morning I call my doctor's office and leave a message advising that we did not complete the MRI and I'd need to talk to the doctor about what the next steps might be. I didn't hear back from the doctor's office all day Thursday, or through Friday morning. I called again, didn't get through to a person again, and left a message again, advising that we did not complete the MRI and I'd need to talk to the doctor about what the next steps might be again. I finally got a call back Friday afternoon, a couple of hours after my 2nd message, and spoke with a nurse. She informed me that they couldn't tell me anything yet, because they hadn't gotten the results from the MRI.



























Wow.

So, after some explanation, we hung up, she talked to the doctor and called me back. They want me to see the back specialist to see if (s)he can figure anything out without the MRI. But the nurse left open the possibility that the specialist might want me to get that done after all, in which case, she said, the specialist might be able to prescribe me "some Valium or something" to calm me down. I didn't bother discussing it with her, as she wouldn't be involved with such a conversation, but there's no way in hell that I'm ever getting back in that tube awake. To tell you the truth, I don't think I like the idea of getting in there while sedated.

I don't think it'll be an issue, tho. At least, I hope not. I went to see a chiropractor on Saturday. I had that on the list, but I was planning to see the back specialist first. I wasn't sure what a chiropractor could do if we didn't have any idea what the problem was. But the pain was getting worse, and I was losing the little confidence I'd previously had in my medical doctor, so I went to see him first. I figured if there was any chance that he could help, I might as well go see him without waiting any longer. He thinks it's due to misalignment in my neck vertebrae, which is irritating a nerve and transferring pain to where I'm feeling it lower than my neck. (Incidentally, this is exactly what my wife Jill postulated several days before we saw the chiro.) We did one treatment on Saturday, and I have 2 more scheduled for this week. He doesn't think it'll take many more treatments after that (assuming his diagnosis is correct). So far, I can report that the pain has changed, which seems to be in line with his prediction. He'd said that my body will basically try to get back to the misaligned position it's been in and is used to, which for the time being can result in more irritation of the nerve.

That's what I know so far. I'll post more when I know more.