Please help me understand my MRI report...

I have pain all over my body, neck, mid back, lower back and even into my legs, so wondering if my MRI results reflect the reason why I am having this pain. I am planning on having surgery to correct, as injections, PT and meds are not helping, because I believe (and the doctor) it is to far gone.

Here is the final paragraph (impression):

New left paracentral/foraminal disc extrusion at C6-C7, which results in narrowing of the left lateral recess and severe narrowing of the left neural foramen, with the potential for impingement upon the left C7 nerve root. Moderate right neural foraminal narrowing is again identified at C6-C7, unchanged since the comparison.

Posterior broad-based disc bulges at C4-C5, C5-C6, and C6-C7, without significant spinal canal narrowing.

nicnaq
Welcome to the Healing Well Chronic Pain Forum, I am sorry you are having so much pain and having such a hard time getting it under control! But I think you have definitely come to the right place for support! We might not be able to heal you but we can certainly lend you our ears, and listen and give you our support and what advice we may have. Just know that you are not alone with your pain, we all can empathize with you, and we do understand what it is like to live with chronic pain! We are all here for you, when you are here, you are with family, our chronic pain family!

You nicnaq Sandi is right your Doctor is the best one to tell you what the results of your MRI means and how it is affecting you. Everyone is so different and what might really bother one person, might not have much affect on another. A bad disk at C-6/7 can have a wide range of effects on a person, I know when I had my massive herniated disk at C-6/7 the disk even ruptured, and I had free floating fragments in the spinal canal. Anyway, the disk was actually pressing into my spinal cord, and making my spinal cord bend into a horizontal U shape. The surgeon and other doctors, said they did not know why I was not paralyzed, but all I had was very very very severe, arm and hand pain, like when you hit your crazy bone really hard, but the pain was constant and would not go away. I ended up having surgery, a Anterior Cervical Diskectomy and Fusion, and it relieved the pain immediately. But I did end up having some permanent nerve damage from the ordeal.

nicnaq I can empathize with what you are going through, it took them (military doctors) many many months before they finally diagnosed me and when they finally did I ended up having to have emerengcy surgery to fix the situation. For me I think, those were some of the most painful and difficult days of my entire life! So I can just imagine what it must be like for you, I do hope that you can get some answers to your pain, and identify what is the root cause of it, and hopefully they can fix it!

Please keep us posted on your progress, I do wish you well and again Welcome to our Chronic Pain forum family!

White Beard

Hi Nic, I'm Linda and am new here. Whitebeard has terrific knowlege (hi WB we've not met offically) and I don't have much to offer other than when I had my ACDIF it worked, resolved all my issues and I hope you have the same result I did.

My only problem I was rearended 5 years later and had to have a rhizotomy (which also worked) so my neck is doing well!

Lastly, I did have someone do only neck massages 6 months post op (with my doc's permission) that seemed to have really helped the bit of spasms I had with the muscles in my upper mid back and shoulders. I went 2x's a week for only 30 mins at a time, but boy, did it help.

Best wishes and hoping you have a great result like I did. Hang in there! And let us know how you are as you progress, Linda

Hi Nic and welcome to the chronic pain forum. I am glad that your found us but sorry that you have to be here. I see what a couple of other members that have had surgery has shared their experiences with you. Nothing like hearing it straight from someone that has been there.

When will you be seeing your dr again, meaning the surgeon? Please let us know what he has to say and when your surgery will be scheduled. Hopefully once you have recovered from your surgery you will be past all the horrible pain you are experiencing now. am sure you will do very well.

Again, welcome aboard and keep us posted on how you are doing. Take care.