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Posted 10/7/2014 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Has anyone ever had any experience with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina?
Posted 10/7/2014 3:43 AM (GMT 0)
I have no experience but I've heard good things over the years. Try a Google search and read what others have to say is a good way to hear the best and worst.
Posted 10/7/2014 4:45 AM (GMT 0)
I was reading some of your other post cindylou an you know the neurologist and other doctors can say they can't help you, and they can read the findings by the radiologist but I would not give much Credence's to that until I had a good neurosurgeon look at the MRI and examine you! They are trained in reading the MRI pictures and often can see allot of things on an MRI that even the radiologist might miss! I have been told the same thing by neurologist and other doctors but then I seen the neurosurgeon who actually looked at my MRI and went over it with me sitting at his side explaining everything that it showed and things that were wrong and what he could do to fix it that would help me! So don't give up hope by what some neurologist might say!

Hopefully this teaching hospital will be able to help you!!

White Beard
Posted 10/7/2014 10:26 AM (GMT 0)
Cindy you asked in Big's thread if MRIs can be wrong and like WB is saying to you, it's not that they are wrong it's who and what they're looking for.

Radiology for anatomical anomalies, fractures, collapse, degenerate changes, etc and a specific specialty such as Neuro are looking for physiological and pathological changes and issues. Rad may see a small anamoly and Neuro will see the same but will look to see if that could cause this?

I don't want to confuse you with a bunch of terminology so simply it goes like this. MRI, Rad sees some degeneration loss of bone mass, normal aging. A Neuro sees the same film with the same changes but he knows you are having numbness say in your foot? So he is going to take that film and look at can those changes be the cause? He sees the bone loss at L4 and knows spinal nerve 6 runs relatively close and in a probability the loss of bone mass has Also caused loss of disc space and is applying pressure on some point of that spinal nerve.

Surgeon's see all this up close, personal, and in real time! They spend countless hour's in the gross anatomy lab, more countless hour's operating and viewing the real thing versus a good pic or anatomical skeleton and we all use to hate rotation through the gross anatomy lab and I always would cringe thinking about the folks who donated their family to medical science but I thank goodness for those brave souls who do because when a surgeon goes looking for my childs appendix I am darn sure happy he's seen the real thing not a textbook picture!!

So no MRIs are not wrong because there is no right or wrong but the viewer can have differing opinions based on what they are looking for!

Hope this makes sense and helps you some.
Posted 10/7/2014 1:27 PM (GMT 0)
Vickie: this morning I truly read your mantra and now I truly understand what it means. I feel a long post coming on...

I am not an aggressive person AT ALL. So, standing my ground with drs. is not something I do. But I am learning so much from you guys.

WB and Vickie everything you said in this thread helped me this morning! I called Wake Forest about the referral and his assistant told me that he denied the case. I of course hung up with no questions because again I was blindsided. I texted my hubby what she said and told him to not call me because I didn't want to talk about it. He finally got me on the phone and we re-hashed everything we've ever said about this subject. I've been telling him about this forum and how much I have been learning. I decided I needed to ask you guys about MRIs being viewed by radiologist vs neurosurgeons and how did you get insurance to pay for multiple MRI's.

Then, I get on here and you have told me exactly what I needed to know!!!!

I called his assistant again after I realized that my dr only sent the radiologist report not the actual MRI disk. I asked her if I sent the MRI disk would he even look at it or would he just say I've already reviewed the reports, DENIED AGAIN. She said he was a good guy and that he would probably review the disk.

That wasn't good enough for me. Basically, I told her, I don't have time for probablys. I already have permanent nerve damage. How can I get him to look at it. What if the radiologist was wrong? or what if there's something there that only a neurosurgeon could see? She said to send it and she'd have him look at it. Now she could be telling me this to get me off the phone. But it encouraged me that she took the time to say he's a good guy and she told me she was going to be on vacation certain days- make sure to send to her attention so it doesn't get lost.
Thank you so much!!
Posted 10/7/2014 3:41 PM (GMT 0)
Cindy, by all means even if this dr at Wake Forest will not see you, find yourself a board certified, fellowship trained neurosurgeon & take your cd with you to the appt for him to review. I have yet to ever see a neurologist be able to dx or take care of a patient with neck or back problems. Ditto to what WhiteBeard had to say about them.

Good luck.
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