MRI is a loud test!

I have spent the last month or so complaining about my back. I have tried heat, ice, ibuprofen, Tylenol and rest. Nothing has really helped. I guess my husband Larry is tired of hearing about it even though his back is VERY bad from degenerative disc disease and arthritis. I always listen to his kvetching (complaining). So while we were at his pain management doctor's appointment he had me show the nurse. We were still waiting for the doctor to come in after all and had time to kill.

I showed Trish the hollow in my back at the waist and her comment was "Oh my God", so I took this to mean I better show the doctor! After he was finished with Larry and reviewing his problems, he took a look at my back. We all thought if it wasn't anything to worry about, I would just suffer along, not in silence mind you, but still muddle through. Scott, the doctor, examined it and declared it a "scoliosis". I knew I had one and obviously it had gotten worse due to my pain level. Just about everyone in my family has some degree of it, my brother's is bad enough that his one shoulder droops. My Dad had it and one leg was actually a bit shorter than the other.

According to Wikipedia:
Scoliosis (from Greek: skoliōsis meaning "crooked condition," from skolios, "crooked")[1] is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex three-dimensional deformity, on an x-ray, viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with a typical scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line. It is typically classified as either congenital (caused by vertebral anomalies present at birth), idiopathic (cause unknown, sub-classified as infantile, juvenile, adolescent, or adult according to when onset occurred) or neuromuscular (having developed as a secondary symptom of another condition, such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy or physical trauma). This condition affects approximately 7 million people in the United States.

Well! Now I know the scientific definition. As to what to do next, Scott wrote a prescription for an X-ray as well as an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). I had one several years ago to see if there was a problem with my head (yes, obvious joke here) and also one Breast MRI before I had my mastectomies. Depending on the facility, they have different ways of administering it. First of all, it is LOUD! After you are set up on the table, you are sent into a tube, kind of space age feeling. Note to some: Yes it can feel like a coffin so see if you need one if it can be an open MRI. I like the one at Abington Hospital because they give you special headphones that are metal-free and you can request your kind of music or radio station. They have no metal otherwise the magnets in the machine would pull them off of your head!

So after the diagnostics are complete and then reviewed we will go from there. No use worrying over what will be until after they take an informed look at my back. Of course, who knows when any of it will be since the doctor's office has to get a pre-certification first! Good thing the health care system has not changed yet or I would up the river without a paddle, and you know the name of that creek I am riding on with my lousy luck!

Off to bed with my nightly regimen of OTC pain killers. I think tonight's DVD will be "The Thin Man" starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. I really enjoy this series and we have all six movies. The two actors play so well together and though the dialogue is not like a murder mystery of today and it lacks the contemporary forensics, it is a wonderfully clean, family friendly romantic comedy. Larry had no idea I even knew who the actors were let alone a huge fan of Nora and Nick Charles, the main characters. I was thrilled to know he was too! So, we will snuggle up with an old favorite tonight and see what is on tomorrow's line-up!


Enjoy your week, your family and try to laugh at life!
Love and hugs,
Beth