Need Answers!

[Radiogirl]

Mike, I just had my MRI there in St. Louis last Wednesday, but I never had one before. You could maybe ask for a sedative to help you through it. I didn't really need it...BUT...I did ask to listen to music and that helped. They give you earphones...but make sure they turn the music up real loud cuz there is soooo much loud banging and clanging going on through the MRI. Good luck to you Mike. RitaR is there in the hospital...she had her surgery today!!!

[LindaRacine]

Heading to St. Louis in the morning for a bunch more tests. Wednesday is a CT-Myelogram, Thursday is ANOTHER Echocardiogram, Dr. Bridwell wants to look at my pedicles with a floroscopy, and to see if I fit on the operating rack, AND I have to get ANOTHER MRI of thoracic and lumbar spine. Friday is mettings with the cardiologist and Dr. Bridwell again. Whew! Full schedule!

What I really dont understand is why they need me to do another MRI, since I just had one done a month ago at a hospital near my house. Can they really differ that much from one place to another? Can anybody that has had surgery in St. Louis tell me if they required you to have one at their facility also? I could barely make it thru the last one. Im not looking forward to this at all.

Mike...

It could be any number of things. First, I'd check to be certain that Dr. Bridwell is aware that you already had an MRI. It's possible that the fact that you'd had an MRI was not in his consciousness when he asked you to get one My second thought... Did your first MRI cover the entire spine? It's possible that the first one only covered the lumbar region, for example, and they would want the entire spine. Or, my last thought, was that the image quality wasn't great on the original.

It doesn't make sense to me that they'd have you do an MRI in St. Louis just for the heck of it. Your insurance company would definitely not put up with that!

Regards,
Linda

[osumike]

Well....its been a rough couple of days out here in St. Louis. The first time out here a few weeks ago went so smooth and seemed so organized. this is the complete opposite of that. I'll skip yesterday to tell you about today, but just believe me when I say it was miserable. OK. My echocardiogram was scheduled for 9am today, they didnt get me in until 10. I had an appt. with Dr. Bridwell to go into the OR at 10:00 to see how I fit on the operating rack, and for him to look at my pedicles with a floroscope, and we sat in the surgery recovery area from 11:00 until they took me down at 2:00. Then I had an MRI scheduled for 4pm. We got there and was told we had to walk to the opposite end of the hospital to the pharmacy to get the valium they ordered for me, only to be told there was no prescription called in for me. an hour later this was resolved, and at 5:30 I went in for the MRI. So it was a 10 hour day at Barnes- Jewish Hospital today.

While I was laying on the operating rack today, Bridwell made a comment that he thought it would be too much for him to do the complete fusion, from T3 or T1 to sacrum. Thats not what I wanted to hear. I have a meeting scheduled with him tomorrow at 10am, so Ill get all the details then.

Well I have a pounding headache now, so Im going to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[Susie*Bee]

Sorry to hear you had such a stressful day, with so many times off. Hopefully your appointment tomorrow will be better. Keep us posted on how it goes, and hang in there. You'll get through this.

[JenniferG]

Sounds like a nightmare of a day, Mike. Hope a good sleep has you feeling better tomorrow and that tomorrow goes smoothly. I am sure Dr. Bridwell will come up with a good plan for you. Let us know!

[LynetteG]

Wow Mike what a rough day you had you poor guy! . I bet anything tomorrow will be a way better day with the outlook of successful results for you.

[osumike]

small update here...my girlfriend and I are sitting in Dr. Bridwells office right now waiting to be called back...we had to see the cardiologist earlier this morning. He too, thinks I have marfans syndrome, as he is a specialist in that area. They took 4 vials of blood that they will send to Belgium for a genetist(sp?) to look at. I believe he is recommending the back surgery needs to wait until we/they confirm marfans or some other condition that is less common and reletively newly discovered. (as soon as I listen to my voice recorder Ill put the name of that on here).

So as soon as we go back to see Dr. Bridwell Ill know more and hopefully set a timetable for all of this to be done. Man, I came out here for back pain, and Im leaving here with possible heart surgery before spine surgery!

[JenniferG]

I'm so sorry you're having such a hard time Mike. But it's better to know about these things than not. I am sure it will all work out in the end. This investigation is important but it will lead to you getting fixed one way or another. Think of a time when these things are all fixed and you're back living your life but in much better health. Then, just head doggedly in that direction.

Good luck.

[osumike]

Well apparently this horrible headache Ive had is from spinal fluid leaking from the myelogram I had a few days ago. Today I had a blood patch to help the headache. Luckily it did.

Anyway, the meeting with Dr. Bridwell. Didnt really go as I'd hoped it would. He really doesnt want to fuse me from top to bottom. He says his first choice for me, if I were his little brother, would be a fusion from T-11 to sacrum. 2nd is to do nothing at all. 3rd would be fuse the thoracic curve only with possibly a thorocoplasty. 4th choice is to fuse T-3 to sacrum. Apparently because I possibly have Marfan's, hes worried about getting a good fusion. Im pretty upset to hear this.

I guess he would do the full fusion if thats what I really want, but I dont know. I have this huge rib hump that I really want gone, but I doubt thats going to happen now. I asked about pain relief from the lumbar fusion. "about 80% of my patients get 80% pain relief" is what he said. I told his nurse Bernie Id think about this and let her know in a week or so. Surgery will probably be end of May or beginning of June.

Any thoughts?

[LindaRacine]

Hi Mike...

I can imagine how unsettling it is to hear that your rib hump won't be reduced, but I seriously doubt that Dr. Bridwell would be steering you to the smaller surgery if he didn't feel really strongly about it. I'd hate to think about going against a surgeon's advice, and the possibility of having a bad outcome.

Sorry that this has all been so difficult.

Regards,
Linda

[LynetteG]

Hey Mike, did the doctor say that he wouldn't be able to get rid of the rib hump through surgery? I'm so sorry to hear of all that you are going through, and the tough decisions you have to make. You will ultimately make the right decision for you, and it sounds like you have a great doctor. It will all work out in the end, and you will be a stronger person as a result!

[LindaRacine]

Hi Lynette...

If Mike only has his lumbar curve done, he won't get any reduction of the rib hump. The thoracic curve has to be corrected for that to happen.

Regards,
Linda

[titaniumed]

Mike

Sorry about all this. Im just looking at the order of Dr Bridwells choices here. It seems that with the option of doing nothing being his 2nd choice, tells you that he is confident with doing the T11 sacrum surgery. This is better than doing nothing as his first choice.

One things definite, you will have to wait for the blood work to be completed. After this, all your cards will be on the table.

Did you ask him if he were to do the lower surgery T11-sacrum, could the upper levels be done at some later date? Maybe a year or two later? Maybe he could anchor the upper rods to the lower construct? This might be a possibility.
Ed

[osumike]

Hey everyone I really appreciate all your concern...it really means alot. This is a great bunch of pepole on here...

Ed- Yeah I addressed the same thing to him, aboutn his first choice being T11-sacrum, and 2nd being to do nothing at all. I just dont understand how he could do nothing with the amount of pain, and amount of pain killers i take to control it, and with the rapid progression of the curves over the past few years. He is the doc though, and a highly respected one at that I believe, so I trust his advice. Its just not what I wanted or expected.

About the thoracic fusion, yes, he did say that is definately something he is considering doing a year or two later. Just wants to see how the first fusion takes I guess.

I dont know, I have lots of questions about all this already that I'll be emailing to his nurse, so we'll see how things from here. If the lumbar fusion will relieve the lower back pain, and I can look forward to a possible upper fusion later, it'll be worth it.

Thanks again guys....

[JenniferG]

"I dont know, I have lots of questions about all this already that I'll be emailing to his nurse, so we'll see how things from here. If the lumbar fusion will relieve the lower back pain, and I can look forward to a possible upper fusion later, it'll be worth it. "

That sounds reasonable. Hope you get the answers you need Mike.