So the next step was to get an additional MRI
of my cervical spine (C-spine). The NS office ordered the MRI with my
insurance company, but never followed up to ensure that it was approved and
schedule the appt. So, I they call me back, the day before my next appt
and explain that they need to reschedule because the doctor doesn't want to see
me before the next MRI.
I call my insurance, and they say that the NS just needs to call them to
verify and approve the referral. So, they did and rescheduled my appt for
3 weeks later. I went to the MRI, and they printed out the films on the
spot. Tish and I got the films, and took a sneak peak and tried to do
some self diagnosing. We took a look, and saw what we thought was a
syrinx. A syrinx is a pocket of spinal fluid that is forming inside the
spinal cord. These can be very dangerous and lead too much more serious symptoms.
However, since we aren't NS, we decided to wait for the report and the
follow up appt with my NS. We got the report from a radiologist the following Monday, and it
said 5 mm of herniation, and no syrinx. The 5 mm was much different than
the original 17.4 mm, so we weren't sure what to think. We went to the NS
appt this past week, and he confirmed that it is a syrinx. He also said
that it isn't an emergency, but he wouldn't recommend waiting too long before I
have decompression surgery. He said he actually wouldn't wait more than a
month or two.
Perfect time, as we have my niece's college graduation in May and a wedding,
which I'm in, in June. We asked him if mid to late June would be a safe
waiting period, and he said that it shouldn't be a problem. As of now, it looks like I will be having at least partial decompression in the middle to end of June this year. I'm a little freaked out, but I do think it helps that Tish and I were somewhat expecting this outcome, and did plenty of research ahead of time. With that said, I'm sure that once we get closer to the surgery, I will be freaking out quite a bit.
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