Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Got my MRI report

No stenosis, impingement or enthesopathy.

I have partial sacralization of L6 on the left. Yes I have an extra lumbar vertebra.

Multilevel mid thoracic spondylosis with disc degeneration at T6-7 and T5-6 and a small dorsal midline disc bulge at T6-7

Mild spondylosis at L5-6 with no herniation

Moderate bilateral facet arthropathy at L6=S1 and L5-6 with no spondylolisthesis

Degenerative changes within the anterior sacroiliac joints may represent the chonic residua of a bilateral sacroiliitis.

No enthesopathy and no active sacroiliitis.

So I have osteoarthritis as well as AS in my spine. If I have no impingement why am I feeling numbness and pain in my legs? Could the MRI not show the impingement because I was lying down for it? What issues should I address with my rheumy and should I be adding another specialist to my list?

I realize a lot of these questions can't be answered with certainty, but I am interested in opinions if you have them. The 20mg a day of prednisone have me feeling pretty good. Pain is usually under 5. I don't know what a pain free day feels like. I'm not walking as much because I got a car, so my feet have felt better. But now I feel guilty for not exercising more.

Thanks for the chuckle, Micki. I needed that!

Do I congratulate you? I never know. YAY you got a conclusive report!!!

That's a fair bit of damage and it seems to me that the sacroilitis could be causing the numbness. Just tight muscles around the nerve cluster could do that.

I think my first question for the rheumy would be: What's our next step in treatment? Would PT help?

Don't know if that's useful at all.

Warm hugs,

thanks for your thoughts. You really think that's a fair bit of damage? I just have no way of knowing. I will ask about PT.

Umm girl, I think you have been thru enough..drive the dang car..lol

Sadly I know how good the pred makes ya feel and it is good for short term and short spurts...well and in huge doses orally and IV'S when my SI'S were so inflammed I couldn't walk but not for long term use.

I hope you get some relief.

Hugs,

Lisa

i'm currently in the process of trying to get up to speed on all these various terms, trying to understand which are related to the inflammatory arthritises, which are related to degenerative OA damage.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/332945-diagnosis
http://www.squidoo.com/spinearthritis

i was thinking the same thing that kat said about sciatica, its a very common symptom to the sacroiliitis and the muscles like the piriformis spasming in response pressing on the sciatic nerve. i find if i treat the SI, then the sciatica improves.

other specialists?

from the beginning, my tendon and ligament and SI problems have been treated the same way as if they were caused by any number of ways. that means a physiatrist, PT, chiro (but not a back cracker!).

i also have a podiatrist for my feet because none of my other doctors could help me enough; she is brilliant and has helped me keep my feet functional, even if they are pained and inflamed, but at least i'm still functioning. the reason i started seeing her is that the plantar fasciitis had gotten so bad that i pulled a tendon/ligament on the top of my foot that made walking impossible. i had to be 100% off my feet and ice them all day for several days before i could walk again. i knew i couldn't end up in a wheel chair; that would be horrible for my SI and back, so had to be able to stay mobile. she gave me some of the most practical pieces of advice that really work.

i have a GI doc for my stomach / bowels. but that's because gastritis and IBS, especially the gastritis, are a big part of my disease.

i have an endocrinologist, but that's mostly for the thyroid. though he's the one monitoring my vit D levels. and my hormones. this is good because i do have osteopenia and i've been told that endocrine issues can make other issues worse. while we've "fixed" the things that were high or low, it hasn't changed how i feel. but hoping its doing something good to my insides.

i have an eye doc. but that's largely because i do get eye pain. thus far its only been dx'ed as blepharitis. hopefully it stays that way. so if you have any eye pain......

as for the feet feeling better, good to hear! i have found that if i'm on my feet too much, they are definitely too inflamed and pained. however, i've also noticed that walking a little each day (typically about a half hour a day, some days up to an hour) helps keep my feet muscles and tendons and ligaments strong and that helps my feet not be inflamed so easily by things like standing.

its constant work to keep everything functioning as well as possible, isn't it!

well, glad you got a thorough report. now help to feeling better and better!

Lisa, I drive that car everywhere. The elementary school is only 5 blocks away, but we've been driving that every day. I got some yoga dvds from the library to find some inside exercise that will actually feel good.

I feel almost addicted to the pred right now. I'm worried about tapering off. I know I can't stay at this dose for much longer, but I've been able to function pretty well. Hard to accept the downs when the ups have enabled me to be productive and active in my children's lives.

You are right, it is constant, keeping our bodies functional. I see an eye doc because of my ocular herpes, so if uveitis ever pops up, she already knows to see me right away.

I have a gp to monitor my blood pressure and other regular stuff.

and my rheumy. My son saw the podiatrist in town and was diagnosed with a bunion. He sent us to a shoe store for better shoes. I didn't really like the guy's bedside manner, so I'm hesitant to make an appt for myself. Sending me to a shoe store is not helpful.

back when i lived in virginia, i saw a podiatrist when i could hardly walk, had to ice my feet at the end of each work day, just to be able to walk the 5 minutes out to my car.

his advice was to wear high heels and take an nsaid. i tried to tell him i was already on vioxx; he wouldn't listen.

so i went back to my physiatrist and PT and they helped me quite a bit with my feet. the PT taught me how to stretch my calves to relieve me PF, it does help to some extent. she was also ultrasounding my feet.

now that i have found a good podiatrist, i no longer have to have my feet ultrasounded.

so i agree, if the podiatrist is merely going to send you to a shoe store, you can probably do that yourself. but if you can find a good podiatrist, that could be very helpful.