Post by Ladytaz on Apr 2, 2012 18:29:26 GMT -5
I truly am baffled as to what is going on with me. 19 days ago I got a headache. A headache like I never had before. Actually it was the back of my head, my neck and shoulders. At first I thought it had to so with working out since I had just started going to the gym in the prior few weeks. I was working out for an hour on the treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical and rowing machine. I had pain previous to working out and when I was on the rowing machine I kind of felt a pulling but I was able to work out through the pain. I thought the pain may have been because I was working out.
The next day I woke up in terrible pain, from my neck and shoulders. I chalked it up to maybe pushing myself too much when I was working out. Like I said, I had been doing it pretty regularly for over 2 weeks so I had already been though the initial pain you feel when you first start working out. I just thought I had overdid it.
It continued to get worse so the next week I saw my doctor. She ordered X Rays. Here are the results:
FINDINGS:
The bones are intact with no acute fracture or focal cortical
destructive process. Mild C4-5 and C5-6 disk space narrowing is
present. Atlantoaxial distance and occipital cervical orientation
are normal. Prevertebral soft tissues are normal.
IMPRESSION:
Mild C4-5 and C5-6 degenerative disk disease
My doctor ordered PT so I went and the PT said it was my posture and gave me exercises to do. I actually felt worse doing the exercises.
Also, the exact day that the pain started my weight started going up. Now I could stand to gain a few pounds and I had been gradually adding in calories so I would gain slowly and in a healthy way. I totally avoid refined carbs, sugar and gluten. Overnight, without any change to my eating I gained a few pounds. I thought that was strange because I never gained that much weight that fast unless I was overeating and I was not. I was eating exactly the same way I have for months, no major changes, just a gradual increase in calories. My weight has been pretty stable since Sept. I think. I have gained about 5 lbs in 19 days with no change to my eating except I actually am eating less. I track every day and I am eating about 1500 calories a day. That is the amount that I was eating when I was losing.
Anyway, to make an already long story shorter, I went back to the doctor's and she ordered a MRI of my neck and a CT of head.
Here are those results:
CT
Axial images were obtained through the head coronal and sagittal
reconstructions were created. No studies are available for
comparison.
The morphology of the brain is normal. The appearance of the
ventricles, sulci, and cisterns is normal. There is no acute
parenchymal edema or hemorrhage no extra-axial fluid collection or
mass. There is a lucent focus in the right occipital bone. The
clivus marrow is heterogeneous. However it appears to contain fat
interspersed with trabeculae. The visualized portions of the
paranasal sinuses mastoid air cells and middle ears are clear.
Impression: No no acute intra-cranial abnormality. Lucent focus in
the right occipital bone is most likely a venous lake. Comparison
with prior studies, if these could be made available, could prove
helpful in confirming stability.
MRI
MRI CERVICAL SPINE WITHOUT CONTRAST, 03/29/12 08:51:00
INDICATION: Progressive neck pain
COMPARISON: None
TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar, multi-sequence surface-coil MR imaging of the
cervical spine was performed without the intravenous administration
of gadolinium-based contrast.
LEVELS IMAGED: Skull base to upper thoracic spine.
FINDINGS:
Soft tissues: No edema or masses.
Bones: Normal alignment. Marrow signal appropriate for age.
Cord: No mass, signal abnormality, or syrinx.
Upper Thoracic: Normal
C1-2: Normal
C2-3: Disk desiccation. No central canal or foraminal stenosis.
C3-4: Disk desiccation. No central canal or foraminal stenosis.
C4-5: Disk desiccation. Minimal central disk protrusion partially
effacing the ventral thecal sac. No foraminal stenosis. No
significant central canal stenosis.
C5-6: Disk desiccation. Minimal disk bulge. No significant
central canal or foraminal stenosis.
C6-7: Normal
C7-T1: Normal
Additional Comments: Incidental right perineural cyst at T1-T2.
IMPRESSION:
Multilevel disk desiccation. Minimal disk bulge at C4-C5 partially
effacing the ventral thecal sac. No central canal or foraminal
stenosis. Normal cord signal throughout..
Both are essentially normal except a few things that I was told shouldn't cause any symptoms. I am concerned about the "venous lake" that is at the right occipital bone, mainly because that is where the pain seems to start, and the cyst that is at T1-T2, not the mention the minimal disk bulge and disk abnormalities that are not supposed to cause any symptoms. But how would that explain the weight gain? Is it just a coincidence?
The next day I woke up in terrible pain, from my neck and shoulders. I chalked it up to maybe pushing myself too much when I was working out. Like I said, I had been doing it pretty regularly for over 2 weeks so I had already been though the initial pain you feel when you first start working out. I just thought I had overdid it.
It continued to get worse so the next week I saw my doctor. She ordered X Rays. Here are the results:
FINDINGS:
The bones are intact with no acute fracture or focal cortical
destructive process. Mild C4-5 and C5-6 disk space narrowing is
present. Atlantoaxial distance and occipital cervical orientation
are normal. Prevertebral soft tissues are normal.
IMPRESSION:
Mild C4-5 and C5-6 degenerative disk disease
My doctor ordered PT so I went and the PT said it was my posture and gave me exercises to do. I actually felt worse doing the exercises.
Also, the exact day that the pain started my weight started going up. Now I could stand to gain a few pounds and I had been gradually adding in calories so I would gain slowly and in a healthy way. I totally avoid refined carbs, sugar and gluten. Overnight, without any change to my eating I gained a few pounds. I thought that was strange because I never gained that much weight that fast unless I was overeating and I was not. I was eating exactly the same way I have for months, no major changes, just a gradual increase in calories. My weight has been pretty stable since Sept. I think. I have gained about 5 lbs in 19 days with no change to my eating except I actually am eating less. I track every day and I am eating about 1500 calories a day. That is the amount that I was eating when I was losing.
Anyway, to make an already long story shorter, I went back to the doctor's and she ordered a MRI of my neck and a CT of head.
Here are those results:
CT
Axial images were obtained through the head coronal and sagittal
reconstructions were created. No studies are available for
comparison.
The morphology of the brain is normal. The appearance of the
ventricles, sulci, and cisterns is normal. There is no acute
parenchymal edema or hemorrhage no extra-axial fluid collection or
mass. There is a lucent focus in the right occipital bone. The
clivus marrow is heterogeneous. However it appears to contain fat
interspersed with trabeculae. The visualized portions of the
paranasal sinuses mastoid air cells and middle ears are clear.
Impression: No no acute intra-cranial abnormality. Lucent focus in
the right occipital bone is most likely a venous lake. Comparison
with prior studies, if these could be made available, could prove
helpful in confirming stability.
MRI
MRI CERVICAL SPINE WITHOUT CONTRAST, 03/29/12 08:51:00
INDICATION: Progressive neck pain
COMPARISON: None
TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar, multi-sequence surface-coil MR imaging of the
cervical spine was performed without the intravenous administration
of gadolinium-based contrast.
LEVELS IMAGED: Skull base to upper thoracic spine.
FINDINGS:
Soft tissues: No edema or masses.
Bones: Normal alignment. Marrow signal appropriate for age.
Cord: No mass, signal abnormality, or syrinx.
Upper Thoracic: Normal
C1-2: Normal
C2-3: Disk desiccation. No central canal or foraminal stenosis.
C3-4: Disk desiccation. No central canal or foraminal stenosis.
C4-5: Disk desiccation. Minimal central disk protrusion partially
effacing the ventral thecal sac. No foraminal stenosis. No
significant central canal stenosis.
C5-6: Disk desiccation. Minimal disk bulge. No significant
central canal or foraminal stenosis.
C6-7: Normal
C7-T1: Normal
Additional Comments: Incidental right perineural cyst at T1-T2.
IMPRESSION:
Multilevel disk desiccation. Minimal disk bulge at C4-C5 partially
effacing the ventral thecal sac. No central canal or foraminal
stenosis. Normal cord signal throughout..
Both are essentially normal except a few things that I was told shouldn't cause any symptoms. I am concerned about the "venous lake" that is at the right occipital bone, mainly because that is where the pain seems to start, and the cyst that is at T1-T2, not the mention the minimal disk bulge and disk abnormalities that are not supposed to cause any symptoms. But how would that explain the weight gain? Is it just a coincidence?
