Lesion learnt

Day 835.

When I got the call to schedule the MRI for my back I wasn't sure if I should cancel it.

My back has been much better this year than last year. I didn't want to waste people's time. And I didn't want to go if it was going to come back with nothing wrong.

I can't imagine anything worse than a bunch of doctors thinking that I am just overly anxious.

The scan

But I decided to go for the MRI. I had after all had very painful lower backpain for months and months. 9 months to be precise. And my back still has some sensitivity.

The scan was done on my birthday, and was really easy to get through. I wasn't anxious to go into the tunnel, and the scan only took about 30 minutes, I think.

The radiologist who conducted my lumbar MRI told me afterwards that they would send my report to the orthopaedic surgeon who ordered the scan within two days.

What did they find?

I waited for a call from the the orthopaedic surgeon, but didn't receive any. I also didn't see the scan results on the patient portal that my GP usually updates.

Two weeks after the scan, the results became unlocked for me to view directly on the radiology patient portal. It made for some interesting reading.

It seems there is some general wear and tear on my back. Some words that jumped out to me though was "lesion" and "malignancy risk factors".

Specifically I have a round lesion - about 1 cm big - on the L1 endplate. It seems to be on the bone instead of the spinal cord, but I really am not too sure. I need a doctor to look at the report and interpret it for me.

What the heck is a lesion?

I don't even really know what a lesion is, but I have heard of people with lesions who have neuro sarcoidosis.

According to Google, a lesion is:

An abnormal area of tissue inside or outside the body that may get bigger or change appearance, and may or may not be cancerous.

That doesn't sound particularly good or particularly bad.

What now?

I still really wonder if this is sarcoidosis in my spine. I really want to speak with someone with some expertise to talk to me about that.

I have emailed the orthopaedic surgeon, asking for a consultation. According to his office he is fully booked for three months, but they have messaged him to see if he has any earlier appointments. What the absolute f... He probably has not even looked at the report yet.

I have made an appointment with a new GP at my medical centre. This appointment won't happen for about 2 weeks.

I have emailed my rheumatologist asking him his opinion. Although the rheumatology nurse indicated that the doctor who requested the scan should consult with me.

Now to wait and see what comes from all of this.