Additional Pain--MRI Request (Jan. 1, 2008)

Need MRI--additional description of weakening and pain‏
From: cam huegenot (cameocares@live.com)
Sent: Tue 1/01/08 6:33 PM
To: sfreed@wvmedical.com; pfarmer@wvmedical.com; rbennett@wvmedical.com
For Dr. Freed,

Aside from my left leg going numb (many times while lying down) periodically, since childbirth, and worsening in the last 6 months, I have had tenderness to the touch over my entire spine. Also, I am getting much weaker just sitting. Whereas I used to be able to sit at a computer on painkillers, and sit upright for an hour or two, I can no longer do this. It feels like everything is collapsing and takes too much energy for me to try to sit upright. I have to lean against the back of the chair or crouch over (crouching/humping forward with my back curled in an arch) to avoid getting so tired. It's hard to describe but it's like I need a total spine brace to keep me upright without having to work hard at sitting upright. I feel very weak and this hasn't been the case until the last couple of months. The numbness in my left leg affects the whole leg usually. A few times I think maybe it just affected the leg down to the knee but usually it's the entire leg. When it's numb, I can't feel sensations the same on that leg. It's not the "falling asleep" numbness like when your leg falls asleep under you, or foot, and then it hurts when the numbness wears off. The numbness is different. It's just numb and I can't feel sensations well and then when it's gone, I don't notice a transition phase at all. The pubic bone popping has only happened in the last couple of months.

I think I need an MRI to examine my entire spine top to bottom, for disc or other problems, and for my abdomen and pelvis for internal problems with organs, structure, and bones. I think that would cover all my pain zones and would show what's going on.

If I had the money to pay for an MRI myself, I would front the thousand or whatever it would cost, bc I know it's going to show what's going on.

I am getting worse. I'm not healing or getting better and I think there's more than one issue. I would also like to have a full and complete blood count to rule out other things and urine test to see if I'm still leaking a lot of protein as I have in all the past urine tests since childbirth. If I have kidney problems, it should be detected. I'm told protein spillover as high as I have is abnormal but the ER never followed up. I could wait possibly for the CBC and urine test until I see my new PCP but I don't believe I should wait on the MRI. My symptoms that I reported to you were bad enough for you to believe there was an emergency and I know there still is, the right diagnostic just hasn't been done yet to detect the cause. If you will not do an MRI, I will have to go to the CWH ER and they will refuse basic service yet again.

Cameo Garrett