On its face that sounds actionable. Professionals seldom offer apologize because in many places an apology is tantamount to an admission of guilt/wrongdoing. It's not always the individual's choice; attorneys, insurance companies, ets. often issue edicts against such.

From the image, I don't see any hardware, and the disc spacing appears (to my untrained eye) to be unremarkable.

The... whatever it is—doesn't appear the same as bone. There appear to be three shapes above the object but none below it; I don't know what they are.

Narcotics are not offered lightly. They're acknowledging your physical pain, and that's something. I won't try to sway you on this, but pain is something I know a little about from personal experience and many years involvement in/with chronic pain support groups. What I know is that pain medications can make a huge difference in quality of life when taken/used responsibly, and bonafide pain patients seldom run into the problems abusers do.

Doc

I understand the reason why they don't apologise BUT, they (can't remember who) did some research and discovered that a vast majority of people who had been injured through medical negligence, incompetence or ignorance, would have been satisfied with an acknowledgment of their distress and an apology. It was when these weren't forthcoming that people became angry and started legal action.

I would never take legal action myself unless it was to prevent someone else suffering the same fate. I do believe in giving feedback when they've done something wrong or otherwise they might never learn.

Now, for the news.....I rang my physiotherapist and told him about my MRI report and he didn't believe that the report could be correct. He had seen the previous CT report which said I had a spondylolisthesis at L3/L4 and he said "they don't go away". The physio told me that when he felt the lump he thought I had a soft tissue tumour of muscle. He said he didn't want to say anything to me because he was sure the MRI would find it and my doctor would deal with it.

I didn't go into hospital last week like I was supposed to because my mother became sick with suspected internal bleeding. She has improved and I should be able to have treatment in early December, so I'll ask my Physician to refer me to a neurosurgeon while I'm in hospital. In the meantime I've been given Voltaren Rapid and I'll see if that helps the pain.

Dear Myelogirl,

I can understand your frustration with the readings of your tests. I fell and broke 5 ribs. I went to the ER and the x-ray tech told me, yep, you broke some ribs, the ER doc said I broke 5 ribs, and then the radiologist reading the x-rays said NORMAL, no fractures, in his report. I contacted him and asked for him to review them again. Again, he said NO fractures. Several weeks later, I had follow-up x-rays as my ribs were not healing. Different hospital. Radiologist reported 5 fractured ribs. A subsequent CT chest scan also showed 5 fractured ribs. The original radiologist would never concede that he was incorrect even with overwhelming evidence.

Sorry about the long story just to show that I do understand how frustrated you were with your report.

I've learnt to take most things a doctor tells me with a grain of salt. In the end you have to be responsible for your own health and treatment but......it can be like pushing .... up hill. I don't think the radiologist could even count, I have 6 lumbar vertebra instead of 5 but he didn't notice that either. Oh well, time to move on and do as much as I can for myself and forget about expecting any medical help.

Doc, I know the Voltaren Rapid is a bit nasty. I'm on the maximum of 50mgs three times a day too. I notice the information leaflet says to take for a maximum of one week. That might be why my GP wants to see me again on Monday. It seems to be working because that diffuse achey, muscle pain has diminished and I can now feel a specific painful spot which is on the right side and higher than the lump! Sore spot on right, lump and ache/pain on left?? The Voltaren is also helping with the pain from the torn cartilage in my hip so that's an unexpected bonus.

Why not try some supplements which help neurodenerative diseases in general,
including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, such as :

Acetyl l-carnitine
Phosphatidylserine
Benfotiamine
Methylcobalamin
Astaxanthin
Octacosanol



You can read Annetta Freeman's protocol for Parkinson's here.

http://ceri.com/annett4.htm



Protective effects of octacosanol on 6-hydroxydopamine-induced
Parkinsonism in rats via regulation of ProNGF and NGF signaling.

http://www.nature.com/aps/journal/v3...ps201069a.html




Even sea cucumbers may be of benefit.


A double blind study on the Reinhardt and sea cucumber
capsule in treating dementia of the aged.

http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJF...J200001004.htm



Clinical study of Reinhartdt and sea cucumber capsule combined
with donepezil in treating Alzheimer's disease.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17342994/



Cucumaria frondosa is the species found in your oceans, off New England.


The protective effect of eicosapentaenoic acid-enriched phospholipids from sea
cucumber Cucumaria frondosa on oxidative stress in PC12 cells and SAMP8 mice.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/24231470/



The SAMP8 mouse: a model of Alzheimer disease ?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12014843




Regeneration of the radial nerve cord in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima.

http://link.springer.com/article/10....F1471-213X-9-3



Regeneration of the enteric nervous system in the
sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10205023



'' Sea Cucumbers Fast Track Organ Regrowth By Healing Their Wounds. ''

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1017194617.htm