It might not even be a herniated disc. There are honestly a million different things that could be causing that kind of pain. Usually, the standard routine goes like this: you see a physiatrist and get an RTG, then move on to physical therapy. If you aren't seeing any actual progress after a few months of that, then it’s time for an MRI. Depending on what those scans show, you'll end up sitting in a neurosurgeon's office for a consultation.
First things first, you’ve got to try physical therapy—get moving, do the exercises, get some massage work done. If you finish a course of PT and you aren't seeing any actual progress? Then you absolutely need to get an MRI. From there, everything depends on what those scans show. In my own experience, I didn't get much relief until I had to see a neurosurgeon and undergo a whole battery of additional tests.
Schmorl's nodes are basically just disc herniations that push into the vertebral body itself—they aren't putting any pressure on the nerves. Supposedly, they don't cause any actual issues. I've got them too, but I also have other, much more serious problems that didn't even show up until my MRI results came back.
If you want more details on Schmorl's nodes, check this out:
fadedlynx6 said:Well, I just got off the phone with them, and now they aren't even taking anyone until eleven months from now. I'm losing my mind. What kind of country are we living in? It's pathetic.
Anyway, thanks for the info.
It’s such a shame there’s such a massive backlog. And then you have those news segments on TV claiming America has more than enough MRI machines. Ridiculous. 🙄
You’ve got coverage through Medicare for Quest Diagnostics over on Orchard Street in the Salat neighborhood... though you'll be sitting around waiting for about a month and a half.
Back in my day, I dealt with a killer sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, and a fever—a real high, stubborn one—that turned out to be mono. So, honestly, I don’t get why everyone is making such a massive deal about 🤷 . I just grabbed a quick copy/paste of the mono symptoms from WebMD...
Symptoms The first signs pop up about 4 to 8 weeks after infection: fatigue, loss of appetite, and chills that linger for a few days before the sore throat, fever, and swollen lymph nodes actually kick in. A severe sore throat usually forces people to head to the doctor. Sometimes, patients might only notice the fever or the swollen nodes, or maybe just one specific complication. Most folks end up complaining about headaches and feeling totally wiped out.
You have no idea the weight that’s been lifted off my shoulders... I honestly thought I was some kind of freak of nature, the only person on the planet dealing with these exact symptoms just because spring is starting to roll in! Now we just need to figure out the actual cause...
Look, if you hire a decent tattoo artist, they actually know what they're doing. They aren't just going to jab you right through an existing design like some amateur; they’ll skillfully navigate around it so the flow stays perfect. You won't even be able to tell they had to adjust their technique.