I need an MRI now, doc says December?!?

[Dumbass17]

WTF?!?!

so i hurt my wrist 3 weeks ago, got x-rays, they turned up fine but now my doctor suggested I get an MRI because it still really hurts (i can't complete a pushup without my wrist feeling like it's going to break). the doc office said they will book for me and let me know when i can get in. i called today and they said that i probably can't get in til around december or so.. WTF?!?!

is there a way around this? like a private clinic or something? i'll pay to get it looked at.
i can't work out cause it hurts and i don't want to worsen the condition of my wrist, and i have to be careful at work now.

any suggestions?! i miss lifting!!!!

also, FML

[5000Audi]

USofA boss...

MRI's in calgary are mad packed.. probably better to hit up the united states to get in quike

[xrayvsn]

Originally posted by 5000Audi
USofA boss...

MRI's in calgary are mad packed.. probably better to hit up the united states to get in quike

If you don't know what you are talking about, don't post.

For the OP - There are private MRI clinics in Calgary that can get you in usually within a week. One is at Mayfair, and the other by Chinook. You will need a doctor's referral to get an appointment at either.

[5000Audi]

Originally posted by xrayvsn


If you don't know what you are talking about, don't post.

For the OP - There are private MRI clinics in Calgary that can get you in usually within a week. One is at Mayfair, and the other by Chinook. You will need a doctor's referral to get an appointment at either.

ive had to get a MRI on both my ankels about a year and a bit ago.. all calgary clinics were booked for over a month.. so i drove down into washington and got it done there.. Kthankyou

[Darkane]

Hmm wrist issues huh? Quit spanking it chief.

But seriously, go get a deep tissue massage, tell her (or him if you swing that way....) to work on your forearms. Tell her you have wrist pains.

I'm taking a guess, but take your good hand and press on the top and bottom of the wrist right around the wrist circumference.

Your Thumb should be on the bottom and index on the top of the circumference. This is kinda hard to explain, but if your "bad" wrist is limp and pain free there should be a new shooting pain with the addition of force from your other two fingers. If so, deep tissue will help a lot.

Welcome to the injury club!

[xrayvsn]

Originally posted by 5000Audi


ive had to get a MRI on both my ankels about a year and a bit ago.. all calgary clinics were booked for over a month.. so i drove down into washington and got it done there.. Kthankyou

I'm looking at the schedule for private MRI at one of the clinics I mention and the OP could get an appointment on Friday this week. Most days next week looks open too.

[Pacman]

I had a private MRI done at Mayfair on my lumbar spine and it was $750. The cost was well worth it for me, as I was able to get the MRI, see a spinal surgeon and have a surgery date booked all within a week. If I had waited for the CHR.....It would have been 3-4 months before I had the MRI, and I was on the priority list. I suspect your wrists are classed as "low priority" and that is why the wait is so long.

Good luck!
Pac

[5000Audi]

Originally posted by xrayvsn


I'm looking at the schedule for private MRI at one of the clinics I mention and the OP could get an appointment on Friday this week. Most days next week looks open too.

ok i understand what you are saying, i was just telling my side from past experiance with MRI's, its awsome that he can get it.. if you wish to argue more on this please feel free to pm me

[Dumbass17]

hmmm
it's more than a massage would fix. it feels like it is going to snap or be removed from my arm or something.

i'm just concerned about paying for an MRI and them saying "there's nothing wrong" just like the x-rays indicated.

but there's no way it's fine. it hurts if i push myself up on the bed with the injured wrist or try to complete a single pushup.

i guess i'll call around tomorrow for price quotes. do you think they can give me a quote without a doctor's referral form? (the doctor has one at the office as they claim to be trying to book me an appointment)

so it's either
a) i ignore the pain and hope it goes away - i don't see this happening as it seems to be gradually getting worse
b) pay out the a$$ for an MRI and hope i get suitable results/treatment
c) keep working out and hope it goes away, meanwhile probably worsening the injury furthermore


god damn i miss lifting weights!!

being broken sucks

[chkolny541]

Originally posted by Dumbass17

c) keep working out and hope it goes away, meanwhile probably worsening the injury furthermore


god damn i miss lifting weights!!

i think everyone would advise strongly against option C

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by chkolny541


i think everyone would advise strongly against option C
ya i know
i lifted a few days after i hurt it and then havent' lifted since (almost 3 weeks now) and it's driving me nuts that i can't work out.
cardio is not fun. i miss the gym gym gym gym

[oilerfan4lyfe]

I needed a knee MRI last yr and had to wait 6 months for it so I know how you feel...all the good the stupid MRI did 6 months down the road - I couldn't fricken walk and I still had to wait 6 months.

You do have some options though...

You can get it done privately...will cost you about $1000 but they should be able to accomodate you within a week

You can go to a sports med clinic and ask them to refer you - I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I've heard that referrals from them for an MRI get priority over general practioner referrals so you might be able to get in quicker.

If you didn't go to your family doc, visit him/her - just like with the point above they can apparently get you in faster than if you went to a walk in clinic.

You can try going to Lethbridge or Med Hat and seeing if you can get it done faster.

[Dumbass17]

yeah i went to my family doc..

[nonlinear]

dumbass17, if i was your doctor i would tell you to stop being such a pussy and walk it off like a man hahahahhahhahahahahahhhah :nut:

[Aleks]

Ya it depends on how urgent your case is. I was at an MRI clinic today (Sunpark Plaza) and the wait is anywhere from few weeks up to a year.

[Kobe]

Carpel tunnel!!!

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by Kobe
Carpel tunnel!!!
nah i twisted it weird rock climbing...ass

[in*10*se]

i prayed for a cancellation, and got my MRI done 2weeks after it was booked.

private MRI's are expensive... and not covered by AHC...

[xolemonteaox]

I helped a patient with a private MRI, he did it for around $2000

If the MRI office finds that your requisition is urgent, they'll book you in earlier...sooo maybe your requisition didn't sound too urgent =T

see if you can get the office to call in again and see if they can book you in earlier. it worked a few times for some of our patients

I don't think it's worth a trip to a private one
maybe just a massage or what not will do, cause your x-ray said there was nothing wrong...

good luck buddee

[ZorroAMG]

Yeah seriously, MRI's are ridiculous through CHR.

I booked last July, got in Nov 4th and then the Neurosurgeon only got to my file April 6th...like WTF!?

[ee2k]

Originally posted by Dumbass17

nah i twisted it weird rock climbing...ass

Serves you right. I don't know how you people get enjoyment out of rock climbing. Yes, I am laughing, and no, I did not mean it.

Anyway, was in an accident recently and doc wanted to do an MRI. Fine. When doc puts in request, he sets a level of urgency, stat being something within a week, the next lower level is about a month. He set me at the latter, and it took two months of no response (actually got a call from hospital confirming my info and giving a 6-month ballpark). Went back to Dr and bitched at the fact that his level of urgency is not being met, I was in within 3 weeks after that.

With the system clogged, Drs have to thread carefully when referring on an urgent basis as they cannot be seen as abusing the system. But if you can still talk to your Dr and try to escalate it, then try. Otherwise, like others said, the private clinics around the city are the way to go for $.

[Dumbass17]

^^^^

just to reitterate: doc office said xrays were fine, i went in and said it still hurts and is getting worse and he suggested MRI and said they'll book me one. (+3 weeks ago now)

so, i just called the doctor's office and talked to some bytch...
i told her that my wrist is killing me and i can't type very well or open jars or drive and its interferring with my work. she just keeps saying in a monotone voice 'okay...okaaay..okaaay. yaaa..okaaay'.
so i ask if i can get in earlier or what the deal is...
she informs me that i don't even have an appointment yet. and says that once an appointment is booked (whenever the eff that is) that i can be put on the cancellation list and hopefully get in (who knows when or if)
so now i'm just frustrated and thinking i might as well book an MRI and pay the ~$775 myself.
FML


i think i'm going to have to just book another appointment with my doctor and actually speak to my doctor and say 'I CAN'T WORK/TYPE/DRIVE with my wrist, i need in now'
i think that explaining my situation to the receptionist over the phone wasn't the way to go haha

[msommers]

Originally posted by 5000Audi


ok i understand what you are saying, i was just telling my side from past experiance with MRI's, its awsome that he can get it.. if you wish to argue more on this please feel free to pm me

No offense homie but out of anyone on this board to trust about medical related questions, xrayvsn is the only person here to be 100% confident with.

[TKRIS]

Did you only get x-rays shortly after the injury?
I broke my wrist a couple years ago. They x-rayed it and said it looked OK, but if it still hurt in 2 weeks, to come back. I went back and they x-rayed it again and clearly saw the break.
They said that's not at all uncommon, especially with wrist injuries. Being swollen and new, a fracture is often not visible on the x-ray. After the swelling goes down and the fracture becomes more distinct, it appears much clearer on the x-ray. They showed me both x-rays, and there was a huge difference.

[Dumbass17]

injured on april 30th
x-rayed on may 14th

i'm going to see how the rest of my day goes and pay close attention to which movements aggitate my wrist. then i'm calling the doc tomorrow and booking another appointment so i can explain to him in greater detail what's up. hopefully he can do something other than saying 'we'll book you an mri' lol

[arian_ma]

Wrap your wrist first and don't effin move it!

[TKRIS]

Originally posted by Dumbass17
injured on april 30th
x-rayed on may 14th



I see, well then nevermind. ;)


The doctor put mine in a cast. I went home, realized that casts fucking suck, and proceeded to remove said cast. You can buy good braces with hard inserts from Shoppers. Get a good one because the cheap ones don't fit properly and allow too much movement. I wrapped mine in a tensor bandage for extra support.
Do that soon. If there's something wrong, the doctors are going to tell you to immobilize it, so you might as well do it now.

[BigMass]

Had a friend in the US playing college tennis. Twisted his ankle, nothing major. Had an MRI done on it 3 hours later just to “make sure”. It’s like we live on another planet up here.

[brown_guy]

I got my MRI done in like 8 days from when i saw the doc... I got a herniated Disc ...IT sucks :(

[ee2k]

Originally posted by Dumbass17
^^^^
i think i'm going to have to just book another appointment with my doctor and actually speak to my doctor and say 'I CAN'T WORK/TYPE/DRIVE with my wrist, i need in now'
i think that explaining my situation to the receptionist over the phone wasn't the way to go haha

That's exactly what you need to do. When I called a few times to the dr's offince to say WTF re: appointment, all I got was some soothing response from the lady on the phone. Given my situation, I had standing 2-3 week appointments with the Doctor, and talked to him directly during my next visit - I had done the xrays and they had come back negative as well. Woman on the phone cannot escalate the urgancy, she gets orders from the Dr and files it.

[Pacman]

Originally posted by brown_guy
I got my MRI done in like 8 days from when i saw the doc... I got a herniated Disc ...IT sucks :(


Does it require surgery? I've herniated at the L4/L5 level twice and have had two surgeries. It still feels shitty back there so I'm probably going to have the surgeon fuse it next time instead of dicking around with the microdisectomies.

[Pacman]

Originally posted by Dumbass17
^^^^

so i ask if i can get in earlier or what the deal is...
she informs me that i don't even have an appointment yet. and says that once an appointment is booked (whenever the eff that is) that i can be put on the cancellation list and hopefully get in (who knows when or if)
so now i'm just frustrated and thinking i might as well book an MRI and pay the ~$775 myself.
FML


i think i'm going to have to just book another appointment with my doctor and actually speak to my doctor and say 'I CAN'T WORK/TYPE/DRIVE with my wrist, i need in now'
i think that explaining my situation to the receptionist over the phone wasn't the way to go haha

Not to downplay the pain you are feeling, but I couldn't walk, stand up for more than 2 mins without whimpering like a little bitch and had the occasional loss of bladder control and I still was on the "wait list" for an MRI. If you are in that much agony, just pay for the private scan.

It was the best $700 I ever spent as I had the scan within a few days, was tagged as a priority patient to see spinal surgeon and had surgery booked and performed all within 5 weeks. If I had waited it would have taken anywhere from 3-4 months just to get the scan.

[brown_guy]

Originally posted by Pacman



Does it require surgery? I've herniated at the L4/L5 level twice and have had two surgeries. It still feels shitty back there so I'm probably going to have the surgeon fuse it next time instead of dicking around with the microdisectomies.
yup surgery to fuse it or put a fake one in like a hip replacement but gonna try to go with out and on some gabapentin ...c6/7 are f&^%* up so it sucks but try to do physio it might help first

[B4tMan]

I got mine done in US, pronto

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by Pacman


Not to downplay the pain you are feeling, but I couldn't walk, stand up for more than 2 mins without whimpering like a little bitch and had the occasional loss of bladder control and I still was on the "wait list" for an MRI. If you are in that much agony, just pay for the private scan.

It was the best $700 I ever spent as I had the scan within a few days, was tagged as a priority patient to see spinal surgeon and had surgery booked and performed all within 5 weeks. If I had waited it would have taken anywhere from 3-4 months just to get the scan.
wtf?!?!

that's ridiculous man! you were in that much pain, and they still put you far down the waiting list?!
jeez. i can see why you opted to pay for it!
mine's more of an annoying, can't put weight on it, can't twist it or bend it or pick up things or drive well with it pain. not sure if the MRI would be a waste of money or not :P it'd be nice if no results meant no charge haha
i'll make another attempt at getting the doc to bump me up. if not, then im' paying i guess
:thumbsdow

[bashir26]

Same thing happened to me but lifting weights.

you most likely have a TEAR in one of your ligaments. Only way to fix it is by surgery, but problem is its going to be hard to book a surgery for your wrist since they don't do it that often.

It sucks man, my wrist has been hurting for the past 5 years.

[msommers]

Originally posted by Dumbass17

wtf?!?!

that's ridiculous man! you were in that much pain, and they still put you far down the waiting list?!
jeez. i can see why you opted to pay for it!
mine's more of an annoying, can't put weight on it, can't twist it or bend it or pick up things or drive well with it pain. not sure if the MRI would be a waste of money or not :P it'd be nice if no results meant no charge haha
i'll make another attempt at getting the doc to bump me up. if not, then im' paying i guess
:thumbsdow

Definitely just pay for it man. It would be far worse to wait and not spend money, find out earlier diagnosis would have been helpful than pay money and it be nothing. You know this already:thumbsup:

[ryder_23]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG
Yeah seriously, MRI's are ridiculous through CHR.

I booked last July, got in Nov 4th and then the Neurosurgeon only got to my file April 6th...like WTF!?

I got booked mid july, had it right after august long, and saw my neurosurgeon a few days later...you got fucked, either that or I guess I have a much bigger problem then you, hahaha.

[badlivertt]

question to xrayvsn: what's the smallest slice size that you can get for MRI here? 5mm?

i've ordered a bunch of private MRIs at RC mayfair (very quick/easy to get in btw)... the sections seemed HUGE to the point of almost missing what i want to see.

[xrayvsn]

Originally posted by badlivertt
question to xrayvsn: what's the smallest slice size that you can get for MRI here? 5mm?

i've ordered a bunch of private MRIs at RC mayfair (very quick/easy to get in btw)... the sections seemed HUGE to the point of almost missing what i want to see.

Slice thickness is dependent on the area imaged and the sequences used. Areas with a lot more noise, motion, or sequences that require longer image acquisition may have thicker slices. It all comes down to the physics of MR imaging, and the opposing relationship of signal and resolution.

To answer your question - 3.0 mm for detail work like at the wrist, but dont expect that slice thickness with an abdominal MRI.

[badlivertt]

Originally posted by xrayvsn


Slice thickness is dependent on the area imaged and the sequences used. Areas with a lot more noise, motion, or sequences that require longer image acquisition may have thicker slices. It all comes down to the physics of MR imaging, and the opposing relationship of signal and resolution.

To answer your question - 3.0 mm for detail work like at the wrist, but dont expect that slice thickness with an abdominal MRI.

sweet deal. thanks. T1/T2/STIR sequences don't really matter to me... most of the time, i'm after tendon pathology in the lower extremity in a preop workup... i just try to find something black to follow.

are you one of the RC staff guys? if so, i've likely talked to you at some point..

[Dumbass17]

i got a doc's appointment to go in saturday. i'll tell him that i am sucking at life cause of my wrist and just straight up see if there's anything he can do, or if i need to pay myself :banghead:

god i whine alot

i think it's just getting to me cause i have 3 injuries on the go right now :( :thumbsdow

[ninefourfour]

Originally posted by xrayvsn


Slice thickness is dependent on the area imaged and the sequences used. Areas with a lot more noise, motion, or sequences that require longer image acquisition may have thicker slices. It all comes down to the physics of MR imaging, and the opposing relationship of signal and resolution.

To answer your question - 3.0 mm for detail work like at the wrist, but dont expect that slice thickness with an abdominal MRI.

Its amazing how everyone keeps giving their opinion on MRI's and XRays, yadda yadda yadda...

XRAYVSN is a fricken radiologist for gods sake. So i'm pretty sure there isn't anybody here any more qualified then him to be giving advice. To the OP, just listen to XRAYVSN and i'm sure you'll be in good hands. :D

[ZorroAMG]

Originally posted by ryder_23


I got booked mid july, had it right after august long, and saw my neurosurgeon a few days later...you got fucked, either that or I guess I have a much bigger problem then you, hahaha.

Wow....that IS fucked.

Fucking Alberta "Health" Care...

How did yours turn out? Everything ok? Mine was .... interesting lol

[Kritafo]

Also Chalk River is closing for up to 4 months. They supply more than 1/2 of the world supply of isotopes.

My sister is waiting for a brain MRI in June in ON, though I do see most of Alberta's isotopes come from the Dutch reactor.

[xrayvsn]

Originally posted by Kritafo
Also Chalk River is closing for up to 4 months. They supply more than 1/2 of the world supply of isotopes.

My sister is waiting for a brain MRI in June.

I believe that will impact Nuclear Medicine studies which require radioisotopes (Technecium, Indium, Gallium, I131 etc).

It should not cause an issue with MRI exams, which do not use radioisotopes. Gadolinium chelates have a different source, and are not dependent on a reactor for production. Plenty of reasons for long MRI wait lists, but Chalk River closing down isn't one of them.

[Kritafo]

Originally posted by xrayvsn


I believe that will impact Nuclear Medicine studies which require radioisotopes (Technecium, Indium, Gallium, I131 etc).

It should not cause an issue with MRI exams, which do not use radioisotopes. Gadolinium chelates have a different source, and are not dependent on a reactor for production. Plenty of reasons for long MRI wait lists, but Chalk River closing down isn't one of them.

Sorry I didn't realize that. I just know I was speaking with my brother in law and he was worried my sister wouldn't get her monthly MRI for her GBM brain tumor.

[Dumbass17]

UPDATE

so i went and paid for my own MRI
went to the doctor for results today

everything seems normal
fuck my life...sorta i guess
there goes a waste of $775 and more than what my benefits will cover. :banghead:

my doctor suggested i go to physio but i've done physio and it's a waste of time the majority of the time.

i'm pretty miserable.

id on't know what to do now
i REALLY miss lifting weights and want to get in the gym, cardio is boring.

i'm tempted to just use lighter weights and take it easy on the wrist, and when it starts getting bad i'll just the workout short.
but at the same time, i'm worried i'll just injure it worst and prolong the recovery time

also. FML whinewhinewhine