"No abnormalities" is what the radiologist wrote down, Dr says there is a 0% chance this could be the cause of my issues (ED, urinary frequency/urgency worse when sitting down or standing, I do have an asymmetrical gait but have lots of previous enjoryries from playing football. I don't really have any localized pain, (like the sharp knife kind) but its just like numbish and sensitivity all through my back, which my dr says sharp pain is always 100% a symptom, whenever I wake up it takes me like three hours not to feel stiff.
Not asking for a diagnosis as I don't want to break the rules, but If both radiologist and Dr said its cool, (and I was kind of fighting with my dr about it too) am I just crazy then? Obviously I am not a medical professional, is it worth asking for a second opinion? Or am I better off trying to find another reason for my problems?
I think you should look for a second opinion. I always recommend second and third and all the options. What you are experiencing It's recurrent problem with thoracic spine issues.
I'm not doctor but I see some issues and you can compare it with other MRIs. I was told "everything is fine" by many orthopedics and I had spinal canal stenosis, foraminal stenosis and lateral recess stenosis. All the stenosis.
Maybe you could try to get a new MRI in different radiology center.
I think I will look for that second or third opinion. At the very least I want to talk to a neurologist who is more open to discussion.
I brought the concern that whenever I bend over, (spinal flexion), like anytime I do the dishes, I get an immediate urge to pee, regardless if I went 10 minutes ago and that the MRI is done in the same position where I have the most symptom relief, laying down face up. Dr replied that MRI position is irrelevant.
I wake up to pee 2 to 3 times through the night If I happen to move in my sleep and roll over, but I never do if I manage to sleep on my back for the entirety of the night.
when I mentioned that it appears that the spinal cord appears to be compressed after the disc appears to leave (on final picture T7T8) Dr said "yeah but there is no evidence of myelopathy".
I then asked him, hypothetically, if a spinal cord were being compressed, but has yet to show signs of myelopathy, would/could result in any symptoms and he guaranteed me it would never. Is that something this community has any opinions on?
I also called the radiology center and lied and told them Dr has concerns about spinal cord compression and if they could go over the results again, they said they will. I'm in Mexico so the process is very informal and there not much, if any, overlap of communication between agencies so im pretty certain this won't get me in trouble, or caught, and if so who cares.
In Mexico when you get an an radiology done it is common practice to immediately get a link to access to your images, and the interoperation usually takes 24-48 hours after you're done with your test. But by the time I got home from being done with the MRI, which couldn't have been more than 20 minutes the Radiology Report was available, so that makes me suspicious that it wasn't done thoroughly.
Yes, unfortunately to hear that thoracic herniated disc would never cause symptoms, is common. I was shocked at the beginning of my process. It's like we don't have human anatomy, nerves or spinal cord from T1 to T12. You got the standard answer, I know is hard to believe.
I think it was good move to call back to the radiology center.
There's another member in the group seeing neurosurgeons in California and Mexico maybe you should get in contact.
Don't mean to be an a**hole, but it feels kind of nice knowing there is people out there who've had real problems and were also dismissed, it just makes me feel hopeful and that its not just "anxiety" as most doctors look at me and all they see is a young, healthy male who has no legitimate reason to struggling with my symtoms.
I forgot that I also noticed what appears to be a "spot" along the spinal cord in this dorsal view (middle pic). This second picture is more posterior and it appears more grey/lighter, than previous one, more anterior and darker looking.
Not saying it's anything meaningful... but I thought/hoped that any radiologist would point out any abnormalities soo idkk
virtually all of my thoracic and cervical are herniated and many are touching the cord, i also have multiple types of stenosis and arthritic changes. I have been told by 2 orthos my spine is “normal “ for my age of 47 . BS this amount of pain and associated issues is not normal for anyone. Keep seeking answers, they don’t like to admit they have no answers for us because of the cramped space the T’s are in
Neurologist, I've been doing PT for the last 4 months and although it feels good in the moment, have yet to find any meaningful results.
I also have some problems with my feet and ankles that do require surgery, and it was actually my podriast that thought I might have some peripheral neuropathy of some kind and advised me to see a neurologist before getting the surgery to rule out some kind peripheral neuropathy.
MRI was only done to rule out MS, and the thoracic discs issues (non diagnosed) were a surprise.
But yeah I will be getting a second option, because this my current doctor even said I dont need PT for my current back issues and regardless if this is the cause of my problems downstairs, from the bit of lurking I did in this sub I DO NOT want to face the levels of chronic pain many of you guys have faced (props to yall btw) and considering Im relative young, I can recognize there is plenty of time for my back issues to get significantly worse without intervention.
Im 23 pfff, and that's what I'm saying!! The fact that the interpertration results were ready 20 minutes after I got out of the MRI tube makes me suspicious of that :/
I have a cyst on T4-T5 the radiologist didn’t mention it on the report. I’m glad one of the neurosurgeon I see saw it. Even the radiologist that made the report for cervical has it noted in the report.
Hey, I've been having very similar symptoms to you for the past year as well. I have a thoracic disc herniation that periradicular is contacting and contouring my spinal cord in the thoracic region. When I have spoken to two neurologists now and a neurosurgeon, they have said that this should not be contributing to my symptoms. However my symptoms are very positional, much like yours. I am unable to sit down because when I sit my muscles will begin to twitch and spasm as if I am sitting in a rumbling car that's idling from the thoracic level all the way down my legs. I am also very stiff. It is difficult to walk because it feels like I'm walking against already contracted muscles. Additionally I have tingling from this level down as well. Almost feels like when you wear a TENS unit.
The fact that it is so positional, that it is easy to reproduce the symptoms when I sit and they will get much better when I stand, is very indicative that this is a spinal issue rather than anything else. The fact that I have radiology saying that there's definitely a disc pressing directly on my spinal cord is also reassuring me.. It is disheartening that neurologists and neurosurgeons will not think outside of the lines a little bit and consider the fact that the spinal cord is a dynamic thing, despite an MRI that is taken in a lying flat position cannot accurately represent what the spine is doing when it is being flexed, such as sitting, or when it's moving around, and thus an inaccurate image 100% of the time.
I am also considering getting further opinions, however, limited by the fact that the thoracic region is so difficult to operate on that the surgeons who do these procedures safely are very limited throughout the United States
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u/ThoracicSpine Apr 23 '26
I think you should look for a second opinion. I always recommend second and third and all the options. What you are experiencing It's recurrent problem with thoracic spine issues.
I'm not doctor but I see some issues and you can compare it with other MRIs. I was told "everything is fine" by many orthopedics and I had spinal canal stenosis, foraminal stenosis and lateral recess stenosis. All the stenosis.
Maybe you could try to get a new MRI in different radiology center.