Any autoimmunity in your family? Even small things like psoriasis.

I don't know if you mentioned in a previous post your age.

Are you familiar with dermatome maps? If not, you can find a million images of the map with a basic Google search.

All areas below the skull are connected to major nerve roots that are connected to the spinal cord, to the left and the right of the cord.

A lot of times you can look at the map and based on where your pain is, you can match it to a nerve root and vertebral level. This indicates nerve compression or displacement. If you then look at your radiology reports, if you see that particular disk is bulging or there is spondylosis, you can ask your doctor about it.

The crummy thing is that an MRI is a snapshot of one particular moment in time. I make it a point to push myself the before a scan. That way I'm in pain and inflamed. Staying away from anti-inflammatories for a couple of weeks before a scan helps too.

Something to consider: insurance companies have a long list of requirements that need to be met before they will pay for various therapies and treatments. Your doctor knows this. He might be running through these requirements to not only satisfy your insurance company, but also as a way to rule things out and reach a diagnosis. He's running a differential in his head. If yes here, then go here. If no here, then this is ruled out.

It's incredibly difficult to share all my knowledge in a forum. I have a ton of questions that make giving my thoughts difficult.

You obviously have osteoarthritis in your spine. Age related? You are probably irritating your back with basic and daily activities because there is weakness there. This is causing intermittent swelling that then presses on nerves which also get irritated and cranky. It becomes a vicious cycle.

OR you have an underlying inflammatory disease process going on and the wrong type of specialist is treating you based on the wrong differential to begin with.

Not very helpful, I'm sure. If nothing else, I hope the dermatome map opens up new dialog with your doctor.

It might be worth getting a new set of eyes on your case. A second opinion.

Last thought: in some people, Schmorl's nodes can cause pain. Especially if there is edema in the same area. That swelling is actually being caused by the node. Swelling=pain.

Keep me posted on how you're progressing. I'm sorry I can't make this easier for you.

It took from 1990 to 2022 before I was correctly diagnosed. In the meantime, a heck of a lot of irreversible damage has been done. I get it.