MRI results and Pain symptoms not matching. Dr says nothing he can do.

Sbraden, please also get evaluated by a neurologist ( a dr who diagnoses medical neurological problems that aren’t treated surgically), as you could have both the spine issues and a peripheral neuropathy, which needs sorted out. An EMG test can help with that. Mayo will likely get neurologist involved as part of your workup. PN is very common and causes numbness, tingling, foot drop, aching leg pain, weakness in muscles, gait disturbances. There’s a lot of overlap between PN and the symptoms from bulging discs and compression of spinal nerve roots. They are treated differently once the situation is clarified. Good luck! You have been dismissed and a second opinion away from any connection to your current Dr is a must!

Hey Sbraden Did U have the drop foot, numb toes. Prior to Your decompression and Fusion? Also Feel like your going crazy. Is about how Ya describe it am there doing that. Do U take anything for the pain.

@sbraden1234 I think your pain does follow and match up where you have spine issues. This is a dermatome map. It shows you where nerves end up that leave the spinal cord at each level. If you circle or shade in where your pain is, it should match the imaging descriptions for where your issues are. These spinal nerves exit at the nerve roots which are a predictable result. The way you describe your symptoms, it does follow the dermatome map.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535401/figure/article-29335.image.f1/
When you have a disc bulge into the central spinal canal, it can compress the spinal cord, and can affect any nerves below that level. This is very hard to predict exactly where pain will be felt because the spinal cord floats and moves in the spinal fluid, and it all depends on how you move or bend, and pain can change locations. If by chance, you have any bad discs compressing the spinal cord in either cervical or thoracic levels, that will confuse the diagnosis because those can generate pain that is hard to predict. This will not correlate to the dermatome map.

When your neck hurts, this may be confusing your surgeon because that wouldn't be involved in any lumbar pathology. If you do have some neck disc issues in addition to lumbar, it will confuse things, and the spinal cord in the neck can generate pain in the legs. These are the same nerve axons (cells) as they travel to lower body parts that pass through the neck.

I had this situation call funicular pain, and because surgeons could not correctly map my pain, I was refused 5 times. I came to Mayo to a surgeon who understood this. I have a bulging lumbar disk, but it is asymptomatic. I had a cervical fusion which solved all the pain that I had all over my body and legs.

It's also possible that you surgeon doesn't want to consider a possible bad result on his record of his surgery, and it is easier to send you away than confront a possible failure. I think a second opinion is a good idea, and do that at another facility not connected with your current surgeon because doctors don't want to challenge the opinion of a friend and colleague.

Do yo have another surgeon in mind at a respected institution?

Jennifer, how can I find a Mayo Dr to help me. I have extreme right side butt pain into hips with numbing in foot last 3 toes so either S1 or L5. No local doctors have been able to help. MRI doesnt show really much. I do have fusion L5 S1 2023.

My symptoms improved after surgery. The sciatica pain prior to the operation was excruciating. I think that was the key change. My hip pain and stabbing back pain did not go away.
The last nerve test showed a lack of reflexes in the back of the ankle and a lack of sensation at the side of the right foot. He never tested the upper limbs.
The drop foot appeared after surgery. He has gotten somewhat better over the past year.
I have wondered many times if something was injured during surgery. I was very surprised two weeks after surgery to see lab test results for soft tissue removed during surgery. After reading the surgeons report of the surgery there was a cyst deeply embedded that added an hour to the surgery to remove since its position could have impacted nerves. My right leg has never been right after surgery.
I took Gabapentin for a few months after surgery. It really was not helping so I stopped taking it.
I have not had injections at the L2/L3 site or the right S1. I am now scheduled to see a physiatrist in early December.
I have not tried the pain patches but I will on your recommendation. Thank you for the suggestions.

I'm having neurological symptoms and ongoing headaches which made me go to 3 doctors. Recently, I went to a Neuro and Spine Specialist, on physical examination he diagnosed me with C6 Radiculopathy. I did a brian MRI (screening only), routine blood work, and Cervical spine MRI.
Both brain and blood tests were normal, cervical spine MRI showed only Straightening of the cervical lordosis, mild disc desiccation from C2-C3 to C5-C6 levels and my cervical spinal dimensions are quite narrow ranging 11mm - 11.3mm. No compression, herniated disc or bone spur.
I am really having a hard time dealing with pain everyday which does not correlate with my reports.
Can anyone suggest?