I thought this may be a good place to ask since many of you have probably had MRIs of the spine. I have pressure in the middle of my back that causes pain, spasms, etc. I believe it may be from a B12 deficiency that has gone undiagnosed. Due to several other symptoms I am having, my Dr decided to send me to a neurologist first. This Dr ordered a MRI on the lumbar spine with no contrast. I'll also be having an EMG in a month.

Can anyone tell me what part of the spine the MRI will show? I know lumbar means lower back but does that mean below the shoulders? Will it show the middle of my back? Thank you so much!

Lumbar means the lower back -- it will NOT show the Mid-back. If you "google" "lumbar spine" and do a search on it, you'll probably find charts that show you different parts of the spine.

It's too bad your doc isn't ordering the MRI with contrast too -- that's usually better at detecting problems when it's ordered with and without.

If you get a report of the MRI for yourself (you CAN ask for it), and then post it here, we can explain it too you. Best of luck and I hope that nothing is seriously wrong. God bless & take care. Hugs, Lee

Thanks Lee! I called my Dr office & let them know what the Dr ordered & what my concern was & the girl said, no that will show your mid back. It shows a good portion of the spine. So I said, oh really? I thought lumbar just meant lower back but it will show the middle of the back also? and she said yes. Hopefully this won't be a waste of time.

Regardless of what else is being done, could it hurt to start taking B-12 and see if you get any relief/improvement? I'm a little surprised your doc wouldn't order a B-12 test anyway, as it's a lot faster, easier, and less expensive than an MRI, but at the least he should be willing to discuss with you his reasons for the tests & order he's doing them.

A lot of people on this site take B-12 for many reasons. If you think you're really deficient, 5,000 mcg sublingual of methyl cobalamin/ day for a few months is a good way to go, then re-evaluate/adjust at that time.

Doc

I am on B12. I was diagnosed in June after 2 bad loss of balance spells. I've seen countless specialists for odd symptoms but nobody ever considered B12 deficiency. After this happened & I did research on my own, I told the Dr I wanted to be tested so he agreed. It came back at 163, very low. First month, I got weekly injections, now I am on monthly injections. My symptoms have worsened though.

If the doc ordered a "lumbar" MRI, it will NOT show the mid-back. I don't care what the girl at the office said. LOL I've had MANY lumbar MRI's and NONE of them showed the mid-back.

So I think the girl at the office was wrong -- but you'll find out when you get your report. Good luck & let us know what it says. Hugs, Lee

Monthly injections are not enough for most people.

I suggest you use an oral product of active form B12 called methylcobalamin. Take 5mg daily orally on an empty stomach for best absorption.

We have had many people here on monthly injections which did now work well. They are cyano form and that is a synthetic and the injection only lasts 72 hrs in the blood. Taking it orally gives you B12 every day, so your body can respond in a more normal way.

Pennies a day... available online at iherb.com, Puritan's Pride,
Swansons, and Vitacost. Make sure you get METHYLcobalamin!

Have they retested yet, and if so, what are the levels at that time? Most injectable B-12, AFAIK, is cyanocobalamin, which not all people assimilate well (which could also explain the deficiency to begin with). Methycobalamin is ostensibly better assimilated and relatively inexpensive, but must be taken on an empty stomach. There's a lot more info about this on the B-12 discussion thread in the Peripheral Neuropathy forum:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread85103.html

Were any other blood tests done (vit D? others?), and if you'd care to share the results (and the odd symptoms), some folks here may be able to offer some suggestions or other things to look into, or point to other resources to follow-up on your own.

Doc

Another thing to understand is that your initial test is very very LOW.... lab ranges in US are not accurate anymore and report levels in the 200's and "normal". Doctors then follow THAT without getting continuing education on the subject.

The thread linked by Dr. Smith is my thread, and explains this.

You should test above 500 to show benefit. You would have to wait a week after an injection to get a useful reading, as the injection lasts about 72 hours in the blood. Waiting a week may show more accurately. Doctors ASSUME every one should get monthly shots. But none of us are identical in the way be process B12.

B12 has to enter the spinal cord to get into the CNS. When blood levels are low, your cerebrospinal fluid is low, and this is very bad. MS and Fibro people have been tested in studies and typically show low B12 in the spinal fluid. The B12 in the CSF mirrors the blood and if your blood is very low, below 500, your CSF will be low too.

Pennies a day of a quality product that has no toxic upper limit?
There are not even drugs, this safe and inexpensive. You can take care of yourself in this regard, and only use the doctor for testing. Don't expect a clear interpretation by most doctors in fact. On my thread is a link the new medical information from American Association of Family Physicians. Please read that and you will understand this topic much better than most doctors today.

Westgrl,

All the answers you are getting are sort of right. A lumbar MRI depending on the facility has different levels vertically that they will image. Depending on your physical size and the facility, your sagittal images may go up to T7 or T8 which loosly could be considered your midback. Maybe higher if you include the scout images. On the other hand, axial images may only include L3 through S1 for orientation. It sort of depends on the facility and what your doc ordered based off of what he is differentially diagnosing.

If you are having mid back pain, a thoracic MRI would be thoughtful but bear in mind that high on the list of mechanical reasons a doc would order such a scan would be to rule out a thoracic disc issue; 0.5% of all hernaitions...very rare! A cervical disc problem can radiate to the interscapular regions so there is a reason for suspicion there too, if that is where your pain is located. There are also other intrinsic non-spinal pathologies that can be referred from within that should be in the mix for consideration of mid back pain....

Good luck!