u/sillymos

I’ve been lurking around this sub for a few weeks and thought I’d share my good news:

About two months ago, I noticed that my right nipple had become unusually sensitive. During the rest of my cycle, my entire breast felt firmer and increasingly painful — to the point where I e.g. couldn’t comfortably lie on my stomach. The pain usually started around the second half of my cycle.

I’m used to having hormonal breast pain, but this time it was noticeably more one-sided and stronger than usual. At some point, I could also actually feel a movable lump in my breast, which was the point where I really started to get scared.

Since I have multiples cases of breast cancer in my family, I made an appointment with my gynecologist. She examined my breast and initially thought it felt like hormonal changes, brushed it off as I’m in my mid twenties. But something felt off to me and I decided to book an ultrasound later on.

The ultrasound showed ACR 3 breast density and, in my right breast around the 8–9 o’clock position, a roughly 2.5 cm ill-defined hypoechoic area that looked noticeably different from the surrounding breast tissue. My axillary lymph nodes were unremarkable, and it was classified as BI-RADS 3.

We decided to do a biopsy. Honestly, I found the procedure much less scary than I had expected, and it went over really quickly. It wasn’t particularly painful, afterwards I had a pretty big bruise, but I didn’t need any painkillers at all.

A week later, I had my follow-up appointment to discuss the results. The diagnosis was fibrocystic mastopathy, with no evidence of malignancy. I’m supposed to have a follow-up mammogram in a year and keep monitoring in case anything changes.

I’m incredibly relieved and grateful to be able to go home with good news, but at the same time, I can’t stop thinking about everyone who has to leave such an appointment with very different news.
If you’re currently waiting for biopsy results, I’m sending you lots of love and hoping for good news 🫂

Hi everyone,

I finally saw a neurologist who specializes in nerve ultrasound, and I'm attaching the relevant part of my report below.

I'm no longer as familiar with the TOS topic as I used to be, so I'm not sure I'm interpreting my findings correctly or how well they explain my symptoms.

The main finding seems to be pectoralis minor syndrome. I also already knew that I have ulnar nerve subluxation at the elbow, as well as diagnoses of POTS and small fiber neuropathy (SFN). The neurologist also noted that my joints are somewhat hypermobile. However, I have already been evaluated for EDS, and that has been ruled out.

Now I'm a bit confused and was hoping someone here could help me understand the report. Does this finding mean that I have TOS because of the pectoralis minor syndrome, or not?
Up until now, I had always assumed I most likely had nTOS. However, after reading the report, my regular neurologist mentioned vascular TOS instead. At the same time, the report states that there is a position-dependent compression of the subclavian artery in the pectoral region.

I'm honestly not sure how to interpret that. Does this point toward nTOS, vTOS, arterial TOS (aTOS), or something else entirely?

If anyone has experience with similar findings or is familiar with this topic, I'd really appreciate your thoughts. I'd also be very happy to chat privately if someone has been through something similar.

For now, surgery has not been discussed at all. The current recommendation is to start with physiotherapy and possibly consider a trial of Botox treatment.

Thanks so much in advance! :)

For anyone who wants more background on my symptoms, here's a link to one of my previous Reddit posts where I explained everything in more detail:

https://www.reddit.com/r/thoracicoutletsupport/s/nofYhyL4Gy

—

Nerve Ultrasound (Neurosonography)
The median nerve at the entrance to the carpal tunnel measures 8 mm² bilaterally, which is within the normal range.
The ulnar nerve demonstrates normal cross-sectional areas at the elbow bilaterally (7 mm²). During elbow flexion, bilateral ulnar nerve subluxation is observed.
The supraclavicular brachial plexus appears unremarkable. There is no evidence of compression involving the lower brachial plexus.
The cervical nerve roots C5–C8are unremarkable.
With the shoulders abducted to 90°, no direct costoclavicular stenosis can be demonstrated; maximal flow velocities remain below 200 cm/s. However, with slight posterior repositioning (retraction) of the shoulders, there is a marked acceleration of blood flow in the pectoral segment of the subclavian artery, reaching 400 cm/s on the right and 300 cm/s on the left. No venous stasis is observed.

Assessment
The patient presents with symptoms suggestive of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS); however, neither nerve conduction studies nor the current postoperative ultrasound examination demonstrate findings consistent with CTS.
Instead, there is position-dependent compression of the subclavian artery within the pectoral region. This may produce symptoms that mimic carpal tunnel syndrome ("CTS mimic").
Consistent with this vascular compression, the patient reports prolonged nocturnal arm weakness, which is compatible with transient ischemia.
The symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) are partially obscured by various coexisting complaints. Also noteworthy is mild generalized joint hypermobility, a finding that is frequently associated with TOS.
Recommended treatment includes physiotherapy focusing on the pectoral musculature. If necessary, a therapeutic trial of botulinum toxin injections may also be considered.

I tried to put the solution on a I suppose cotton shirt today - and sort of failed miserably as the fabric was soaking up the solution immediately.

Any tips on how to approach this, which fabric is best to work with and which methods for application?
I’ve heard about using a spray bottle, but I am also kind of trying to aim for clear-cut edges…
I am open to any suggestions tho! :)

Hi everyone:)

I'm confused by my recent MRI results and would appreciate some input.

I became chronically ill almost 3 years ago (severe pots) and spent a long time bedridden. In 2024, a lumbar MRI showed mild disc degeneration and small protrusions at L4/L5 and L5/S1 but no nerve compression.
Over the last year I've developed worsening low back pain, especially after prolonged sitting, lying down, or car rides. Sometimes the pain would radiate into a leg, but only temporarily. PT helped to some extent, but no major improvements as it’s hard to keep up having chronic illness.

About 10 days ago, after sitting at a dinner table for around 4 hours, I stood up and developed pain radiating into my left leg. Since then I've had tingling, pins and needles, and a heavy/tight feeling in the left leg, sometimes extending into the calf and possibly the foot. This is the first time these symptoms present like this.

I finally had a new MRI and expected a herniated disc or something worse compared to the last MRI, but the report only says mild disc protrusion changes, no herniation, and no nerve root compression.

Why did my back pain become so bad? Can sciatica-like symptoms happen despite a relatively normal MRI? Has anyone had significant leg tingling/pain with no obvious nerve compression on imaging? Would you seek a second opinion on the MRI if symptoms clearly worsened but imaging looks fairly benign?

I'm relieved there was no major herniated disc, but honestly I'm struggling to reconcile the MRI findings with what I'm feeling physically.

Thanks in advance! xx