[invisable]

Did any of you have a negative spinal tap while trying to get dx of ms?

Mine was negative, but not so sure I can take comfort in that, even though neuro. implies it is definitive for ms.....

[Erin524]

I didnt have an LP. My neuro diagnosed me without one. Said it was invasive and he didnt think that I needed to be put thru that if I was able to be diagnosed based on the symptoms.

[ewizabeth]

Mine was negative but my MS neuro said it isn't necessary to even have the test anymore. A regular, small town neuro performed the spinal tap. I had brain and spine lesions on the MRI and symptoms of MS separated by time.

[TheSleeper]

Mine was negative also, my first neuro screw up the first one, not enough fluid for all the tests. Second done under the scope negative for everything, and a wrong diagnosis from the second because of the negative test, he also refused to order any other tests, couldn`t properly answer questions on his diagnosis, so I asked to see a real doctor.

I got a diagnosis after more testing was done, offered a repeat of the LP but passed on it when the specialist said that even if it was negative again he wouldn`t change his dx.

[Dejibo]

Alot of folks get a normal or negative spinal tap unless there is active inflammation going on. if you are not in a flare, or in a peroid of remission then most folks ring up negative.

I was diagnosed without the tap, and the MD told me there was no point in putting me thru it unless I was IN a flare. They use MRI studies now, and symptoms.

The negative tap doesnt mean you have MS and it doesnt mean you dont have MS. it just means you are not inflammed at the moment it was taken. Hang in there.

[NurseNancy]

i had a + tap, 2 O-bands.

but you can be dx'd without it. i was initially dx'd without the tap based on my neuro exam and mri's.

[Debbie D]

Mine was negative, but it was a couple of weeks after I had symptoms crop up...the neuro I saw at the time still put me on DMDs, and said "probable MS", based on sxs and MRI...
Just keep a symptom journal with dates and symptoms, when they flare up and when they dissipate...that way you don't have to rely on your memory when you see the neuro...

[barb02]

Mine was positive, but I was experiencing a major flare at the time of the procedure. I wish my neuro had thought it was not necessary as my MRI already indicated MS.

[Lady]

I had one eons ago 1981, in the hospital when I got my dx. I had another to go on DMD's in 2001, that one showed no bands, but the total proteins were high.

Albumin showed high and limpedic (sp?) and Beta was low, on the finding too. I am not sure what that meant. MS Neuro explained it but I never got the high tech info to stick in my head. I looked them up but it had no meaning to me. This might have been in the blood sample they take along with the LP. They should do that to compare.

[Snoopy]

Hello invisable,

As mentioned already -- Some have been dx'd without a LP, positive LPs and negative LPs.

I had a positive LP at the time of diagnosis. I was in the middle of a severe exacerbation and my neuro said we had a better chance of the LP showing something...in my case he was correct.