[bddouglas]

It's been a year and I just got the results of the brain MRI that my neuro had done last week...I have issues with my nerves jerking, thrashing, and flailing whenever they darned well decide to...yeah, they decided to during the MRI...I actually felt like I had a whiplash for 3 days following the MRI...Here is the radiologist's report:

FINDINGS: This study is limited due to a considerable amount of patient's motion
which she was unable to control. There are no acute abnormal areas of
increased or decreased signal intensities, diffusion restriction or enhancement.
The ventricles have normal size and shape and there is no midline shift. There
are no extra-axial collections of fluid. The major vessel signal flow voids are
identified. There are several stable areas of T2 hyperintensities scattered
throughout the periventricular deep white matter of the frontal parietal lobes
bilaterally with no abnormal enhancement. No new lesions identified. These
areas are nonspecific but raises the possibility of multiple sclerosis and clinical
correlation and follow-up is recommended. There is Mucosal thickening of the
maxillary sinuses bilaterally consistent with chronic sinusitis

IMPRESSION:
1. No acute abnormalities
2. Stable focal areas of hyperintensities in the periventricular the white matter of
the frontoparietal lungs bilaterally which are nonspecific but raises the possibility
of possible MS. Clinical correlation and follow-up is recommended.
3. Bilateral maxillary sinusitis

So, I guess I will continue to settle for the Fibro Dx and just do another follow up MRI in a year. I want to thank each of you for being here for me through all of this and being so encouraging.

[SallyC]

Sorry for your limited MRI DX.

Stay with us if you need us.

[TXBatman]

Have you talked to your neuro about the MRI result yet and has the neuro seen the actual scan, not just the report? Because that report reads almost exactly like the one that I got right before I got an MS diagnosis. You clearly have some lesions showing in areas typical of MS (T2 hyperintensities in periventricular white matter), so I guess the question I would have is what is keeping the neuro from wanting to call it MS? Is it just the number of lesions? Or have you not had new lesions or new symptoms separated by time from your original set? My advice would be not to assume anything until you actually see the neuro and the neuro actually sees the scans. If your neuro doesn't want to look at the scans and is just reading the radiologist's report, go get a new neuro.

If you read my story on the "My Story" thread, you will see that in my case, even though the radiologist's report said the equaivalent of "no changes", when the neuro looked at the scans, she found enough changes to dx me with MS. Good luck with things, but be careful not to read too much into what the radiologist is saying, because they are purely looking at the scans and are likely to be unaware of symptoms or other clinical evidence that would support a specific dx.

[SallyC]

Good Advise TX..

[bddouglas]

Thanks for your advise, TXBatman. I am currently waiting on my neuro to call me and discuss the results and I will ask him if he has seen the scan. I am not scheduled to see him until June.

Last year, the only test leading towards MS was the brain MRI. All other tests were negative and did not lead towards MS. My neuro referred me to the MS specialist in our area and he ruled out MS and suggested that I have follow up scans every 12-18 months and if after 5 years if there are still no changes then the subject would be dead in the water. My neuro is concerned about the number of hyperintensities that I have in 7 years, going from none to many.

I placed a call to my neuro's office yesterday and was told the nurse was with someone and she would call me back in 30 minutes. I still have not heard from anyone in the office, so I guess I will be calling again tomorrow.

[NurseNancy]

yes, i agree that f/u is important.
was the mri with and without contrast?

have you had an LP?
keep a symptom journal for your dr. over time having a hx of problems can be helpful. sometimes MS doesn't really declare itself and become easier to dx.

keep us posted.

[bddouglas]

Thank you, NurseNancy.

The MRI was with and without contrast. I had an LP on June 3, 2014. The only remarkable thing on the LP was this about the O-Bands:The patient's CSF contains 3 well defined gamma restriction bands that are also present in the patient's corresponding serum sample, but some bands in the CSF are more prominent. This pattern is associated with Guillain-Barre's syndrome, peripheral neuropathy or increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier secondary to infection or trauma. Oligoclonal bands are present in the CSF of more than 85% of patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis (MS).

So, I am still waiting for my neuro to call me about the results. Since a cold front is coming in tonight and we are expecting a hard freeze by morning, I will reach out to his office tomorrow. I plan to stay in tomorrow.

[Debbie D]

Good advice from previous posts--let us know what you hear

[Starznight]

Okay, it might be time to seek a new neuro, I had nearly the same results from my contrasted mri and lumbar puncture, and my neuro had no problem at all calling the duck a duck, that is to say I got diagnosed with MS. I think it was 5 bands in the LP but all that did was kind of cement it. i think you need at least 3, which you have. And as far as the mri went there were only 3 lesions present and the cervical spine was clear.

Granted, I don't know exactly where the 'white matter' is on your films, but I would definitely ask for a second opinion.