We went to the hospital for the blood tests and Jacob was so funny, they took 5 tubes of blood, he came out with his arm stretched straight out and said that hurt... He has been wanting to get a tattoo which we are against but he said that one needled hurt..I don't think I'll be getting a tattoo..

I called the MRI place to see if the films had been read and if the reports were ready, she said yes, so I went by to pick up the typed reports..I couldn't stand it. I know from my own experience my doctor likes to see the films himself, he says that radiologist sometimes miss things and in my case they have..but this is what the reports say.

Impression: MRI Brain w/wo contrast

1. No intraparenchymal abnormalities
2. Paranasal sinus disease
3. Prominent nasopharyngeal soft tissue, likely related to lymphoid hyperplasia.

No mention of MS anywhere in this report..that I could find anyway.

Impression: MRI Lumbar Spine w/wo contrast:

1. Levoscoliosis centered at the L3/L4 level
2. Builging disks at L2/L3 through L4/L5 with neural foraminal narrowing

He goes Saturday for the EEG and those other tests.

I don't understand the MRI of brain talking about the nasal area, I tried to research it on the internet but I couldn't really find anything that helped me.

I was talking to a friend of mine last night and he was saying his cousin's son just went in for an MRI of brain because he was having blurred vision and headache and the MRI came back MS...Jacob had the blurred vision along with the color fade in his right eye that now is moved over to his left eye..

I am not saying I want him to have MS..trust me on that, but I do have a question. Once you have MS I understand you have those lesions, if you are in remission are those lesions still visible on the MRI? Those never go away do they? I only ask because for a week before his MRI he wasn't having any of the symptoms, they started back up after his MRI.

I know the neurologist is good and he said not to worry they would get to the bottom of what is causing all his problems. He was convinced that Jacob has/had MS..so I think he is a little shocked that the MRI doesn't show it. He said we have the lab work and the other tests yet, so to wait and see how those turn out.

He goes back to our medical family doctor on Thursday, he is the one that put him on Lexpro and he is almost out of those pills. I am taking him copies of these reports for Jacob's medical records. I like to try and keep copies for myself and our family doctor at all times just in case down the road you see a new doc and he wants to see previous test results. That way if I don't have them at least my family doc does.

No LP has been mentioned yet, I think the doc is waiting on all these other tests first.

Although the proper scan for sinus related issues is a CT, this finding is VERY common on brain MRIs. Many people have this and don't do a thing about it (except suffer through our sinus issues!).

Lesions are scars. Like scars, always there but it is possible to shrink in size so that they may be difficult to detect. Also, disease activity comes first and is what causes the lesions, which can take a long time to show up. Remission has nothing to do with lesions showing up or not but contrast will show if the lesions are active. I'm not a doctor but IMHO there doesn't appear to be anything MS-ey in the radiologist's report.

Re: Jacob's eye, it sounds like visiting a neuro-ophthalmologist might be a good idea.

I'm with Beary. I'd get to an N.O. and have the eyes checked out, get to the PCP and get the lexapro refilled - you do not want to run out of that. And I would ask the neuro and also a neuro surgeon or pain doc if the lumbar issues are causing his walking symptoms.

Not saying you have ruled out ms completely, but I would be looking at other things for now. Keep an eye out for lesions, but keep an open mind and see if something else is going on.

Remember that not everyone with visual symptoms has ms, and not everyone with ms has visual symptoms - my visual symptoms are migraine related.

Thank you..he was seen at the eye institute they did over 2 hrs of testing and couldn't find anything wrong, they suggested he see a neurologist.

Hopefully after all these other tests he is having done, they will find out what his problem is...

Hi again Diane,
Have you looked into the side effects of Lexapro? Some people get blurred vision (special senses) and another would effect the legs with side effects of the musculoskeletal system. Maybe look at the Rx insert for the medication/s your son is on. Just a thought I had, JMO.

The sinus disease could explain some things, like dizziness, headaches, facial numbness, and the disc problems might explain some numbness/weakness problems. He's so young to have disc problems!

I tried to look up what his symptoms were from your postings, but couldn't really find them . . .

Cherie

Cherie I thought these were what Diane had said, were some of Jacob's symptoms.

and also Diane, are there any other symptoms your son is being troubled with besides these above that seem like possible MS to his doctor?

Good morning everyone..I will try and list everything but I am battling a bad head cold so I hope I don't forget anything, it hurts my eyes just to even look at the computer screen.

Last October we rushed him to emergency room because he was bleeding (very heavy) from the bowel, they did a CT Scan and said everything look ok give him Zantac. I put him on a liquid diet and that cleared up. Then he tells us that he is having trouble seeing out of his right eye, he said everything is greyish..looks like colors are faded.

I set up a follow up appointment with our family doctor about the bowel thing because he was having pains in his stomach.

We also told him about the eye thing along with the following symptoms...headaches, blurred vision, fatigue he sleeps 12 - 14 hrs a day, body twitches sometimes his head, sometimes his arm and other times his leg the other night we were waiting for our meal to arrive at the table and all the sudden his arm flew up in the air, he said it does that alot, body goes completely numb, right arm and hand numb, right leg and foot numb, slurred speech, memory difficulties, rash on his stomach, weight loss of 15 lbs in two weeks, nausea, when he tries to eat it makes him sick to his stomach, when he does eat he has to go to the bathroom within 20 minutes after eating, and depression, his hands cramp up and go numb, trouble walking and has fallen a few times. I think those are almost all the symptoms..my mind isn't working real good right now with this bad head cold.

The family doctor said well first we will start with the eye problem and sent him to the eye institute and that is when he also put him on the Lexapro for the mild depression. The eye institute did 2 hrs worth of tests and came up with nothing, they told us to see a neurologist. We went back to the medical doctor and he agreed that Jacob needed to see a neurologist to rule out MS.

Went to see the neurologist and they did a thorough exam and said we need to do some more tests to rule out MS. He said I don't want to jump to a diagnosis even though he has symptoms of MS..so he went in for the MRI of brain and Lumbar spine. This week he went in and had blood work done and on Saturday he goes for the EEG and those other tests.

The MRI did not show MS, but I was told that sometimes it doesn't show up on the MRI if it is in early stages..I was so excited to think he doesn't have MS but this person said I don't want to burst your bubble but you have to wait on the lab and the EEG tests. His wife has had MS for 40 years.

Jacob's guitar teacher also has MS, we have had to put a hold on his guitar lessons because of his hands cramping up so bad. Jacob has been taking lessons for over 3 years now. My husband and I went in and talked to his teacher and told him what was going on with Jacob and all the tests he is going through. He is a sweetheart..he called Jacob last night to see how he is feeling. Jacob had a rough day yesterday he was having trouble walking and was in alot of pain.

I know these symptoms can be many different things, it just takes you back a step when the doctor's mention possible MS first...so I know these tests will tell the story. Jacob never complains, the only way you know he's not feeling good is the look on his face.

Sorry this is so long but I didn't want to forget anything, like I said I am sure I forgot something..head hurts so bad right now...thank you everyone for your concerns and your help...

I know it's hard waiting....especially when it's your child.....but it sounds like the doctors are doing the right tests and eliminating conditions as they go.

I hope you get an answer soon.

I hope your cold goes away soon, Mom..