Hi everyone!

In March/April of this year I started experiencing facial nerve pain (left sided) that lasted for about two weeks. The pain was debilitating. If I was speaking and pain started, I had to stop speaking. Putting on makeup was a task as well as eating or brushing teeth. Towards the end of the two weeks wind even hurt my face. I saw my GP and he suspected I had trigeminal neuralgia. He gave me an RX for gabapentin. About 2-3 days after taking this the pain was almost completely under control. He sent me off to a neurologist to confirm the diagnosis. After seeing a neurologist, he said clinically that was exactly what it sounded like especially seeing success with the gabapentin. He ordered an MRI, but suspected he would find nothing. He said many times TN may not show up on an MRI even though they highly suspect that's what it is.

Fast forward. I had to wait a few months to get the MRI due to insurance reasons. I just did it last week and got the report. (His office told me they got the report but someone would call me back to talk to me and schedule an appointment).

This is what the report reads:

(to be noted) My last MRI was ten years ago. I was having headaches and an incidental pineal cyst and a vascular malformation were detected.

There is a very small focus of increased T2 signal in the periventricular white matter immediately lateral to the tip of the frontal horn of the left lateral ventricle and immediately anterior to the caudate head. This appears stable. A pineal cyst measuring about 1.5 cm in greatest dimension is again noted. It appears stable. The brain parenchyma is otherwise normal in volume and signal intensity. I see no area of abnormal parenchymal enhancement. A small venous angioma is incidentally noted along the anterolateral aspect of the right frontal lobe. It appears stable.


The part that's new to my MRI is the first sentence. Is this just another "common" thing? My Dr sure does take a long time to get into, so I was hoping you guys could shed some light

I just wanted to say hi and welcome. I don't know about your mri but I am sure someone will come along soon too shed some light.
I also want to reasure you that you are understood here....I am still paying off my MRI. And the price of having a good neurologist is having to wait to be seen.
As someone with chronic face pain, keep up the fight.

So the nurse just called and said my MRI findings were normal. I asked about the increased T2 signal. She put me on hold then came back and said that was from the pineal cyst. I asked why it wasn't on any previous MRI and she said, Oh that just means the pineal cyst shifted. I'm inclined to think she doesn't know what she's talking about. Anyhow she made an appointment for me for Oct. 9 to followup with neurologist.

Hi Dawn,

I'm afraid I cannot interpret your MRI report for you, but know plenty from personal experience about TN and Neuropathic Facial Pain. You are right in that things often do not show up on MRIs, mine did show an arterial knot round the nerve, so I am 'lucky' to have a definitive dx.

What you describe is typical, I'm afraid, but you are very fortunate to have a strong, positive reaction with the Gabapentin. I am very pleased for you, do not stop taking it without a plan from your Neuro. Let's hope it keeps the pain under control.

Whatever you would like to discuss about this painful condition, I am always available. We have a TN Forum here, if someone could pop in a Link, please.

Dave.

Hi Dawn,

Welcome to NeuroTalk!

I am not qualified to interpret your MRI. It appears your neurologist feels there is nothing urgent in the MRI report. However, we still often wonder about changes we note in our reports. I am sorry you must wait awhile to speak to the neurologist.

I see Dave has been by to say hello and to introduce himself!
Dave knows a great deal and is incredibly helpful to members here. I admire and respect him. He also has first-hand experience with TN. Lots of warm-hearted people participate on the TN forum.

At Dave's prompting, I am putting up the link to the TN forum: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum26.html

Please also make yourself at home on any of the forums, as there are many.
Some are fun, where we share music, movies, humor, wildlife pictures, pet stories, recipes, word games and more.

I hope to see you around the forums!



DejaVu

Hello Dawn,

Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups!

Regarding the Pineal Cyst...

I just wanted to tell you that there are a number of older posts and threads on the forum regarding incidental findings of Pineal Cyst. (Some of them are quite recent.)

You can use the Forum Search feature to find those if you want. They're often found when people are having an MRI for another reason. It may not have been picked up in the previous one due to small size or position.

Forum Search Feature

Thanks Lara, The pineal cyst I knew about. Just not the First part regarding the area of the periventricular matter