Scan Results
 

Just to refresh the memories here. I have been having off and on symptoms from my brain injury for several years now. Mainly unable to exercise without headaches. Fatigue that just overtakes me at any given point through out the day. Vision issues that months of therapy helped but now back in therapy trying to see if more will help.

Doctors say that scans 1 year post injury looked good. Symptoms continue so now several more years out they said they would do them again but really did not expect to find anything. I started a thread about this I think it was titled is the cost worth it or something like that.

Well I had the scans done and according to them all is good. They did write on the report "slightly prominent sulcal markings". But other than that everything looked good. Doctor read it and told me to just keep going forward.

So after reading that. I thought I would look to see what "slightly prominent sulcal markings" mean, since they didn't go into any detail and apparently this is normal.

Wow that could/does mean cerebral atrophy. And even if it is only slight I wonder if that could be the cause of the headaches. Have not had a chance to talk to the doctor about this as I didn't have the report when I saw him. I think he should go into a little more detail about this. I am in my 20's, don't think my brain should be showing any sign of atrophy.

Has anyone else have this show up on a scan? Should I ask for a followup? Could this be why the headaches continue? I know I have a tendency to blame everything on the TBI, yes even the weather, but could this "slightly prominent sulcal markings" be from the injury? or is my luck just running bad when it comes to my brain?:rolleyes:

Thanks and hope all is well for all of you.

StuckinBoston

If you do a bit more research into slightly prominent sulcal markings, you will find that it has more to do with the gap or fissure between lobes than atrophy. It could mean many things. It could be excess CSF (cerebro-spinal fluid) or just an abnormality in how your brain is or shows up in an image.

I would suggest you relax and not get so overly anxious about this. The web reference to atrophy likely is referring to a woman who had previous images.

The comparison from a past image to a current image could result in a definition of atrophy. In your case, unless there is a previous image to compare to, there is no way to determine whether these "slightly prominent sulcal markings " have any meaning at all. When the same Radiologist reads and compares both, you will have a better idea of what this may mean.

If you are going to ask your doctor about this, ask to have your old image compared to the new image. The scan one year post injury will likely show no damage from a concussion. Studies show that the concussion damage shows up best usually at three days post impact. The brain will absorb blood or dead cells very quickly, within a week or so. Then the brain will fill the gap with living cells.

Relax. Learn to tolerate your symptoms. Try to determine ways to avoid these symptoms. You are not the same person that you were before your concussion. Mourn the loss of the old you and try to understand the new you. There is life after concussion. It just might be a little different.

My best to you.

Thanks Mark I knew you would have some words of wisdom for me. I guess my thought it that the brain is pretty much fixed inside your brain. There is not much room for change and if there is, there is usually a reason.

I am going to ask that they compare prior scans and then I will just go with the flow.

Thanks again