MRI check up

[Caramcgree]

Hello beautiful peeps,

When you get your Mri check-ups do they do the cervical spine as well as the brain?

I have lesions on my cervical as well as my brain but when I go for a check up mri he only does the brain.

Thanks in advance.

Cara.

[sarabeach123]

My neurologist says that brain only MRIs are the standard. I only get both brain and cervical because my lesions are almost all on my cspine.

[Tawanda]

My neurologist says that brain only MRIs are the standard. I only get both brain and cervical because my lesions are almost all on my cspine.

This never made sense to me. I realize that my spine was clean (that was the "good news" in the 'ol good news/bad news speech in my PC's OFFICE office- the kind with the wooden desk, pens and pictures of his family on the wall!). They found tons of lesions on my bran though. Ever since then, I never had my spine re-examined since the initial diagnosis, just the brain. I don't know why it is done this way, or why they don't think there could be lesions there now (since 2004...).

At this point, I don't think I'd do anything differently, no matter what my MRI looked like, but I honestly never did understand the "brain only" MRI protocol (or why my doctors never used contrast except for the one time I requested it). Maybe insurance requires certain symptoms for the spine to get MRIed??? Not that I want to be in that "coffin" one more second than I have to be as I am claustrophobic, but I never even mentioned the claustrophobia to my doctor, so that isn't it either.

I may have cared more about this before I realized I was PPMS. I am now done with MRIs altogether...I think...

[Jules A]

My MS specialist always orders brain and spine.

[pennstater]

Both neurologists I have seen since 2006 always ordered both brain and c-spine. I have lesions in both. Twice a thoracic was done when newer symptoms couldn't be explained by the normal MRIs. Both times clean, so thoracic not normally ordered.

[pb909]

I get both brain and cervical spine with contrast. I am PPMS and had my last MRI in 2015 before my initial Lemtrada treatment. I'm now probably done with MRIs too.

[Temagami]

I have lesions in brain C-spine and T-spine. Neuro only orders C or T-spine if the symptoms indicate involvement at that level. Otherwise it´s brain only.

[Caramcgree]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[TheMiddleWay]

My monitoring MRI's are also just brain. I have an old lesion in my T-spine, none in C-spine. My doc explained that lesions in the spine don't tend to be silent, i.e. when there's a lesion in the spine it usually makes itself known. So unless there are symptoms of spinal lesion, they don't monitor.