Clear brain mri

[wasarose]

What are the chances of having ms if your brain mri comes back clear? Would you insist on a spine mri as well?

[SNOOPY]

Hi was arose,

You Neurological exam and testing has been normal. If you had MS and if you had spinal cord involvement you would not have a normal exam.

Based on that I do not see a reason to have a spinal MRI. But, this is something you need to discuss with your Neurologist as he knows you medical history vs someone on a message board.

[wasarose]

Thanks. Unfortunately I am from a small town and it is 6 hours away to the nearest neurologist, or another doctor for a second opinion. Without a second opinion there is no referral. I know that it is better to get a doctors opinion, but without that as an option I am just trying the best I can to figure out what is wrong.

[SNOOPY]

I know that it is better to get a doctors opinion, but without that as an option I am just trying the best I can to figure out what is wrong.

You can't wasarose.

There is absolutely no way to figure out what if anything is wrong without the help of a Dr. Many conditions have symptoms that overlap with other conditions as well as diagnostic criteria for many of them.

Multiple Sclerosis has a diagnostic criteria, The revised McDonald Criteria. Information on the McDonald Criteria: http://www.va.gov/MS/articles/2010_M...ia_Revised.pdf
This criteria is used internationally and not just in the US.

[southernms]

looking in the wrong place

In 2009 I went to the ER with loss of use in my left arm and a variety of other symptoms. they suspected MS and did a MRI of the brain which came back clear. No MS? wrong. when I finally got to see a neurologist he simply stated "they are looking in the wrong place". My lesion was located between c-1 and c-2. most people with MS have several lesions on the brain before they have any on the spine. I, however, have never had a lesion found on my brain. everyone's dz is different, mine seems to like my spine. go figure...

See a neuro; a GP simply isn't good enough when dealing with MS.

[Seasha]

Hi wasarose and welcome!

I'm sorry you are having difficulties and am in agreement that you can't figure out what wrong with you based on our opinions. You mention the next doctor or neuro is 6 hours drive away and that's unfortunate, but perhaps you could arrange a period of time with an overnight stay to get a second opinion and drive back the next day or two?

I certainly would if it were bothering me enough! I hope you reconsider this as the not knowing can eat away at you and cause all sorts of stress which, as we all know, is not good for anyone.

Take care!

[polopuppy]

Given the constraints of the Canadian medical system and the distance to a second opinion physican, I don't think you have many options. That doesn't mean that you have no options, though. I don't see why you couldn't ask your doctor for a spinal MRI. He may say no, since there doesn't seem to be a strong reason to do it but he may agree. You will never know unless you ask him.

For the time being, you should keep track of any new neurological symptoms you notice. If they last for a couple day, I would bring them to your doctor's attention so he is aware and can document them in your medical records. If you have any neurological emergencies, go straight to the emergency room as they can expedite any imaging or referals, if necessary. For vision issues, go to an optometrist or ophthalmologist as they are the experts in diagnosing and documenting eye problems.

You should try to focus on good health, exercise, diet changes, optimized sleep, reversing vitamin deficiencies, etc. Hopefully your symptoms will go away. Have your B12 and Vitamin D levels been checked recently? They can both manifest as neurological symptoms when your levels are low. Most Canadians will have low Vitamin D during the winter, without supplementation. Good luck.

[wasarose]

Thank you.

Thank you to all of your wonderful replies.
After receiving a clear brain MRI, I felt like I was/am crazy (I am sure reading so much about MS does not help). I have a four month old daughter, and being a new mom is a big adjustment, not to mention the health issues. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer me. It's nice to have somewhere to express how you feel and get some questions answered, no one in my life wants to hear about me talk about it - they think - clean brain MRI, "normal" clinical sign/tests, I should be happy and move on. Which I would. If I didn't have the symptoms I am experiencing.
Anyways, I really appreciate all of your help.
Thanks again.

[suziq38]

Dear wasarose,

Try not to worry, but you need to see a neurologist ASAP.
I was fortunate enough to get to see an MS neurologist.
You are the one who is experiencing the troubling symptoms.
Do not ignore them and ask for help with getting the proper diagnosis.
Maybe you don't have MS, but you may have other problems with your spine that affects your motor skills. If so, you need treatment before your symptoms become worse and/or you lose motor function permanently.
It is your life.

Good Luck.

[JerryD]

I don't know how the system works in Canada but you need to have a complete spine and neck MRI series. I wonder why a doctor would order an MRI of your brain only ! Not a good decision . You need to get a full blood exam and all of the MRI's, as welll. Good luck

[Magnus33]

With the brain and diseases that affect it things get really complicated.

Many symptoms as mentioned overlap,there a tendency to tell people its all in their head (irony there) and there is of course limitations of the technology involved.

Mri aren't perfect and depending on your area you could be limited to the oldest and weakest mri tech which is the 1.5 powered machines.
Teslia 3.0 are whats commonly used for scanning for expected neurology damage .

In my case back in 2013 i developed a tremor in my left hand and trouble later on with control and feeling but it was thought this was due to the previous wrist damage.
In dec of 2014 i was interviewing a couple for a apartment and fighting a cold at the time..next thing you know i was having trouble speaking the left side of my body was weak and i couldn't remember how to count money.
At the time it thought it was a stroke but 6 hours at the stroke clnic ruled this out my mri was clean.
Two months later in feb i had another mri lesions showed up but they weren't clear enough so were labeled nonspecfic with the diangoze left wide open..high-blood pressure,diabetes,migraines and deviating diseases.
I didn't suffer from any of the first three and the timing of the lesions was suspect after what happened.

The normal course at this point is to go for a stronger mri but i have over ten inches of metal in my wrists which prohibits me from going into anything but the baseline mri (oh joy).

So three years of fun from being told i should she a psychiatrist being told i was doing it for attention (better half near punched that doc) extra and so on.

I did see the see one who basic told the other doc he was a idiot that i was shockingly normal given what was happening and totally the wrong personalty to want attention like that.

Now there been a marked cognitive decline in my short term memory,focus executive function and speech so that its quite clear whats happening.

If you think something wrong then then you have to fight for yourself and try and find the right doc to listen to you.
Doc are not perfect and all to often the fall back for them is your nuts when they can't figure things out (the words i dont know are hard for them).
Mri aren't perfect with the baseline 1.5 often not seeing lesions that the 3 or above machines do or even if it does it being indistinct.

Many here had to fight to get a proper diagnose over periods of time.

If things keep happening then by all means dont let them write it off and if not then it was a interesting moment you dont have to revisit.