(1s) MRI Results

[AussyRose]

So, I believe once I said, "I hope it's just a bunch of different things wrong with me that are conincidentally causing symptoms of MS, and not really MS."  My primary said, "Well, it is not very often one has these all at the same time.  It would be quite a coincidence."

I just got the report from my brain and C-spine MRI (still waiting for the T-spine/L-spine)

I will leave out all the stuff that came back "normal" (because that's normal, duh) and just jump to the parts that are not normal, and might explain my symptoms.

Compared with head CT scan dated 09/26/06 (after optic neuritis in April...I put off the CT scan for a few months).  On optic nerve lesion comparison: "no areas of active or increased demyelination." (good)

"Prominent left high jugular chain lymph node." (I don't know what this means)

"Mucosal thickening involving the left maxillary sinus without air-fluid levels." (I don't know what the air-fluid levels mean), when I looked up thickening in maxillary sinus I found these as symptoms (I had all of them):
"Severe headache and pain or pressure in specific areas in the face -- eyes may be painful; in some cases, patients may also have double vision and even temporary vision loss. Fatigue (from lack of good rest). The pain occurs over the cheeks and may travel to the teeth."

As for C-spine:
"There is straightening of cervical spine."  As the cervical spine straightens the muscles tighten and can cause mutliple symptoms, including headaches.
"Mild-moderate disc desiccation at C5-6"
This is disc degeneration, right?  Can it lead to Osteoarthritis?  Or is it?

The most serious problem related to Degenerative Disc Disease is direct nerve compression. (oy!)
The most common symptom of degenerative disc disease is back pain. When DDD causes compression of the nerve roots, the pain often radiates down the legs or into the feet, and may be associated with numbness and tingling. (hello!)
(Would this be what has given me positive Babinski's sign?)

So...so far, so good as to no MS.  However, I now have a slew of more minor issues to deal with here.  What are the chances, really?  I am hopeful that the T spine will not show new lesions either.  Doc also ordered L-spine, so I am sure we can explain away the rest of my symptoms with those.
I should get the results from the 2nd MRI by tomorrow.
Thanks for helping out here!
Aussy

[Heather3418]

The numbness and muscle twitching you talk about, can be caused by so many things.  Spinal cord compression, cervical spine problems, lesions in the spinal cord, neuropathy, even mixed messages sent from the brain down the spinal cord, such as it is so commonly with MS.  With your DDD, I would suspect this may be causing your symptoms.  Note that I say, "suspect."  I am not a doctor.

My left leg is also the leg that is the most numb in my case.  I do have some neuropathy in the left thigh.  The tingling drives me nuts.  If I scratch that area, I can't feel it.  Sometimes my right toe and only my right toe, will tingle, just like it is plugged into a light socket, with someone plugging it in and then unplugging it.  It's a weird feeling.  I can feel it run down the inner part of my right leg, into my toe.  My Neuro tells me that this is probably caused by the lesion I have in my thoracic spine area.  

Let us know what the Neuro says on the 19th.  Of course, post sooner, hopefully, to keep in touch.

Best Wishes, Heather

[AussyRose]

I had a SI joint issue when I was 18, thought to be the cause of sciatica so that is why she ordered teh Lspine MRI.  Nothing showed up with that.  I was really hoping this would explain what's going on....I am a little disappointed though.  

T spine was okay too from what I gather.  I read the report and seems okay.  I will just have to wait to see the neuro on the 19th.

So, what else could cause the muscle twitching?  And the numbness in my feet and Lf leg?  

And THANK YOIU SO MUCH!!!  I know your time is a precios commodity around here!
Aussy

[Quixotic1]

Hi, Kiddo, I don't see a lot of things in that report that would be very symptomatic.  The CT scan (as sopposed to the MRI) is dreadful at revealing MS lesions - in fact, it is considered next to useless if it is negative.  This would include the optic nerve, but since that nerve is so large it "might" show something if the lesion were large.

You have a lymph node in your neck that is enlarged.  Could be actively fighting an infection or could be left over from a bad infection like mono many years ago.

The MRI is horrible for looking at disease in the sinuses.  It is so sensitive to inflammation there that it way, WAY overcalls sinusitis.  The preferred technique for really finding sinus disease is the CT scan, like you had before.  If this were a report of a CT scan of the sinuses then, the chronic muscosal thinckening would indicate chronic inflammation and "imply" chronic sinusitis.  That can cause severe facial headaches as described by what you found, but I disagree about the double vision and loss of vision.  (As a physician who has treated thousands of sinus infections)  Sinusitis DOES NOT cause optic neuritis.

You have some degenerative disc disease.  This becomes almost universal as we all age.  It is almost 100% in the elderly and it begins in our adulthood usually.  There is nothing on that report that would account for symptoms in the limbs, but might explain some neck pain and headaches.

The report as it is stated gives absolutely no indication that you would have nerve root compression.  An MRI would be more sensitive to pick up nerve root problems.  Now, for the bad news.  Even if they find DDD and osteoarthritis in the lumbar area, that would NOT explain a + Babinski or increased reflexes.  There has to be disease with the spinal cord or actual significant compression of the spinal cord to get a + Babinski.

Disc dessication (means a "drying out of the disc") and may be a part of osteoarthritis or a part of normal aging, I'm not sure.  Spine medicine is not my forte.

Severe lumbar DDD problems certainly could give you leg numbness and tingling and weakness.  But not the "upper motor neuron signs" of spasticity, hyperflexia, or +Babinski.

Remember the optic neuritis can stand alone as an ailment, but is a fair indicator of a much higher risk of MS.  A couple good studies following isolated ON (no other symptoms or MRI findings) showed that approximately one third - 33% - showed clinically definite MS within a 2 and 1/2 year period.  As they followed the people longer the percentage rose to 42% at 10 years.  I'm not trying to convince you of anything, but you have some problems that are NOT adequately explained yet.

I hope this helped, but I know it wasn't what you wanted to hear.

Waiting to hear about the lumbar MRI, which won't show anything about MS as Heather so accurately described.

Quix

[Heather3418]

Just so you know...the MRI of the L spine will NOT show lesions...there is no spinal cord in that area, just the nerve bundles.  In the thoracic spine, lesions are usually high in the T-spine with MS, although I have heard and know of a couple of my friends with MS, that have a lesion in the lower T area.

Good luck with the MRI tomorrow and hope they are being ordered with and without contrast dye.

Heather