Desperate for Advice

[andsbaby]

Hi everyone. I've just found this website and wonder if any of you can make sense of this MRI report I have.

Findings - Scattered non-specific small supratentorial white matter lesions with one white matter lesions within the left posterior limb of the corpus callosum. Normal size and shape of the ventricles. Normal grey and white matter differentiation. No cerebral atrophy. No extra-axial collection or space-occupying lesion. Mild periventricular white matter changes within normal limits for the patient's age.

Conclusion - Scattered non-specific supratentorial small white matter lesions with one lesion within the left posterior limb of the corpus callosum. A small inflammatory white matter lesion cannot be ruled out due to its location within the corpus callosum.

Please help me make sense of this .. I'm willing to give any further information that would help .. xx

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome to our little MS community,

From what i understand of the Mcdonald diagnostic criteria for MS, MS would be higher on your list of 'possible causes' because your MRI shows lesions in locations  commonly associated with MS  - supratentorial, corpus callosum, and periventricular but having said that, the MRI is only one diagnostic test and there is a lot more to working out causation.  

One step at a time and seeing a neurologist would be what i'd recommend your next step to be, preferably with a neurologist that specialises in MS. That can often depend on the health system your in, on if you get a choice, but other's from the UK have mentioned that they first saw a general neuro and then they were referred on to various specialists during the diagnosis process.

Keep breathing, it can definitely take some time to get a better idea of what's going on and until you do know, it's always in your best interest to remain open minded!

Cheers..........JJ

[HVAC]

Neurologist and radiologists can see different things. I would wait for the neurologist. I freaked out about my first MRI report because I looked it up on line. Confused myself more. If it were possible MS it will usually say something about demylating disease.

Alex

[andsbaby]

Many thanks for your reply, TLC_31.

I should probably add that what led to the MRI was my years of 'knowing' that something isn't right (mentally). I've been treated for depression, and had no results from the medication (perhaps 4 years of it).

Physically, I have what I thought was sciatica down my left side, recurring, every few months. Sometimes I get chronic back pain, every 9 months or so, lower back.

I occasionally get a stabbing pain in my left eye - that happened yesterday actually, as I was driving home from work.

There's probably a few other things that I can't think of right now, but my main problem is memory and concentration - which is what led me to the 'older persons mental health doc' (dementia?) .. and he in turn referred me for the MRI.

Results came back Friday, but he'd not seen them by the time of my appointment, so he rang them while I was in his office. He didn't disclose exactly what was said about the findings but I'm being referred rather quickly to a neurologist.

[TLC_31]

A lot of big words there, many of which I’d seen on my own MRI reports. Don’t let the big words intimidate you.

Those of us here aren’t medical professionals; we can only look for similarities in our own reports (I have one pictured on my profile page) and offer suggestions, not interpretations. I can only speculate, especially when I know nothing about your symptoms, other test results, etc. MS is never diagnosed by MRI alone. And as for other things that can cause certain test results, many of us don’t know about those diseases/conditions.

What I will do is urge you to resist the temptation for instant information and instant gratification common in our internet-connected society these days. MS moves slowly, and if that’s what you have, waiting a few days or weeks to talk to the doctor (and perhaps endure more tests) is not going to affect your disease course. Many folks wait weeks or months for a diagnosis, so please just try to maintain a healthy lifestyle in the interim. Please come back and ask questions anytme, just realize that the most thorough answers may not come right away.