Got MRI results of CSPINE, should I take results to the neuro?

Hi MY NAME IS MARGARET. I'm a 27year old woman and I've been presenting with many symptoms, fainiting, dizziness, lightheadedness, strength loss in right extremeties, worsening vision, blurred vision, pins and needles in back, neck and legs, sometimes numb feeling, memory loss, increased anxiety, and a few others. I had a brain lesion that was discovered 4/2011. I was told by my neurologist that she believed I had a "small stroke" and the lesion on my brain was causing sensory seizures. I was put on Keppra .. wasnt effective, then tried tegretol for 4 weeks, that was not effective either. I also have had cardiac testing and my cardiologist says he sees nothing within the heart, etc that would cause a small stroke to occur. I was also refered to a orthoped surgeon for the numbness,pain and pins and needles in my neck and back and legs and poor strength on right side of the body. Had an L spine, that was fairly negative for anything except a few disc issues. Then the Orthoped sent me for an MRI of my cervical spine. I recieved the results of my cervical spine today...they are as follows:

Findings : There is mild reversal of the normal cervical lordotic curve. The vertebral body heights are maintained. The cranio-cervical junction and C-12 articulation is normal. There is Patchy Diffuse Signal abnormality seen on the images throughout the spinal cord. The signal intensity of the intervertebral discs is normal. There is no significant disc pathology. There are no paraspinal abnormalities.

Impression : Questionable abnormality seen diffusely throughout the cervical cord. This could represent multiple sclerosis or other demyelinating process. The prior brain MRI demonstrated a solitary white matter lesion. Repeat brain MRI without and with IV contrast and post contrast images of the cervical spine.

So I guess my question is, should I just skip even going back to the Ortho and take these results straight to my neurologist? I'm a little anxious and hoping to not waste my time if I have to go back to the orthoped for him to just tell me to go see my neurologist....

[Sidesteps]

Welcome to the group!!!

This is just my opinion on things of this nature: I would make an appointment to see your Neuro FOR SURE but I tend to like keeping my options open so I'd keep my Ortho appointment as well. The ortho may give different insight if you show them that report.

There are some health pages on the top right of the screen you may find informative a very read worth while you wait. There are a quite a few of us in limboland (those without a dx) while we wait for answers to our symtpoms.

PLEASE let us know how this progresses.

[tingletingle]

Hi Margaret,

A very warm welcome to the forum.

I am so sorry to read that you are only 27 years old and experiencing all these scary, strange symptoms over the last few months. It is not easy dealing with this but rest assured you are in good company with many on this forum experiencing many similar sx.

I have had a few MRI but am certainly no expert, however, the bits in the report I find interesting are 'patchy diffuse signal abnormality seen throughout spinal cord' and 'This could represent MS'.  

Obviously, they were not looking for MS when the MRI was ordered because it appears they now want you to do another with IV contrast which means they will inject you with a substance called Gadolinium to produce better diagnostic images.

So, I think the Neuro is your best bet from here and I would recommend you finding a Neuro who specialises in MS because it can be a very long tricky road to diagnosis. You could try the MS society for names.

This forum is incredibly supportive, full of wise, witty, caring people and I feel very lucky to have found this site. You may feel similiar to how I felt: out of your mind with worry at these distressing changes to your life but trust me you will come through eventually. It just takes time with the help and support of family, friends. And at times we are a more understanding family here because most people you come across don't have the faintest idea about what it is you're going through and the advice they offer is sometimes well meaning but ill informed.

If you are feeling like you need more information please don't hesitate to ask. You can do a bit of research using archives located up in the right hand corner.

I too felt as if I'd had a small stroke when my symptoms first started back in May 2011. I was having trouble expressing my thoughts, slurring and stuttering my speech and I only have one lesion on my brain as well. I also have numbness and tingling that changes day to day, hour to hour from my chest to toes and in my left hand from two spinal cord lesions.

My very best wishes to you and thank you for joining us.

Blessings
Alex

[MDeStef84]

Thank you very much for your warm welcome and insight, and that is what I am going to do, keep the appt with the ortho and schedule a follow up with my neuro. I never noticed those links in the upper right hand corner so thanks for pointing them out to me!

[MDeStef84]

I thank you for the warm welcome also! it is nice to find other people who experience things similar to what I'm going through. Its hard, because I try to talk to my friends about it, and they all just look at me with these faces, like i'm nuts and how do I experience the things that I do. Well, I know that they are real and I know how I feel!!

You said you found one of the parts of the report interesting and that was : 'patchy diffuse signal abnormality seen throughout spinal cord'. Could you enlighten me and tell me what that means? because I read it and HAVE NO CLUE HERE!! LOL Im trying to google, etc..but its all jargon that is hard for me to decipher. Im stressed to the max and don't even feel like trying at this point LOL. with the brain lesion and 2 in the spinal cord, we're like 2 peas in a pod LOLOL.

Thanks to both of you that responded, again, for the wonderful insight and such a warm welcome!

[Lulu54]

Greetings from me, too.  You are just as well off not trying to interpret the MRI report- it can drive you crazy trying to figure out the lingo.    The signal abnormality could mean a number of things, but in the context of MS it means indications of lesions.

Maybe Bob will stop through and give you a more accurate assesment of your report.

Keep in mind that this process can move very slowly - don't be distressed if it takes a while to get in to see the neuro and even longer to find some answers,.

be well, Lulu

[sllowe]

MDstef,

Adding on a welcome to you! So much good advice given already, just want to mention that if you are going back to the original neuro who said believed stroke - please get a 2nd opinion if you are able. I'm not a doctor, so cannot speak to how professionals know for sure stroke, or possible ones - but one thing I do know for sure is it's important to know if you had one, so you can prevent them.

You are young, and this doctor should of been concerned  - concerned enough that if he/she wasn't certain to have sent you to someone who could be.

thanks for joining us! Hope we can help!
~Shell

[MDeStef84]

Thank you for the warm welcomes lulu and sllowe!!  

Lulu - thank your for clarifying the mri lingo, its so difficult to understand, and yeah..thats most likely the reason why they go to school for years to read the films, etc. lol.

sllowe - I think a 2nd opinion is my best bet. Well, ill be having a 3rd opinion at this point, I had another Neuro come see me while I was in the hospital and tell me that I did not have a stroke and do not have seizures, i had 3 eegs, one for 48hrs, one lightphoto kind, and another 3 day that all came back negative. and that neuro said I need 3 MRI's over the span of 18mo's, but could not give me a diagnosis and didnt care to mention what she thought was wrong, which had me confused for quite a while.

Im just wondering what is going on, and it all started because of a trip to the E.R. because i lost control of my bowels and felt like I was drunk, I had a CT scan, and the doctor there told me I was missing part of my corpus collosum, then I had to get an MRI, and that showed my corpus collosum was intact, but i had a solid white matter lesion. im just frustrated, because i have all these symptoms and it's driving me crazy to not know what is going on.

So I have an APPT on Sept 1st with a neuro that specializes in MS and other demyelinating diseases. So im looking forward to the appt, if only just to rule out the possibility of MS or another disease, but I know I will have more tests ordered.

Thank you again for all the warm welcomes, it put a smile on my face.

Thanks again. :)

[Laura719]

Welcome This is my first day on the Forum and I do fine it very helpful to talk to people that are experiencing what you are. I was one of the lucky ones and had what I like to call a "major" episode and got diagnosed within two days. My MRI showed 20 plus Lensions on my Brain so there was no doubt that I had MS.

You will be suprised when you go to your Doc appt on Sept 1st. If the Docs Primaraly Specializes in MS, bring a copy of your MRI scan, not the report you can get a copy of it from the place that did it, they will put it on a disk or you can have them email it right to the Doctor before your appoitment. He will know if you have MS or Not or should if he is a good MS Doc, Call the MS society and get there input on him and what other Docs are available who specialze in MS.  

This is the first and hardest step so I have heard Many people say the rest is you doing whatever you need to do to get to a handle on MS. Good Luck and keep is informed