How Big Is A Large Lesion?

[Erin0313]

Hi Everyone!

I just received a review of my medical records from the Cleveland Clinic. What a read!! I looked up a bunch of stuff but this can only be answered by calling the doctor or by those of you with measured lesions.

One of my lesions is in the right parietal lobe and they kept measuring it. The last listed size is 7.3 mm in 05/07. The most current reading says increased in size Large lesion.Wasn't 7.3mm large??? How big is the sucker now?

I don't want to call the doctor to ask because does it really matter? The whole point of starting Avonex is to stop all of my lesions from growing and hopefully not get more but I am curious.

So - who has the biggest lesion and where is it?

Thanks for sharing
Erin :)

[PastorDan]

Can't help you.  Mine are described as "punctate to small" and the location is simply "the subcortical white matter" if I remember right.  That could mean pretty much anything or nothing.  I think I want a better radiologist on my next MRI, not to mention a 3 Tesla machine and a neuro who will take the time to look at the images him/her self.

[Erin0313]

  Hey there! A better radiologist is a great idea. These records (MRI pictures) are from 10 years ago all of the way up to a couple of months. The people in Cleveland reviewed them and their readings are way more descriptive then the original radiologist reports.

I wasn't thrilled with Cleveland at first because of the one nasty doctor but I sure am glad that I stayed for the MS specialist and the neuro-opthamologist  because they really seem to know their stuff.

Maybe someone will chime in with scoop on their big lesions.

P.S. If anyone has a sample time line to share, we are looking for one for Pastor
Dan so please hook him up.

Hugs,
Erin :)

[Fluffysmom]

No one has measured my lesions, but I've read about some measured in centimeters, so I guess those would be classified as huge, if yours is large.  I really don't have any idea how they classify the size of lesions, so don't listen to me, :o)  .

I seem to remember that the lesions over 3 mm in size are the ones they "count".

I used a measuring tool on my latest MRI CD, and measured some lesions from 3 to 8 mm or so, but I'm not sure if I was measuring them correctly.  I hope that I'll get to see a new neurologist soon, and he'll answer such questions for me.

I'll be interested in seeing what other answers you get to your question.  I'm always curious.

Kathy

[Lulu54]

Who has the biggest?  Well now, that is an interesting throwdown question here.... it sounds like something the boys in the locker room would discuss. LOL

My mri software has a measurement tool with it but I've never measured them nor do my reports list sizes.  


Good luck on your avonex - if you run into financial costs with it be sure and contact BioGen idec and see if you qualify for their MS Active Support - their brochure I have here from the luncheon the other day says if you qualify you only pay $10 a month.  What a deal!!  

as always.
Lulu

[Erin0313]

Lulu,

  You are so funny. Now I am laughing because I didn't even think of that when I said it. You naughty girl, lol.

  I will be paying $10 per week but I am willing to give up some junk food in my budget. Maybe I will even finally lose the weight I gained on the 2 rounds of Solumedrol this winter (I hope!).

Have a great vacation & give us lots of scoop when you return

Hugs,
Erin :)

[LLWB]

The one lesion I had in my left frontal lobe was 4mm. So I "won" a trip to a MS neuro, where I had many other things, just NOT MS. See LGK, size really does count, LOL
Maggie

[Joe79]

Lesions can be up to a couple centimeters and fairly certain that I read in here somewhere, like Fluffysmom said, that they have to be at least 3mm to be counted in your lesion count.  Check out the page on the "MRI Atlas of MS Lesions" posting.

A little blurb from that...'The average lesion size has been reported to be 7mm in nominal diameter, and most MS lesions are smaller than 1cm in diameter.'

So, I think that 3mm to 1cm is the normal range and 1cm+ is a "big one"... Just my guess though.

Joe

P.S.  What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room!

[6-paq]

Hmmm.... interesting question here.

I have one lesion.   It's been stable over my 3 MRIs spanning over 2 years.

It's 15mm x 9 mm and is located next to the ventricle.   :-O

I'm still un-dx'd.

[sllowe]

Hi Erin,

Since we are talking about this in the locker room :))  ...shhhhhsh ....lol... my largest  comes in at 10 x 7 mm (c-spine), though the same one measured at different times was also said to be 11 x 8 mmm.. I  don't think it grew, just think it was a measuring difference.  

Even the the hole in my head doesnt give me the probs this one does....size smize! lol..  

6-paq - your in the lead w/that one so far...

Gosh, we should be fishing, but we're measuring lesions!  ha/ha Rena! Any keepers lately???

[spacemav]

just to add to your question my largest was 1.6 cm by .8 cm left centrum semiovale also have the only one on my c-spine measured in cms

[wishforchange]

Have a pretty large lesion at back of head, not actually pretty, you know what I mean.  Think I uploaded a photo.  

Way way back in my days looking at heads and interrigating doctors at work all day, saw some amazing brains, some barely there! Person seemed fine in that they were nornal enough - unless it wa a stroke or something this was more seen in alchoholics.  Good advert for staying off the booze, really destroys the brain!

The size of the lesion is often secondary to its location.  Eg. you can have a very large lesion doing less damage than a mch smaller one in a more sensitive area.  Didn't check your age, don't know wheter you enjoy drinking, but with age can come all sorts of spotty brains that neurologists dismiss.  That's one of the reasons they miss MS in older patients, they see all these lesions as age-induced.  

Best to keep out of the boys locker room and not get hung up on size.  Never understood that aspect of men and didn't believe they actually compare!  Do they?  Personally if I like the guy fishing tackle quality is just an extra bonus, not a criteria.  Did I go off the subject?  Blame the sleeping pills, or just throw a tomato at the computer or somthing.  

Ouch!  Alright am going

[Erin0313]

Hi! My age is 42 (not old I don't think, lol) . I don't drink instead I volunteer to be the DD :)

I know that you are right about location being more important than size because I have 4 subcortical lesions that have messed with my cognition and something called centrum semiovale lesions that have also caused problems. These are much smaller but are newer and have been just as nasty to my body as the LARGE one, ha ha, in the parietal region.

This is a competition that I will gladly lose. How come everyone else has measurements from both sides and mine is just one?

Suffering cog fog today - bummer - but will check in again to see who has the biggest, lol

Erin :)

[essdipity]

Hi, Erin. Maybe your lesion is round!  Keep on plugging, and let us know how things go.

esss

[6-paq]

I don't know why you have only one-dimensional measurement.   I'm guessing it depends on whoever is reading your films and writing their report.

I've had 3 reports and only one (the second) provided a measurement.   That radiologist was very detailed in his reporting.  The first was good, the last was very vague.

And I don't think you're "old".   You're younger than me and I think of myself as "older", but not "old".
:-P

Pat :-)

[Erin0313]

Joe,

  Call it cog fog but how the heck do I find this MRI atlas of MS lesions? I looked all over but guess that I am having a dumb moment (or day), lol.


Pat,
  I guess you are the winner for the biggest so far, lol. More locker room talk.

  Thanks for saying I'm not old! I know that I am not young but I don't consider myself  OLD either. Does that make us middle age? That sounds kind of old too but still better, right?!

Thanks for weighing in. Now we are talking weight and size. Outsiders would think this is locker room chat, lol

Erin :)

[6-paq]

Umm.... yeah, I guess you can call us middle-aged.   I hate that, as I don't think of myself as of "middle-age".  But, as long as it's not "old".   :-)

And, as for weight..... Oh no, I'm not gonna talk about weight.  :-P

Take care,
Pat :-)

[Joe79]

The address is

www.scribd.com/doc/8817608/MRI-Atlas-of-MS-Lesions

Someone else posted it a little while back.

[Erin0313]

Joe,

  Thanks. I will check it out later today. Now that you say that it was posted awhile back it does ring a bell.

Maybe I should write it down this time?!

Take care
Erin :)