Trying to rule out MS

[belmar313]

Hello!

I'm Maria, and I come from Uruguay.
I'm 30 and I've been getting weird symptoms for two years.
I went to several doctors but have been dismissed almost all the times.

Last month I went to a neuro because I have been feeling really bad for the last two weeks: I have very strong pain in my eyes (first one of them, then the other) with blurred vision and a blind spot in the center of the eye. Also I feel like If someone was pressing my eyes. I also have some very strong vertigo/dizziness episodes and headaches. I need to urinate every 20 minutes too. I have a strong back pain, and muscle weakness, and I don't feel my feet and hands, or feel the classic needles and pins sensation, specially on my hands. I have a hard time walking straight too, and for the last month, something very strange started happening to me....everytime I used to leave home to go somewhere (to visit my parents, to doc´s appointment, etc.) I "got lost", didn't remember where I was going or how to get there...I felt so stupid.

My neuro wanted to rule out MS, and to tell you the truth, I never read anything about the disease.

This is when I start to have some questions:

- My neuro ordered an MRI, and I already got it. When I got to the MRI room, the assistant told me he would be guiding me through the exam (not the tech, who was inside...the assistant used to go inside with the tech and come out from time to time to check on me or receive other patients). The assistant told me that their policy was not to administer contrast unless it was REALLY necessary, and the tech (or radiologist) are the ones who get to decide that.
After 50 minutes having my MRI, the assistant came back and said I was done and that I would be called the next day to pick up my report.
Since I'm very new, I'm not sure what that meant.

It seems that the MRI tech decided that contrast was not needed (or the radiologist may have decided it). I was very glad about that and then told a friend of my mom about it. She works with neuros and doctors in general, all the time. I told her that I had assumed that if contrast was not needed, then everything was fine. She told me "not necessarily", contrast is needed to detect active lesions and it is recommended to diagnose MS. Contrast is also helpful when techs are in doubt. But to rule out MS, it´s not needed, and the fact that they did not use it might mean that everything is clear, or that they have enough evidence not to rule it out". I then told her that when I was leaving, I asked the assistant if everything was ok, and he said "yes yes, everything is very good", and my mom´s friend also told me not to trust that comment, since the assistant might have no idea or he could be only trying to be nice. She said she was not being negative, and that it's probable that I'm fine, but that my interpretations are not exactly correct.

What do you think?

Do you agree about this, that the fact the MRI tech decided contrast wasn't required doesn't necessarily imply that everything is clear. And that the assistant telling me everything was very good doesn't always mean it.

I was just looking for reassurance.

Thanks!!

[freedomfrompain2016]

I may be way off here but have you been tested for lyme diease, that could cause all your symptoms.

[belmar313]

Thanks! I thought the same thing, that it would have been useful to use contrast if MRI had shown something. Have a great day!

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

Your mum's friend is actually right, it's never actually a good idea to speculate about test results before the results come in, it is 'more likely' it wasn't necessary to have contrast because your MRI wasn't abnormal. Generally if someone is having an MRI specifically looking for demyelinating lesions (MS) and their MRI shows lesions consistent with MS, running contrast to show which are active lesions, would of provided additional diagnostic evidence.

You are better off getting this out of your head space and wait on your neurologist opinion........take a deep breath and try not to worry about MS at this stage. MS is only one possible medical explanation, there are many others so you might end up having lots of different types of tests before you get a better idea of what is going on.

Cheers.........JJ