lumbar puncture for MS

[Celia1029]

I have been diagnoised with MS a couple of years back but a new doctor wants to repeat the procedures to confirm the diagnosis.  So far the blood work and MRI results are the same.  Repeating a lumbar procedure makes me very nervous, can the doctor not use the initial findings of the 1st lumbar procedure?  Do results of this procedure change over a couple of years?  In the mean time this doctor has kept me on the MS medicine.  If he has concerns that I do not have MS, what damage is being done by having me continue with the MS medicine?  Thank yoiu for any help you can provide.

[Celia1029]

Thanks Kyle for your response….you keyed in on my concerns and have help me to better understand.  The only reason I switched Neuros was because the first Doctor treated the MS and not the symptoms.

[kwarendorf]

Hi Aim - Welcome to our group.

I'm not familiar with NO. Is that a kind of doctor? Is it like an ND, naturopathic doctor?

Kyle

[aimhigh4once]

Hi Celia, I'm new here :)  I see an NO for IIH (idiopathic intracranial hypertension)  Do you have severe headaches?  just curious if your neurologist is looking for the opening pressure also not just for Obands.  I know my NO is thinking about doing repeating my LP but I'm not sure if he is looking for the Obands or to see if my OP has decreased to normal.  I wish you well.  Aim

[kwarendorf]

Hi Celia -  Welcome to our group.

The results of an LP can change, but I'm pretty sure it only changes in one direction. You can have no oligoclonal bands in an initial LP, and have oligoclonal bands in a subsequent LP. I do not think you can have o-bands in one LP and no o-bands in a follow up LP. I don't think O-Bands go away.

Your new neuro seems to be exercising an abundance of caution.  If new MRI and his clinical findings confirm you earlier diagnosis, I can't see why you would need another LP, assuming the original LP results showed o-bands in your CSF but not in your blood.

I don't think your MS meds are likely to cause you harm, even if you don't have MS. The new doc is covering all bases by continuing your meds. If you do have MS then your treatnment is uninterupted. If you don't have MS, the additional treatments won't harm you.

I'm curious about the switch to a new neuro, and why he thinks you might not have MS. And as to LP's, they're not as scarey as their reputation, at least for me :-) I've had 3 of them and they were all without incident.

Kyle