Clean MRI....What Now?

[caseyharbison]

Had an MRI (brain only with and with out contrast).  It came back normal.  Now what?

I have been having facial numbness, sensory issues (tingles all over, buzzing in specific places), weird headaches (pinching pain in my brain) (screwdriver through the right eye) , vision issues (some shaky vision, blurry) for a year.  There is no rhyme or reason.  Lots of the symptoms happen in my right side, but they can show up any where.

My current nuero has not been helpful.  Seeing a new one in a few weeks.  Should I push for a cspine mri or leave well enough alone?  

It is not nothing, but it is apparently not in my brain.

What do you think?

[supermum_ms]

Hi there,

It would be unusual from my understanding of how damage or sx's due to MS presents, to have lots of sx's, that are all over, move around or showing up anywhere, so 'I' wouldn't be thinking MS is the most likely cause because of what you've explained. There are many mimics but not all of them can be detected by blood tests eg peripheral neuropathy, varicos or vascular issues, migraine etc.

I would consider getting visual tests done to see if there is any signs of Optic neuritis (ON) etc which might help explain your visual issues, and possibly getting nerve tests to see if they can work out if the problem is peripheral or central nervous system. Most of what you've mentioned is specifically located to your head area so things like migraine, neuralgia etc may be something to look into.

Cheers.......JJ  

[caseyharbison]

Great advice....I will go get copies and take them to my new neuro and see if she will offer a second opinion.  I am almost positive that the current neuro did not look at them himself.    

SarahL2491.... should I ask for cspine mri from the new neuro?  What would you do?

The mimics have been effectively ruled out with blood work.

[LilMinnie]

Do make sure your neurologist reads MRIs himself.  I was instructed to bring copies of my past MRI scans. It was my understanding I would have a two hour long appointment. I spent considerable time preparing a brief history (with valuable input from this forum), filling out forms and copying CDs.

He didn't even look at the CDs and told me to see an Ophthalmologist about my vision. I had included her report, he scanned that and told me to go back to her. This is after he asked for my Radiologist reports. He was agitated that I hadn't brought them. I said that I thought he was going to review the MRIs with me and he said he didn't have time to look at MRIs.

The only MRI he looked at (and this was after he read the Radiologist report) was the one done in the ER last week that identified a lesion in the parietal lobe,. I had not seen a copy of the report or scans at that point. My previous MRI of the brain had two lesions in it, neither in that location. He quickly scanned through one sequence of pictures and said my MRI was normal. He did not even look at the MRI scans or Radiologist report on my c spine.

I was referred to this specialist by my current neurologist, whom I believe has been taking me seriously. I have a lot of questions for him during my follow up next week. He does read MRIs himself and hopefully by then I will have copies of the ER ones. I feel like I wasted a lot of time and money.

All the best and good luck,
Minnie

[SarahL2491]

has your neuro read it or just looked at the report?  mine came back that way too but my neuro put the CD in his computer and showed me the lesions, frame by frame after radiologist had said it was done to MS protocol and no indications of MS......this was follow up MRI 6-7 yrs after initial one......

ess is right, be sure these mimic diseases are checked out with blood tests and such.  

[essdipity]

Make sure you are checked for Lyme disease, B12 deficiency and thyroid issues.

Best of luck,

ess