MRI results...(MS)

[Kagestarr]

Quick background:  28yr old female. Very active in running. August 2012 experienced numbness in hands.. went to doc who gave anti-inflamatories and a referral to nuerologist if no improvement.. Symptoms went away. Mid September feet went numb which gradually turned into tingly sensation done spine when i tilted my head to my chest. End of October went to Chiropractor for 2 weeks with no improvement at which point he suggested nuerologist and hinted at MS. Made an appointment and was scheduled by nuerologist for MRI of brain and cervical spine.
MRI Results: (brain)
Findings:As best demonstrated on FLAIR but also on T2 weighting, there are foi of increased signal intensity in the white matter of the superior parietal lobes. These are small. An additon focus of increased signal is present in the right bsal ganglia and relatively prominent foci are present in teh posterior forceps bilaterally at the junctions of the temporal and occipital lobels.  Exert no central mass effect. There is no resticted diffusion at these foci or elsewhere.
Impression: white matter abnormailities in the cerebrum may be secondary to gliosis or demyelination. Although these may arise from multiple sclerosis, the appearance is not specific. There is no involvement of the corpus callosum no infratentorial abnormality.
Results:(spine)
Seen only on the T2 weighted fat-suppressed sequence, a region of increase signal intensity is present in the posterior central midline of the cerviccal spinal cord at the C3 level. This is 6mm in maximal length. There is also increased signal intensity in the spinalcord at T4. However this may be artifactual.  C3-C4: the lesion in the posterior central cervical spinal canal is also confirmed on the axial image. no disc herniation or spinal stenosis. The area of interst is not evidence on the T1 weighted image and there is no evidence of contrast enhancement.
Impression: 6mm maximal diameter white matter plaque in the posterior column of the cervical spinal cord at C3. This may be secondary to multiple sclerosis. There is no evidence of enhancement within lesion. Possible lesion in the thoracic spinal cord at T4. This is not confirmed on the axail imaging.

Can anyone decode this?? I have an appointment to see my doctor to go over results but he's on vacation right now so I'm just trying to prepare myself for what he may say about these results. thanks!

[Maks322]

If you don't feel better tomorrow, call your neuro.  There are meds you can try for the headaches.  It will help you enjoy the holidays !!  Dont suffer needlessly.  I got the spinal headache, it was awful.  Though in truth, the meds did not help me, but you wont know til you try.  I think they do help lots of people.
Maureen

[PastorDan]

Drink liquids, LOTS, of them, still, and try something with some caffeine in it.

[Kagestarr]

Thanks everyone. Had the LP Friday. They did take blood afterwards to do all sorts of tests. Friday was fine because I just layed on the couch. Saturday my back hurt all day so I tried to stay on the couch as much as I could.
Today my back is fine, no pain at all but I've had a headache all day so its back to bed again. Hoping its just a normal headache and will go away. Anyone has a sure fire way of knowing when its time to call the doctor? I'm pretty tough when it comes to headache pain as I suffered from them for a long time so I can't tell.

[Guitar_grrrl]

Hi, Kagestarr, and Welcome!  The others here have given you good answers.  I just want to wish you well through your diagnosis journey.  If you are diagnosed, remember, it's not the end of the world. Even though we're all different, many of us are still quite active (I still ride my road bike and practice Yoga at least a couple of times a week).  

Cheers,
Lisa

[kwarendorf]

I agree with Alex. The worst part of the LP is freaking yourself out before hand. Mine was a non-event :-)

[HVAC]

I drank a case of starbucks double shot expressos after my LP. Thinking about an LP was the worst part. It was not as bad as I imagined. The unknown is a scary place.

Alex

[LilMinnie]

Hi, just wanted to wish you the best of luck on your LP. You have probably already read about what to expect, but if you haven't, here are some tips that helped me.

First, make sure you are hydrated well, and in this case it also means caffeinated drinks. When you get there, ask if the orders include having blood drawn at the same time. Apparently the LP by itself means nothing and if blood isn't drawn that day for comparison to the spinal fluid then the results aren't meaningful.

Follow orders and rest! I had mine done on a Friday and told my family I was out of commission for the weekend ;-) The experience itself wasn't bad at all. You may want to ask if it is being done under fluoroscop . The gentleman who did mine only had to try once. He was awesome and funny.

I did have a lower back ache for a few days but it is now gone for the most part. Thankfully I didn't get the dreaded headache.

Again, best of luck, I'll be thinking of you.

Hugs, Minnie :)

[Kagestarr]

Getting an LP tomorrow......fun times. Ready to just get it over with so I can get a diagnosis.

[Kagestarr]

Thank you Kyle. I will update after my appointment.

[kwarendorf]

Hi kagestarr- Welcome to our little group. Your symptoms are MS symptoms. The little charge down your spin, when tilting your head forward, is known as L'hermitte's Sign. Before I was diagnosed I used to bend my head forward just to get the tingle :-)

As to your MRI report, it is written in typical Radiologist speak. It sounds like you have some suspect areas on your brain film and at least one lesion on your c-spine film. Neither of these areas 'enhance'. This means that they are not currently inflamed/active. When the contrast is added, new or active lesions will light up.

Radiologists are not diagnosticians, so you will rarely hear one of them say "This is MS". in your case it was listed, for both the brain and c-spine lesions, as a distinct possibility.

MRI's are not the only part of an MS diagnosis. There are lots of blood tests, to rule out things that mimic MS. There may be a need for a lumbar puncture and most important of all is the clinical exam. Diagnosing MS can be a long and frustrating process. The process can be more efficient if your neurologist is an MS specialist.

Ask us lots of questions and let us know what your doctor says.

Kyle