MS?

[Dehrig]

Hi, My Mom passed away a few years from MS at the age of 54.  I am 35 and for about a year I have started to have problems.  I have weeks at a time that I can't walk and just fall while I'm standing.  I have thyroid issues but have them under control. I was Vit D def but have that good now. During the days I can't walk very good I have a hard time brushing my hair and walking down or up stairs. I see double at night during these days as well.  Last week I had a MRI and this is what it showed
On the axial FLAIR images, there are several punctate hyperintense foci, the majority of which are suspected to be pulsation artifact.  A single punctate hyperintense focus within the white matter right parietal lobe on FLAIR image 17 may be real, although is nonspecific.  
This doesn't show that MS what I could have that I have researched.  I watched my Mom over the years and I see so much of myself in her.  I do have an apt with a neurologist but I read so much that people with the first stages of MS get put off till it shows up in MRI's.  Is this true??

[sllowe]

Hi there,

Thank you for trusting us to thoughts. I'm sorry for the loss of your Mom. It's natural to feel Mom had it so I may too - but it's important to get in with the neurologist like you are. For some it's a long journey - for others (like me) it's a short trip.

Since your Mom was 54, I'm guessing she was diagnosed long ago. If so, there have been so many advances in diagnosing MS, and a good specialist will exhaust all other potential possibilities for you. What looked like MS for many has turned out to be a mimic. We have had many come through here that ended up having a differential diagnosis. One member was dx'd with MS only to find out she had hughes syndrome (sometimes called sticky blood, or APS), which is a huge mimic. Her daughter ironically developed the same MS symptoms as her and thankfully she was tested and determined to have the same syndrome. In the end, a good doctor determined the cause and she was treated in good order.

Not saying by any means this is the case for you - just pointing out that there are those neuros who choose to leave no stone unturned and use all the tools available to them to determine diagnosis. And, we are decades away from dx ways of the past. Dx dictates treatment, and treatment for MS is very different than treatment for a mimic.

Bottom line - Keep your mind open in terms of cause, and I wish you well with your appointment. Please let us know how you make out.
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[anon07072023]

I'm sorry that your mom passed from MS. The long-time boyfriend of my partner's mom also passed from MS.  I hope you don't have MS, but at least you are following through to see what it might be.

In my case, the radiologists have missed lesions several times. And unless you have a good MS specialist willing to view the scans themselves, they may never get caught. My radiologists missed 6 lesions in my brain, 3 T1  black holes, and a spinal lesion in my c-spine.

Keep pursuing it, until you get your answers.

[TLC_31]

The unknown is certainly scary, but you do have an appointment with a neurologist, and MS doesn’t move fast enough for your condition to get any worse before then. In the meantime, you have the opportunity to document your symptom history and come up with questions for the doctor. Suggestions for your first appointment are in threads on this and other sites. The doctor may request additional testing, such as a lumbar puncture/spinal tap.

Your mom’s history would be of interest to the neurologist, but it doesn’t guarantee that you have the same course of MS in your future. For starters, you have many options for treatment that weren’t available to her when she was your age, plus you have information resources such as this and other websites. It’s also possible that you have something other than MS, but most of us here aren’t qualified to interpret MRIs. That said, MS doesn't require proof from an MRI.

I'm sorry your post was allowed to fall to the second page without comment ... please ask any other questions anytime!