No Plaques = No MS......right?

[aiMelissa]

I got the report from my MRI from the hospital today.  There were no plaques or abnormalities.  =)  This is great news, I think, lol.  I mean, you HAVE to have plaques to have MS, right?

My LP showed increased intercranial pressure and IgG.  Are there other things besides MS that will cause this?

[santana8]

Before a definite Ms diagnosis can be made, all MS mimics need to be ruled out! There are other supportive test  that should be done including evoked potentials,  blood work, ect....  It is not the normal thing to be started on DMD without further testing, especially if the MRI was clean!

Your Spinal tap results having abnormalities could be an indication of MS, but yes there are other conditions that can cause changes in the spinal fluid. This is why it is so important to have all the MS mimics ruled out!!!

I was offered the DMD's by the first neuro, but refused to take them without further testing and a second opinion from another neuro.  This is the neuro who I have seen for two years since the severe attack I had that resulted in a visual field defect and the 10 white matter lesion on my brain. He done a spinal tap on me and it was negative and showed no O banding, and has been doing repeat MRI's every six months for two years now. They have all showed no new lesions and so far I have not had a second attack.

He feels that I had ADEM, but has told me that it still could end up being MS, and that I have to be monitored.  He did not start me on  the DMD's and said that he would not unless I showed signs of another attack or new lesions to confirm an MS Dx!!   I could have been on the DMD's two years ago, but I wanted more proof that MS is what I really had. So far that choice has been a good one, but there are no guarantees that nothing else will happen.  

I am sure you will get more responses with some who are actually on the DMD's and who's diagnosis process was more clear cut than mine and then you will have more information with differnt situations. This is only my personal experience, and what has happened in my case!!

~Santana~

[aiMelissa]

Thank you for your prompt reply.  I understand your answer.  And while I don't WANT to have MS, I still want an answer so knowing that MS may still be a possibility is good?  I guess, lol.

Anyway.

If you don't have MS FOR SURE but have symptoms do you still start the DMDs?  My neuro said at my last appt that he can start me on MS DMDs but wanted to do more tests first.  Anyone take them without 100% dx?

[santana8]

The answer is no, you do not have to have lesions( plauques) on MRI to have MS. Sometimes the lesions are not visible on MRI at first.  And a lot has to do with how strong the MRI machine is.  I do not have a definite dx of MS, but I had 10 lesions show up on brain MRI. My dx is ADEM, one of the MS  mimics for now!

I would suggest reading the health pages on the top of this site. There is a lot of information on this and many more subjects about diagnosing MS.  I don't feel confident enough to advise you about your condition because I too am still learning about MS and all of the mimics myself.

Some more members will come along that will be more helpful answering your specific questions about MS.  I wanted to welcome you to the forum and let you know that this is the best place to learn about MS symptoms, diagnosis, and test .  Hope you will stick around here and I am sure you will get more responses to your questions.

~Santana~