question about thoracic MRI

[implodingspace]

Hi there, I was looking at my disks like every other dope :) and I do notice a portion (maybe a couple portions) where the side of the cord looks like a wiggley river, and it's in the same spot(s) on multiple images , atrophy?

but I guess what i was swondering was I read the protocal for MRI's and noticed that the axial pass for suspected lesions, well after she told me my last 2 were up, she said let me do one more, and it was different because the noise and position (I could feel the warmth of the ,agnet under me) were different. And on my disk at the end are a T1 and T2 axial series w/ 42 images. I noticed this one black area that doesn't shift/move from slide to slide, like in the case of a shading issue depending on angles...it stays, and some white on the right side

do they typically run the axial T1 and T2 after everything else, seemed suspect that i had another done, and it wasn't a repeat since the machine sounded and felt different

from the side there were dark spots in the white edges of the spinal cord

weird thing is that I do have vibrations, my leg muscles will harden for no reason, but I also have crazy fasciculations, started more in left leg, then that leg got weak, I can see such a difference from right especially in quads

then fasciculations moved to right more and twitches is a little less in left, now I also have fasciculations up to the shoulder blades

My understanding was that these are more fo a lower motor neuron thing

I'm taking 900mg gabapentin and 40 mg baclofen, the baclofen finally helped the vice grip on my left lower rib that persisted for a year, fluctuating in degree of pain, but the baclofen never touched my twitching, and one day when i stopped both for a couple days to see how bad it was, everything stiffened up, my knee locked with spasms around the knee cap and a hard low quad, and the twitching was insane. I honestly am past caring what it is as long as I can have some understanding

At the very least I only ask myself once a week if I'm nuts because it seems inconceivable that I could do this to myself or imagine this as it just continues to get worse every week/month without a plateau

thanks for the help!!!!

[implodingspace]

Thank you for the heads up...i did remove that information from the pics :) I appreciate it. I was totally not thinking!

And honestly I never thought of seizures as a result of going off the medication. I felt really frustrated, partly with myself. I don't know if this is normal in the limbo between before and whatever DX, but I went through months of is this in my head, or even is it some sort of anxiety? I even asked my counselor a few times, who after watching parts that would happen to be twitching replied, NO WAY! which WAS comforting, or dissapointing since there are pills for crazy :( part of me hoped I was.

As things have slowly gotten worse, the upside is I only ask myself once or twice a day if it's all in my head, instead of all day like in the beginning. I started to wonder if maybe there was something but it wasn't as big of a deal and maybe I was a baby so that's kind of where I think the med stoppage came from. Honestly I think part of it is the ever curious scientist in me that wanted to know where I was really at without cover of drug. But I agree with you (especially as an objective by stander with clearer perspective) and I appreciate the caution. I'm a big fan of looking to others outside my box :) I figure keeping my eyes closed is no protection from walking right into the big wide gaping "hole". so thanks! :)

I was here in early fall, but honestly had to step away because it made me more frustrated not knowing. When my SX's kept getting worse a month ago, and my GP said it's neuro time (I told him in Oct, I was annoyed and almost didn't care since docs were historically "dorks") I had just gone to my chiro (neuro post fellowship) and he asked how i was and I said the twitching was worse and he told me a nice little greek mythology about achilles...AHHHHH, seriously my body twitching and cramping, going to bed and waking up with a ripped hamstring is NOT my achilles heel, haha...so I felt worn and needed a mental health break from focusing on anything neurological. Until the escalation wasn't avoidable and hear I am

My neuro appointment made me feel 1 inch tall. He wasn't awful, but he locked me into this 4 word response thing...he asked about my vice grip which started 16 months ago, and a good 9 months before other symptoms, and asked if anything helped the pain, I told him 5 advil and a beer didn't with a heating pad, but the baclofen miraculously cut it down by 80% on the norm some days nothing at all, and he jumped and said you're getting to far ahead of me you started baclofen this fall, you can't do that...i know maybe there is a format, but I felt small and it happened another tiem and i felt shrunken back :( (I have come a long way with this but I have some slight aspergers and I came from a bad background and I'm just coming into loving my self for all my unique qualities so with a strong person in a professional place i can still fall into this place)

Another problem, when i came in they had me fill a form, a small part read, what brought you here, so assuming they didn't want every symptom etc, i tried to be succinct, listing the rib, twitching from shoulder to toes, cramping weakness (i didn't list vibrating that started right quad in summer, sensations, can't tell if it's a small large scale microspasm, or sensory parethesia, or the most recent vibrating in my right achilles tendon to foot , haha@ chiropractor...and the spasticity? when my muscles just harden, rock hard like im flexing and I'm not, mostly quads, different from the stabbing cramp pains in my quads and groin, or how the spasms just started around my knee caps and i feel like i can't bed it until they pass, or it locks up driving especially when i lift my ankle to switch pedals...so much and I never said it

He told me to roll up my pant legs and did the reflexes...now he's doing, fingers left, write it down, finger right write it down, all the way up, back and forth a mile a minute

at the end  he says, now i never saw your legs twitch...wow, luckily for me i honestly know it's all day long all the time so i didn't feel particularly defensive or threatened...i figure one EMG will settle that one LOL, so i just shrugged and said, don't know what to tell you, he asked if they did and i said yeah actually my right calf here and there

he just said at the end, you know i can't diagnose you today...I shrugged and said I know....he then told me they would do the last couple blood tests (lyme, thyroid, parathyroid, and selenium, esr, and CRP) I already had a lupus and b12 some others, vit D

and I just had the thoracic MRI, and he said if nothing came of that they'd do an EMG, so I guess honestly it could be worse, it sounds like some tell people it's anxiety, haha maybe it's to my advantage I'm outwardly chill no matter how anxious i am :) and I'm kind of mellow any way, not knowing bugs me more than the worst possible news. and at least he's running good tests, but man I'm wiped from wondering. I don't see him until 3/8.

Thanks for listening, I really enjoyed the family atmosphere of this board when I used to frequent. Thank you again for the sound advice!

Kathi

he went down my form and asked about those things only...and at that point i was afraid to interject

[twopack]

I'll be glad to offer a warmer welcome soon but there are two important things you need to know immediately.

First, never stop taking these medicines on your own again.  Both the drugs you mention must be tapered.  Stopping either one of them for a couple of days could have caused seizures or withdraw symptoms.  You are very lucky you got away with nothing more than severe spasms.

Second, you have posted MRI images with all your personal information visable.  For your own safety (and by MedHelp rules) you need to remove these pictures.  Once you block out any identifying information feel free to repost them.  We aren't experts but some people might share things they have learned along the way.

I'm not sure what you are describing as I'm not very good at understanding MRI and really didn't spend a lot of time looking before coming back here to respond.  I will say that the large dark spots I saw on first glance had nothing to do with the spine.  Remember, the images cross section your entire body, not just the spinal cord.

Welcome to our little part of cyberspace.
See you later.
Mary

[implodingspace]

I added photos in my MS community profile album, thanks everyone...let me konw if I need to post different axial cuts, there were 42 LOL of each T1 and T2