Hi RockinRuth,
I may be wrong, but I thought that an MRI without contrast was rather useless. Mine have all been done with contrast. Also, there is a fair amount of evidence that MS lesions are often missed by MRI. Again, I may be wrong, but if you do not improve or your symptoms get worse, seek another opinion.
I was misdiagnosed for years, and have been told that an MS diagnosis is often very hard to make. I am beginning to believe that no one can just look at you and say "it's not MS". That is what the last neurologist told me and recently I found out he was wrong. Unfortunately, it may take some time to pass before a definitive diagnosis can be made.
Hang in there.
Karen
When I mentioned the whole left side of my head and face being numb with occassional
tingling in my nose and around my mouth to my neurologitst, he looked at me and
said, "I have no clue what's wrong with you, I know you don't have MS." MRI was done
without contrast of the head and came back as, appears normal, except for a small area
of periventricular white matter increased FLAIR signal, along frontal horns, slightly
greater on the left side. No MRI of the spine. I was DX'd with Parathesia, probably have
Fibromyalgia and MS ruled out. CBC came back normal except now DX'd with Anemic.
Good luck and let me know the results.
Thanks guys...it's interesting how we perceive the things happening to us. I have shoulder length, thin fine hair...so no weight in it at all! I am seeing my neuro again on thursday and I have a list of new symptoms to discuss, so I'll throw this one in and see what he says...he'll either nod knowingly or fall about laughing!!! I'll let you know!!!
Vic xxx
Wow, thanks for your question, Vic. I have had so much trouble with my scalp for the last several months that I finally had my very long hair cut out of desperation. I was told that since my hair is thick and heavy, it could make my scalp sore. But really, sometimes it hurt too much to even touch, let alone comb my hair. Imagine my depression when I realized that my scalp was still sore after I allowed my beautician to "scalp" me! It NEVER occurred to me that it could be a result of the MS, but that makes sense, now. On a more positive note, since I have alot of pain in my arms, short hair is much easier for me to manage. And, the scalp sensitivity has reduced some with the weight of my hair gone. Thanks for the info, Doublevision1.
Yes, I have had that symptom appear during a flare, and remain for several months after the worst of my other symptoms remitted after steroid treatment. During another flare, the left half of my scalp went completely numb. On both occasions, these sensory symptoms remitted slowly but eventually, normal sensation was restored.
Nice to hear that you are coming out of your flare and able to return to normal activities. You might find that with time, some of these sensory symptoms will eventully go away or at least be reduced somewhat.