did mri today. Ms??

[Lorelle09]

Hi All,

here’s my update. I did my mri today but haven’t gotten report from the doctor yet. I have it on a disk and have some pics maybe you can help me.

Are the little white spots ms lesions?

I have numbness, tingling, twitches, muscle contractions constantly for the past month, muscle cramps, aches, fatigue, heavy legs. It all started 8 months ago with the facial numbness which travels to my limbs and feet at times. Now the spasms, cramps and twitching although not bothersome scares me.

These were done of brain only no contrast. I will ask for a spine mri.

[Frances_B]

There aren't any radiologists here who can provide a legitimate interpretation for you of one frame grabbed from a whole MRI sequence, and in any case the resolution on a phone or computer screen which is not running the appropriate radiology software is not going to be good enough for someone to use for interpretation or diagnosis.

Lots of people get hold of their scan images and think that everything that looks like white "dot" is an MS lesion, but this is not necessarily the case. Radiologists train for years to be able to interpret scans etc, ordinary PwMS don't have this level of knowledge and anything they offer will only be guesswork and speculation. I realise you want answers ASAP to all your questions and it is a stressful time for you but you'll need to wait for them until you have the scan report and its content is explained to you by the neurologist.

[Lorelle09 in reply to Frances_B]

Yes thank you I’m just anxious

[Frances_B in reply to Lorelle09]

Being anxious is understandable (and somewhat inevitable) but we all have to go through it to a greater or lesser extent and the old adage about you can't go around it or under it over it is very true - you just have to work through it and hang in there for the answers.

[Sandydemop]

Frances is right. It could be. Maybe? hopefully your doc will help you figure out what's what and where to go from there. Best wishes.

[hairbrain4]

It shouldn't take too long for the radiology report. You might be able to obtain it before your Dr reports it to you but again it takes a Dr to diagnose MS. Even if there are lesions you will most likely need to go thru other tests to confirm. There's several other diseases that mimic MS. Don't be in too much of a hurry because you don't want the wrong diagnosis.

[IFwczs in reply to hairbrain4]

It's interesting you say that. I was diagnosed based on my MRIs alone, but now there are doctors who say this is not MS.

[kdali]

Some white spots and dark areas are normal. I don't think you can see much without the software and training.

[Tazmanian]

Wait for your neurologist to explain it to you good luck

[Lorelle09]

mri report says 10 lesions not indicative of ms. I will ask for spinal mri.

[Frances_B in reply to Lorelle09]

Usually it is doctors who decide what tests are done, not the patients, so I would suggest that if you want to keep your doctor on your side and not alienate them you "discuss" with them whether they think a spinal MRI is appropriate or not.

You also need to be aware that with the long list of symptoms you posted a couple of weeks ago there could be more than one problem causing them (e.g. low or deficient magnesium levels can cause problems with muscle cramps and twitching). More than one cause is even more likely to be the situation as you've posted that an MRI done in August 2022 was normal, and have just said above that your new MRI report notes there are no indications of MS with the lesions found, so from the tests you've already had done MS is looking less and less likely.

Also, a year ago on different forum on HealthUnlocked you wrote that you are vegan. Is this still the case? How long have your been eating a vegan diet? I ask because B12 deficiency is quite a common problem with people who adopt vegetarian or vegan diets when they don't have enough knowledge to properly compensate for the foods that they are no longer eating and B12 deficiency is one of the MS mimics that has to be ruled out before MS can be diagnosed - have your B12 levels been tested recently? What about folate levels?

nhlbi.nih.gov/health/anemia...

nhs.uk/conditions/vitamin-b...

The neurological deficit symptoms of a severe or longstanding B12 deficiency can be similar to those of MS, which is why it needs to be ruled out before an MS diagnosis can be made. If a B12 deficiency is evident and there are no dietary or other relevant factors which could be the cause of it, or which exist but are addressed without fixing the deficiency, then tests for pernicious anaemia need to be considered. Also, if not treated, a severe or longstanding B12 deficiency can cause permanent and irreversible neurological damage.