Weird results and an update

Understand your frustrations, when you can get inconclusive scan results, especially if you know there is something there, or something causing a real problem.

Most MRI scans are more sensitive than traditional CAT scans, with or without contrast. If you want the most accurate and sensitive, then you need to have PET scan or a combination PET/CT scan done. But they are very expensive, and harder to get justification for them.

Wishing you improvements soon.

David

Chart my neurosurgeon told me that CAT scans were great for bone structures and sometimes even better than MRI for bone. But soft tissue or cartilage MRI was the gold standard!

I understand your frustration Chart, my numbness and tingling and spasms and even balance problems and other stuff that I have had for years, these symptoms will come and go, and have left me with some neurological deficits. Some docs say they think I have MS, one neurologist said he thought I had Stiffman syndrome, and another actually treated me for Parkinson's for over two years till a different neurologist sent Me to a movement disorder clinic at Rush in Chicago. They were specialist on Parkinson's and they said I didn't have it and should be weaned off the Parkinson's medications. But the did say I had some kind of movement disorder and something was going on affecting my movement and further testing needed to be done. But since then all the neurologist have all said it must be my deterioting back that is causing the problems and have refused to do more test. Even though the other docs say it can't be my back causing them. After much arguing one neurologist did order an MRI of my brain, and it showed spots but they weren't sure what they were, but thought they were maybe from mini strokes. They refuse to do a spinal tap, they say its to intrusive, or other test. So over the years I continue to continue to have these symptoms come and go, with no firm answers as to why. Yes it is frustrating. I have been on 30 MG's of Baclofen every 8 hours for years now, and for the most part it controls the Charley horse's and spasms that I get every where, pretty well. But no explanation why I get them in the first place???

Chart I am telling you this to let you know your not alone, I can empathize with you and share in understanding your frustrations! As trite as this may sound, may I say, please hang in there, and know your friends here are listening and care and support you!

White Beard

Thank You Whitebeard and I will keep hope for you, that they will be able to pinpoint something. Also for the spinal tap you have to be off some medications and they never told me that I'd need to be off the methotrexate for at least 6 months, so that probably has something to do with my results and may have messed them up. I do know I will never ever in a million years do another spinal tap, they need another test other than this for an ms dx...
I'm having a hard morning, my hands hurt so bad today can't even do my cross stitching. I'll try to go eat something for lunch today just so I can take a pain med for my hands...
Thank You Trudy.

Chartreux,

My mother has had macular degeneration for years. She was diagnosed when I was very young at a hospital in Ann Arbor Michigan. We are from Ohio. She was sent there for a specialist. She was diagnosed with 7 different diseases of the eye and at the time, all of her children (us kids) were also tested for the diseases that she has. I was told that many of them were hereditary.

I know that just recently she developed cataracts on her eyes (within the last few years). She had operations on both of her eyes and she says that she sees much better now and feels that whatever they did even improved the macular degeneration that she has suffered for years.

She has tried to explain it to me. She said that it is like she is looking through a white spiderweb all of the time. So far the only problems with my eyes are getting regular glasses when I was in 9th grade, I am now 45 and in need of bifocals. I have been seeing black spots in my vision on and off since I was in my mid thirties. The eye doctors don't make much of that.

Just thought I would let you know,
Trudy