Flare up?

I have a couple of questions I am hoping someone can help me with.  I have been feeling really off lately.  I am waiting to see a nuro. for re-testing for ms.  I had a spinal test and an mri ten years ago that came back inconclusive.  Will going for these tests again show any difference?  I didn't enjoy the first lumbar puncture very much.  Today I have been really clumsy, I pulled a drawer right out and everything fell out.  Then when I was changing water in my fish tank, which I do every week, I spilled the whole bucket on the floor.  My head is pounding and I feel really tired all over.  I will mention this to the doc but I still have lots of questions.  Maybe getting stressed due to the upcoming appointment and don't want to be told it's in my head (again).  The buzzing sensations have been constant for weeks now and getting worse and I have taken a couple of falls.  Phew, sorry about the length, my main question: is there a point to going through the tests again?  Thanks.

Sherry

If it was indeed 10 years since you were last tested -- yes, a whole heck of a lot has changed, including the quality of the MRI's, to detect what might be causing your symptoms. MRI's can change from month to month, not just over 10 years!

Sometimes these days neuros will order the MRI's first (usually of brain, and sometimes also the spine), and depending on the results he sees there, and other things like the testing he does in your office, may or may not submit you to a spinal tap, so you shouldn't start worrying about that until it becomes a reality.

Good luck with your appointment.

Hi Sherry!

Definately go see your doctor and make sure you are writing all these symptom/sensory issues that you are having down to take with you. I made an excel spreadsheet of mine, which includes the frequency they happen, what I was doing when they started and if I was on any meds at the time. I don't know if you really need that much detail, but I'm the type of person that so far, is not dependent on any meds, so when I take something and I get a symptom, I just want to make sure the symptom was not tiggered by the med or action that I was doing.

I had an MRI 15 years ago for a migraine that would not go away and it came back clear, last November I had another MRI for the symptoms that I am having now and they found several large lesions all over my brain. So, as everyone has already told you, yes they can change and you need to make sure all is still clear or not.

On the lumbar punctures, I've heard different stories on those. I've heard that the lumbar puncture will be negative for obands if you are not in an exacerbation at the time, even if you do have MS. But I have also have read that if it is the progressive MS, you do not have to be in an exacerbation for the obands to show. The lumbar punctures test for more than just MS, they are used to rule out any other CNS virus that may be lurking in there or cancer. I planned on asking the MS specialist that I am going to next month on the specific details of the lumbar puncture questions, because my lp came back negative as well.

Oh yeah, I had 2 lp's in less than 2 weeks. They use smaller needles now than 10 years ago, the first one was a cinch, no headache, nothing. The problem with the first one was the anesthesiologist didn't take enough spinal fluid for the MS testing, just for the virus testing, soo... I had to have a 2nd one to get enough fluid for the MS test, this one they used a larger needle and took a ton of fluid out and I ended up getting a horrible spinal headache, WHICH I had to go in a 3rd time to get a blood patch (take blood out of your arm and the inject it in the spinal column where they drew the fluid out). That one wasn't fun, BUT if I had to do it again, I would.

Hope I didn't bore you too much on my journey into the MS fog. I also hope everything comes out OK with you and it is found quickly and cured.