Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 3 Location: Northern California
Need Help With Translation of Mri Report Posted: 01-16-04 00:26am
I have had ms since I was a teenager but
did not receive diagnosis until I was 43
years old. This is because I was in the
military health system and seldom saw the
same doctor twice in succession. In 1983
I received a definite diagnosis and this
has been confirmed more than once.
Recently I moved to a new town and had to
find a new neurologist from the yellow
pages. He wants to reinvent the wheel,
and has not read the history I brought to
him. He recently ordered an mri and I
reluctantly complied. Today I visited
him for the results and he told me that he
is not sure I have ms. He would like to
do more tests. I asked for a copy of the
mri report and in it I saw this: "multiple
foci of abnormal high t2 signal density
within the periventricular white matter of
both cerebral hemispheres... Differential
diagnosis would include a demyelinating
process such as multiple sclerosis..."
(the most prominent of the problems which
have been seen on several mris are in the
area of the left globus pallidus; the
first time it was discovered was in 1982
on a cat scan and at that time it was
described as being in the internal
capsule) I intend to find another
neurologist with whom I can communicate
better, but I am hoping that a medical
professional will read the above and give
me a translation of the area of in quotes.
|
litekpr2
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Feb 2004 Posts: 23 Location: USA
Posted: 02-20-04 02:49am
I'm not a medical professional but I think
I can tell you the gist of what the report
said. It sounds very similar to the
report I got after my first mri, from
which I was diagnosed with ms.
"multiple foci" means more than one lesion
or "abnormal spot" in the
brain...Abnormally high density (or
thickness)... Found within the white
matter of the brain on both sides (left
and right)...
Then the kicker is how the radiologist
read the films and offered his opinion:
(and this is the part which was almost
identically worded in my own first mri
report): "differential diagnosis would
include a demyelinating process such as
multiple sclerosis..." with an mri report
similar to yours, my diagnosis was
confirmed by the radiologist, my family
doctor who happened to be an internist,
and the neurologist she consulted with.
After I was referred to a neurology
specialist, he read the films and
concurred. A couple of years later, I
had to change neurologists because of
insurance changes, and that new
neurologist confirmed the diagnosis
also.
I don't understand why the doctor is
hesitant to make a ms diagnosis, unless he
is afraid of going out on a limb (for
legal liability purposes). What kind of
"more tests" does he want, anyway?
|
asurvivor
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 3 Location: Northern California
Need Help With Mri Translation Posted: 02-20-04 15:16pm
:p thanks for the response to my
question. I took action last week, by
changing to a new neurologist, but not
before I told the old one what a 'twerp' I
thought he was. I believe he was simply
too young and inexperienced with ms to
deal with the complex history of the
course of the disease as it applies to me.
My new neurologist specializes in ms
cases and had no problem figuring out that
I do have ms and suggested that I get on
the "c" injections soon. The 2-1/2 years
that I spent on avonex was great for the
first two years and then for some reason I
started having bad "flu-like" symptoms for
most of the seven days between injections.
I finally quit avonex and have been
without any of the major medicines for the
past three years. Since I have been
having some rather serious symptoms
recently, I am considering going on the
copaxone.
|
litekpr2
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Feb 2004 Posts: 23 Location: USA
Posted: 02-21-04 00:12am
I have been on copaxone since february
1999. It has worked very well for me,
with virtually no side effects except
perhaps a mild stinging or itching
sensation at the injection site which
lasted only a few minutes.
Copaxone is the only one of the abcr drugs
I can take, and luckily it seems to be
working very successfully.
I have had ms since I was a teenager but
did not receive diagnosis until I was 43
years old. This is because I was in the
military health system and seldom saw the
same doctor twice in succession. In 1983
I received a definite diagnosis and this
has been confirmed more than once.
Recently I moved to a new town and had to
find a new neurologist from the yellow
pages. He wants to reinvent the wheel,
and has not read the history I brought to
him. He recently ordered an mri and I
reluctantly complied. Today I visited
him for the results and he told me that he
is not sure I have ms. He would like to
do more tests. I asked for a copy of the
mri report and in it I saw this: "multiple
foci of abnormal high t2 signal density
within the periventricular white matter of
both cerebral hemispheres... Differential
diagnosis would include a demyelinating
process such as multiple sclerosis..."
(the most prominent of the problems which
have been seen on several mris are in the
area of the left globus pallidus; the
first time it was discovered was in 1982
on a cat scan and at that time it was
described as being in the internal
capsule) I intend to find another
neurologist with whom I can communicate
better, but I am hoping that a medical
professional will read the above and give
me a translation of the area of in quotes.
