Looking for Advice - Brain & Nervous System Disorders Message Board

BlueEyes5288 · 06-06-2006, 08:12 PM

Hi, I'm Nikki. I'm 17 years old. About 5 years ago I passed out in school and hit my head off the chalkboard and the floor on my way down. I was also moved and asked to walk to the nurse without having my bearings. I made it out to the hallway, outside the classroom I was in and fell again to my knees. Since then I've been having problems with getting dizzy off and on, and seeing colorful dots and spots. Also, when this happens I usually get tired and achey afterwards, especially in my legs.
Now, I have been to many doctors years ago when this all first started happening, and the doctors found no answers. They chalked it up to nerves with school, and put me on different medications for that, all which made me worse. I've also been on migrane medications before, which again, all made me feel worse. I just had an MRI done a few weeks ago, and the neurologist said nothing has changed in the past few years and still says it is migranes. I do not want this to be more than that, or worse than that but I just..Really don't think what I'm experiencing is migranes...
Since 8th grade my mother started homeschooling me and that has really helped me a lot since I could take it easy when I wasn't feeling well. I've learned to cope with how I feel a lot better than I was able to years ago, but it still bothers me that I feel this way after all this time, and no one seems to know why..In the MRI report, it says I have a "Large cyst in the mesial left temporal lobe, benign in appearance, and possibly always representing a dilated perivascular space or diverticulum off the ambient cistern." Also, "There are two small hyperintensities in the left corona radiata/centrum semiovavale." I really have no idea what anything means other than the cyst. Which the doctor said could not effect me. It did kind of get me thinking why he told me it's small cyst when the report says it's large. Again, I don't know much about this, so I don't know what is considered small and large to be in your brain, but I suppose anything that shouldn't be there could be effecting something......?
Sorry for this being such a long post, but I'm just at a loss of what to do at this point. I still don't feel like I should most of the time and it's just frustrating for me. If anyone has any adivce or suggestions as to what could be causing this, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks!

RingItOn · 06-07-2006, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueEyes5288

In the MRI report, it says I have a "Large cyst in the mesial left temporal lobe, benign in appearance, and possibly always representing a dilated perivascular space or diverticulum off the ambient cistern." Also, "There are two small hyperintensities in the left corona radiata/centrum semiovavale." I really have no idea what anything means other than the cyst. Which the doctor said could not effect me. It did kind of get me thinking why he told me it's small cyst when the report says it's large. Again, I don't know much about this, so I don't know what is considered small and large to be in your brain, but I suppose anything that shouldn't be there could be effecting something......?

Ask your doctor to explain the MRI results and report in plain English. It might help to have a support person along with you who can be an advocate on your behalf.

Have you discussed your new symptoms with your doctor?

Also a second opinion might be a good idea and possibly someone who is a specialist such as a neurologist.

feelbad · 06-07-2006, 07:24 AM

was this just your primary doc going on that report alone or was this some sort of specialist who actually knew something about the actual brain?If this was a neurologist you need to seek out a good neurosurgeon who can go over that report AND the most important thing,your films which you can obtain from whereever you had that MRI done and take with you to that NS appt.

anything in your brain that is not supposed to actually be there CAN cause all kinds of symptoms,you ARE right about that.

These cysts could very well be causing something to occur such as what you have explained.

do you even KNOW what caused you to actually black out that day?these two things could also be somehow related.unless you have actually had a full eval by a neurosurgeon,no one can really say for certain just what is and is not a big issue when it comes to the brain.I would most definitely ask for a referral to a neurosurgeon and not a neurologist,in my opinion after having seen both types of specialists over the years,if it is anything more than just a headache going on,you definitely need to see a good neurosurgeon.neurologists just do not have that good inner brain knowledge to work from.neurosurgeons also know much more detail re the brain than neurologists.since you already have been Dxed with something being inside of your brain a neurosurgeon really does need to be consulted at this time.

you have a right to know just what the heck you are actually dealing with here and you are not getting that at all with who ever you have been seeing.

so how long ago was this MRI done?if it has been more than a year,any NS you see will most likely want to do a follow up MRI or even an MRA that wil highlight the atrerial structures inside of the brain just to make sure all of the arteries are good with no vascular issues going on.if you do not know the actual cause of that blackout this should be determined as well,and an MRA may help see if there really was something in there at that time.but getting to the NS right now would be the best thing for you and let him/her take it from there.you do deserve to know more info than you are getting now.good luck and please keep us posted,Marcia

BlueEyes5288 · 06-07-2006, 10:53 AM

Thanks for your advice guys. :-) I had the MRI done about a month ago, and just went to see the nurologist on Monday. He was the one who said he still thinks migranes are the cause of all my symptoms and told me to come back and see him in 6 months to see how I'm doing. As far as going to see a neurosuregon, that never crossed my mind. Usually when my symptoms get worse than normal, my family schedules an appointment with the family doctor. This time, we tried the neurologist. With all the doctors I've been to, it's just hard to have much faith in any of them. I will definitaly keep your advice in mind, though. Thanks again!