When should I get an MRI? - Multiple Sclerosis Message Board

david45249 · 06-20-2008, 10:47 AM

I've been dealing with thyroid disease for several years and I've been trying to get the right treatment for about a year. Some days I'm doing a lot better and other days I'm not at all. I think I still need to tweek my thyroid medicines but I should be pretty close to the optimal dose. I still have symptoms though. I still have fatigue, eye problems, sexual problems, extreme sleepliness, muscle jerks and weird skin sensations. Other doctors are telling me that it is probably thyroid related but I saw a neuro anyway. He said I probably don't have MS but an MRI would be needed to tell for sure. That will cost me about $1000 out of my pocket. I don't want to do that if it isn't necessary but I don't want to postpone my healing.

Should I wait and see if I develop clearer MS symptoms? (falling, dropping things, significant loss of strength)
Is there a cheaper test that I can take and trust the results for? (CAT)
Thanks for any feedback.

MSNik · 06-20-2008, 11:28 AM

Hi there. Sorry to hear you are going thru all this, sounds like quite alot to deal with....
An MRI is the first and primary tool for diagnosing MS...a CT scan will not dx MS. Usually they do an MRI of the brain and Cspine, looking for lesions- and then depending on what they find, sometimes perform a Lumbar Puncture or SPinal Tap to see if O bands are found in the Spinal fluid..
Thyroid and MS are absolutely not related- so seeing a Neuro is your best bet to deciding if a MRI is needed.
The 'other symtoms" you mentioned, are not always present in MS patients. I have none of them and have over 50 lesions on my brain and definately have MS....so dont use that criteria for making your decision.
Trust a neuro, or even better, find an MS specialist- who can direct you. MS Specialists deal with both diagnosing and ruling out MS.
Good Luck.
N

Canadian gal · 06-21-2008, 08:13 AM

A CAT scan can pick up on lesions, but is not a dx tool for MS. In other words, if they noted lesions in CAT, they would still insist on a MRI before they would dx.

Have you researched your thyroid condition to find out if it alone can cause these symptoms?

Do your symptoms come and go in any pattern, or are the all on?

MS lesions can be very elusive, and sometimes it takes years for them to show up on a MRI. On the other hand, we might have dozens, and have no symptoms EVER.

Depending on your answers to the questions (above), and based on your personal finaces . . . I might chose to wait. There are drugs out there that may potentially affect the disease process, but they only work for a minority of people too. They cost a small fortune (between $20K to $100K per year), but there are drug assistance programs that will subsidize or completely cover the cost.

Cherie

Canadian gal · 06-21-2008, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nenu

Are you sure about this? I had 2 CT scans completed, both of which came back 'normal' with no lesions noted what so ever.

My MRI lit up like an xmas tree in contrast to the CT scans I had done.

Yep. A close friend of mine had a CAT first, then a MRI for confirmation.

There are different "versions" of lesions, Nenu. The gad enhanced ones are the more transient inflammatory brain lesions, and they do require contrast and a MRI to see. These are not the particularly significant lesions though . . . at least not until they turn into T2 or T1 (black hole) lesions (when/IF they do).

Either the T2, T1 (both of which are the more permanent one's) and/or the spinal lesions can be picked up on a CAT scan . . . I'm not sure which one's (brain and/or spine), but I know his were observed.

Cherie

MSNik · 06-21-2008, 09:33 AM

me too, guys...when I went to see if I had a pinched nerve, (they thought that was causing my finger tingling) they did a CT scan first, with contrast...
the radiologist was concerned about what he was seeing- and called in a Neuro to check it...the Neuro instantly sent me for an MRI of both brain and CSpine. He was waiting when I came out, asking if Id come to his office for a full Neurological Exam the next day..that was my first insight that I might have MS. Within a week, it was confirmed, both by that Neuro and the MS specialist he referred me to. They did do a SPinal Tap a few days later, to reconfirm, but only because I had been exposed to Meningitis a few years back- once they ruled out infection, it was 100% positive...so I did have a CT scan which showed "Something' before my MRIs...
Nikki