MRI of lower spine today & questions??? - Multiple Sclerosis Message Board

CJFla · 06-30-2003, 09:36 AM

Hello: i am having an MRI today of my lower spine, I had one of my brain a few months ago that came out clear. My Dr said that the MRI is so expensive that my insurance will only pay for a part of the spine not the whole thing. I have most of my symptoms in my lower extremites so the Dr said it's best to do lower spine and also because brain was clear. I have only spoken to one person who was dx with lesions on spine. Has anyone else had clear brain mri and then have dx with spine?

I was also wondering if amyone else suffers from migraines? I started suffering with Migraines last July when this whole ordeal started. It seems like they sometimes conenside with a flair. Of course the migraine will go away after a few days and then I have all of the symptoms for God knows how long. This morning I was having shooting pain through my left eye for several minutes, could this be related to MS.

I am hoping for a dx soon I can't take this much longer.

JJerzak · 07-02-2003, 02:03 PM

First I would contest the ruling that you can only have 1 MRI paid for. An MRI is a diagnostic test, meaning they are not yet sure what the problem is, therefore they cannot be sure exactly what section of the nervous system to get in the MRI. Be persistent.

Second, my fiance has MS. She was diagnosed two years ago. There are sections of the base of your brain stem that are responsible for pain interpretation. In some cases if you have a lesion in the area where you feel the pain, you may experience pain that is not actually an indication of something wrong in that area.

My fiance was diagnosed with an MRI of her upper spinal column. In cases where the lesion is located in the spine rather than in the brain, it can also be called Transverse Myelitis, or in some cases Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis.

Also, check out at least the introduction of this page (URL Below) which discusses something called Tic Douloureux. This may be what you are experiencing regarding your head pain, and if so, you may want to go search in the direction of treatment for Tic Douloureux which is common in people with MS.
[url="http://www.emedicine.com/aaem/topic448.htm"]http://www.emedicine.com/aaem/topic448.htm[/url]

My fiance has found relief with Neurontin, however at pretty hefty doses. 500mg 5 times a day. She gets frantic if any doctor mentions decreasing the dosage, as she has done so several times to reduce the somewhat dopey feeling she has when taking that much. However, each time resulted in the return of excruciating head and neck pain.

Best wishes to you and keep on your neurologist about getting you in for multiple MRIs. They are common tests for people with MS and insurance companies have a duty to cover them.

[This message has been edited by JJerzak (edited 07-02-2003).]