I am not sure if I have MS or some other neurological disorder or something else.
After visiting an ENT with what I thought was de-compensation from an old vestibular issue, he noticed I actually have very bad disequilibrium and am uncoordinated. I failed the finger-to-nose test, Rombergs, and the one where you flip your hands over.
He suspects something is wrong with my cerebellum. I also have 24/7 dizziness and dropping things, walking into things all the time. Keep getting my words mixed up. Feel soo fatigued I can barely work.
So, he has organised an appointment for me at neurology. Itâs in two months time. Iâm guessing some kind of MRI will be appropriate.
If I do have something âepisodicâ, like MS can be, will it show up on an MRI at any time, or only when Iâm having symptoms? I do have the option to go private and get everything done quicker (but it would mean spending all my savings). What if my symptoms improve between now and then? Will anything be detected?
I havenât been ârightâ since an episode of vertigo 2 yrs ago that was put down to Labyrinthitis, but Iâve been ill, and getting iller, for 4 months now. The last week has been pretty horrific.
Many thanks for any advice or help anyone can offer.
Shouldnât be that crucial when you have it, no. MS lesions are a kind of scar, and, like other scars, can fade eventually, to the point of being invisible.
But I donât think that would happen in just a couple of months, especially if you have pronounced symptoms at the moment. IF theyâre caused by MS brain lesions, I wouldnât expect the latter to completely heal and disappear in just two months, so Iâm pretty confident there would still be evidence, even if symptoms have improved by then.
They can potentially see lesions from years ago. When mine were first spotted, one of the questions I asked was: âHow do we know they havenât âalwaysâ been there?â Answer: âWe donât!â One thing they can do, if lesions are spotted, is scan again with a thing called contrast (substance injected into a vein) - this has the effect of distinguishing between active and historic lesions, because it highlights the active ones.
Very occasionally, consultants ask for a scan with contrast right from the word go, but as itâs very expensive, itâs more usual to ask for an ordinary scan first, and IF it shows any lesions, only then to do another scan with contrast, to see how many are active. It still canât tell the age of the inactive ones.
I hope you get some answers soon, but please donât worry about âdisappearing evidenceâ - you donât have to catch it literally in the act.