Hi,
I had my MRI scan today. They did a brain and cervical spine scan. I was expecting them to scan the entire spine especially as much of my symptoms are in my legs. Is it usual to just have the brain and cervical spine scanned initially?
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My scans over the years have been brain+c-spine or brain only.
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Ah OK. Thank you for your reply Alison x
If it’s of any reassurance, I’ve never had anything scanned other than my brain . I did once ask why and was told that if I developed any lesions in my spinal cord they would soon materialise as new symptoms. Which I suppose makes sense ( you can develop asymptomatic lesions in the brain )
I’ve been told much the same: if you lucky with placement you can have brain lesions that cause no obvious issues, but there isn’t enough space in the spinal cord for that - a lesion in there and you’ll know about it.
Hi . It all sort of makes sense to me although I do sometimes wonder if my worsening mobility and bladder control is a result of some new spinal lesions. Not that all of this makes any real difference other than a possible argument for a change in DMT. After 19 years I’m still on Avonex: would it have made any real difference if some of the more recent and more effective DMTs had been available back then and I had started on them from the outset? Who knows!
Weird, but at 71 I find myself thinking ‘oh well, friends and old work colleagues just a few years older than me are either RIP or dealing with other significant health conditions’. OK, I’m no longer climbing hills but etc etc
Thanks Hank. It sounds like you’re remaining very positive. 