Hello all
My lumbar puncture was negative but signs and lesions found.
Question is, as I’m at he start of my journey and lesions were found straight away due to an episode thought of as a TIA. Can lumbar puncture come back positive at a later date? Do the band go up and down with flares, or, if you a susceptible to MS are they always present? Starting to think my neurologist may have jumped the gun early on testing me so soon.
Just no idea how al this works!
TIA
It sounds as if your neuro is just in the process of running tests to rule things in or out.
Lesions can be caused by many things, including MS - things like migraines, high blood pressure, coeliacs and many more. They effectively signify that a bit of damage has occured there at some point. It is good news that the lumbar puncture is clear.
Bands in lumbar punctures can disappear, apparently, over time if there is recovery from the neurological disease which has produced them. I don’t think it is a quick process though. I think normally if you have them that they stay. However, if people have the bands that are typical of MS, they don’t usually repeat the LP as the LP has given the information that is needed, so they don’t tend to be monitored over time - so they may vary over the much longer term.
Hope you get some answers in the not too distant future. I know things are very slow moving with the NHS right now.