Worried about MS and scans

New diagnosis and before diagnosis
1

Hello everyone, I am a 44 year old female with a neurological history - pain behind left eye, blurring etc. I had a consultation 3 weeks ago for pain I have been experiencing in my neck and shoulder which has been accompanied by tingling, pins and needles and numbness. At times my left arm feels almost as if it doesn’t belong to me and I’ve been compensating by not using it much.

I am horribly stiff when I get up and when I get tired and during these times have noticed pins and needles in my feet. I am also much more sensitive to hot and cold than I used to be - when I get cold I feel really cold and when I get hot . . . well you get the picture!

At my appointment the doctor declared himself ‘not happy’ with the weakness I am experiencing down my left side and said that my reflexes on that side were ‘off’. He sent me for an MRI scan but was unable to stay in any longer. I am claustrophobic and found it really difficult. The nurse said I was twitching (I also twitch!) and swallowing too much and when she told me the shoulder would take another 40 minutes I baulked! She suggested I see my doctor and get a tsedative for next time. Does anyone have experience of this (I’m guessing yes!) and does it make any difference. I am quite worried about the scan now - I’m booked in for next weekend.

Am I worrying needlessly and does this sound like it could be MS?

Thank you for reading.

2

hi Vanessa Sorry to hear u didn’t cope with ur MRI I’m the same had a coupe of failed 1’s so I asked to have an open 1 instead which is much less scary maybe it worth u asking if it is poss for u to try this kind for next time?? good luck for next week :slight_smile: take care Lou

3

It’s actually quite common for people to need to take a sedative to have an MRI. The sedative makes absolutely no difference to the results so is fine to take from a scanning perspective. Plus, the quality of images is badly affected by the patient moving so it’s not going to work for you without something to keep you still.

An open scanner is always an option, but they are not generally as good as closed scanners so I would urge you to try the sedative route first. Another alternative is CT, but they are not as good at detecting MS lesions as MRI.

I know taking a sedative works for a lot of other people, so is definitely worth a try.

Karen x