5 year check in and question about mri

[cboxer1]

I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since I started reading and posting on this forum! So I still twitch every day. The foot arches and calves are pretty constant. Hot spots pop up from time to time and can last for a week or so, but nothing has really progressed. I go numb really easy, but it’s all positional. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and my outer thigh or my pinky and ring finger will be totally numb, but as soon as I reposition my leg or arm, the feeling comes right back within seconds.

I do have one question and concern. So 5 years ago when this all started, my dr. had me get a brain MRI because I had convinced myself that I had ms. It wasn’t until later that the als fears came into the picture. So the neurologist said the mri was normal and I did not have to worry about MS. So fast forward 5 years to last week. I’ve been having bouts where my neck will go out. Like I pinch a nerve and for several days it’s super tight and painful, then slowly loosens up several days later. This happens to me several times a year and I finally got tired of it and my dr. Had me get a MRI of my cervical spine. Long story short, I have 2 bulging disks in my neck and slight narrowing for the spine which is pinching on the spinal cord and nerve roots and the dr. Thinks that’s what’s is causing my pain (and who knows maybe my twitching).

Here’s my question and concern. During my appointment with the neurosurgeon, he asked if I’d ever had any imaging done and I told him my history with bfs and that I had a brain mri. He asked what the neurologist said and I told him that I was told it looked fine and that I didn’t have MS. So when I got home, I pulled out the films from 5 years ago and read the radiology report. Everything was stated as being normal, except it said there was “rare small foci of enhanced signal strength”. And none on contrast. It said most likely small vessel changes or migraine associated changes. So I did what I know I shouldn’t do, and I googled it and of course I’m afraid the neurologist downplayed my mri and I’m fearful of MS being the issue all along. Does anybody here have spots show up on their mri that their dr. said was nothing to worry about like mine did? I’m afraid I’m taking a big step back towards how I was years ago, and I don’t want to loose all the progress I’ve made. Thanks in advance for the help.

[CptT]

Your symptoms history and testing mimic my own except this has been going on for over twenty years. Pretty much everyone has some form of neck arthritis at some point in their life the difference being the extent. And the migraines have been a life long affliction since I was a kid. All is well cboxer, enjoy the aging process!

[cboxer1]

Thanks for the reply. I’m really not worried about the neck issues. I’m more concerned about the radiology report from my brain mri I had 5 years ago that I just revisited. It apparently said that there was a small spot of increased signal strength and the neurologist at the time said he wasn’t concerned with it and that lots of people have them. I wanted to make sure that he didn’t downplay something. I’m just hoping other people have had their dr. say the same thing and that it’s not been MS all along.

[CptT]

Five years is a long time without other signs of progression. I’m recently retired from a career working in surgery and when your doctor says that something is normal and lots of people have what ever it is, you just have to trust them. They have nothing to gain by holding something back or down playing it which would result in delayed treatment. There are many symptoms of conditions that overlap, it can be mind boggling and google gives us just enough information to drive us to insanity! That is why physicians go to school for so long. I learned just enough about medicine while working in a hospital to make myself incredibly dangerous. No doubt I drove my family nuts at times worrying about fatal symptoms that always turned out to be nothing. Keep the faith!

[6t5frlane]

My Neuro said if it was MS I would probably have some type of spasticity somewhere. He said ALS really never has any pain. Just starts in 1 spot and moves on. Not body wide twitches...good luck

[leaflea]

I have looked back at a number of imaging reports later on and overanalyzed them. One said I had cysts in my liver and kidneys "too small to characterize." It gave me something to obsess about for a few weeks or months, no one had mentioned these things! True, they have NOTHING to gain by withholding information from you or not doing further investigations, but much to gain $$ by ordering further tests and follow up. You would have progression in five years, even 3 or 4. Put it to rest and enjoy your summer.