MRI report ? I don't get it...

I had my brain MRI a couple weeks ago. The scan showed only one white matter lesion. He stated that having a lesion is normal for someone in their 40s. I really don't understand this. He diagnosed me with Essential Tremors and he said go back to your regular Dr.

I went to my regular Dr. today and I read the report, it said I had one white matter lesion and a cyst on my brain. Has anyone heard of that?

I don't get it, I didn't get any answers regarding the "blind spots" I get or the tremors in my face, or the inability to urintate, or the inability to make my right hand grasp a piece of paper or rag to wash windows. Is this all stuff people have with Fibro?

Just curious.

Thanks so much.

Are all of the symptoms Fibromyalgia?

I don't want to make you nervous, but MS *could* account for the symptoms you describe. I was diagnosed with MS 25 years ago but probably had it 10 years or more earlier. One of my symptoms was optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve), which in my cause caused what I can best describe as floating blind spots. (I think the official name is "scotoma.") I remember having a vision test where I was asked to tell the opthalmologist where on a screen a black dot was. One minute I could tell him, and the next minute, it seemed to me that the black dot had disappeared.

The good thing is that this lasted for a while but then went away. I have had other visual and physical symptoms, too, and my last MRIs showed "extensive white matter disease," with *lots* of lesions. But my first MRI (in 1985) showed only a few small spots. It also showed a very large cyst in my brain, which scared me a lot more than the lesions!

However, the cyst was in an area where it wasn't touching any brain tissue, and eventually, it just disappeared on its own.

As I understand it, a cyst is just kind of a bubble filled with fluid. My neurologist at the time said the best thing that could happen would be for it to burst, since that would be what they would do if they could do surgery on it. (He had also said the cyst was in an inoperable location, which was one of the reasons I was so scared. But when I told him later on that his comment had frightened me, he reassured me that the cyst was unlikely to cause me any problems. And he was right!)

As for your other symptoms, I think all of them *could* be symptoms of MS, but they also could be symptoms of other things. I'm still fairly new to fibromyalgia (diagnosed last August), but I know that a lot of fibro symptoms can look like MS symptoms.

In any case, I strongly advise you to call your doctor back and ask some very pointed questions. I'd write them out before calling, and keep asking until you're satisfied that you have received meaningful answers.

Best wishes,
Laura R.M.

P.S. If the doctor does suspect MS, let me assure you that it's not the end of the world. Feel free to contact me directly at af752@lafn.org if you have more questions about MS. I've been living with it for a *long* time.

I would try to get further clarification on this for your own piece of mind. That said, cysts all over are fairly common, and some people seem to be "cyst formers". I get periodic ovarian cysts, and right now a recent abdominal ultrasound showed I have a cyst on my right kidney & several in my liver. They are called simple cysts and are of no consequence....I still would try to get someone knowledgeable to give a second opinion on your MRI films just so you can see if there's a connection between your symptoms & the cysts & lesion.

Good luck, I hope you can find some answers!

Pam

I feel a little better to hear that cysts on the brain aren't all that unusual. I have a history of cysts so it makes a little sense.

I think I will get a second opinion, I just located another Neurologist about 45 miles away. I live in a rural area and that does limit my choice of doctors.

I appreciate your answers ladies, and thank you for encouraging me.

Kathleen

Definitely get another opinion. Some docs can run tests and talk to you without ever connecting the dots to make sense out of the symptoms and test results. Find someone who can tell you what all this means. It sounds to me as though you have been brushed off (a time-honored treatment method of inadequate docs).

Love, Mikie