Neuro Appt TOday = my update

[Shadiyah]

Ok I just want to type a little of what the last MRI states. Emory University of Atlanta has a much better machine than the hospital in Philadelphia.

the current examination demonstrates multiple scattered non specific foci of increased T2 signal intensity within the supratentorial white matter. In addition, there is confluent T2 hyperintensity within the bilateral periventricular and deep white matter about the atria and about the left frontal horn of lateral venticles.

ok that was the brain and this is a little of what they said about the spine.

focal subtle T2 hyperintensity at T4-T5 and possibly at C3-C4, again non specific but may be consistent with a focal demylinating plaque.

So now I will be starting copaxane

Now I told him about the pain in my muscles like my arm and my leg and he said that is not neuro. so I am going to rheumatology and the shooting pain that I may get in my knee.

Ijust want to know what you all say about this and when they say it is not neuro can they mean that what you are feeling is not a neuro problem but it is still caused by the MS????

[ANNagain]

Hi Shadiyah,

I certainly think that this MRI report and the fact that you are starting on Copaxone do mean that you have MS.

And, that he thinks that your muscular pain is not caused by MS and is something else.

Sometimes the problem is communication- we don't have the words -the language- to explain what we are feeling. Sometimes some of our symptoms are not from our MS.

I am sorry that you have MS but glad that you have answers and are getting help.

Regards,
ANN

[Debbie D]

Glad you're starting on a med-slows it down...
As for the pain, maybe the description to the neuro didn't sound like neuro pain such as neuropathic pain.
Keep on with a symptom journal...and keep us up to date

[SallyC]

Welcome to our not so exclusive club Shadi..

Good luck with Copaxone.

[ewizabeth]

Sometimes pain is just overuse pain or what not. It doesn't necessarily need to be a serious cause. I have MS but my knee pain is caused from my overuse at times by walking on uneven surfaces or the like. Don't let them make you into a "basket of diseases" just because one symptom or another doesn't fit with MS.

[Shadiyah]

What I was trying to tell him about the pain and I don't know why he would just know. I was having muscle tenderness. It was throbbing on and off which it does a lot and then sometimes I would get sharp nerve pain through the same area. But I am on a pain regimen from pain management but sometimes the gabapentin and morphine does nothing for that pain. I am also on oxycodone. I have degenerative disc disease also.

[NurseNancy]

hi shadi,

i've had MS for 10 yrs, well dx'd for 10 yrs. had it much longer.
i was originally dx'd with fibromyalgia. i was having so much muscle pain all over my body and my neuro finally called it MS pain.

MS pain is a real thing. i can't refer you to a link but i bet you could find some info on it to share with your dr. other things besides MS can always be a cause of physical problems. however, MS pain does exist.

[Keely]

Glad you finished your tests, Shadi, and it's good that you got some valuable information from your doctor. I'm from Atlanta, and they're good folks over at Emory, so I'm sure you were in good hands there.

As others here have said, MS pain is very, very real. In fact, I have to take pain pills every night because my neuropathic pain is so severe. It's good that you're going to a rheumatologist to get some help with pain management.

Many of us with MS also have other auto-immune conditions that can produce pain--I have Lupus and, years ago, most of my pain was from Lupus inflammation. Now, most of my pain is neuropathic and caused by the MS.

Your pain may or may not be neuro-related, but you're doing the right thing by seeking treatment and getting answers.

Best of luck to you, and keep us posted!

[Debbie D]

Judy, I experienced the same thing...was dxd with fibro in the mid 80s...one neuro even blamed my other ms Sxs on the fibro.