Sclerosis and hypertrophy of the spine

[Hoffa70]

I have had many symptoms that have progressed over the years, many which have been those of MS yet no doctor can diagnose  me. I have had a big run around hearing I have fibromyalgia, long term effects from chemo and radiation, and many other issues. I have worked in health care and often thought my symptoms were those of MS and have requested the doctors to look into this but have been ignored and blown off. My health has deteriorated greatly the past 4 years and I am in extreme pain. This week I demanded an X-ray or MRI of my spine. My doctor said to me your issue is probably long term effects from chemo it will not show anything. I demanded he do something as I can not go on with this pain any longer. I am unable to sleep, sometimes I can not walk, or move. He finally ordered an x ray. It came back showing severe sclerosis and hypertrophy l3-L4 through L5-S1 as well as loss of disc space in my upper spine. Has anyone with MS had sclerosis and or hypertrophy show on tests? Also where do I go from here? What kind of doctor do I need to see? Is it neurology, rheumatology? My primary care has had these results since Monday and has not contacted me with them. I had to go to the hospital and get them myself. These doctors are useless. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you all.

[bbassel]

Four. Years before I was diagnosed I. Had extreme pain in my upper back. My doc sent me for xray, bone density scan, cat scan, and physio (which made things worse) I was a nurse and had to stop working because of pain.

I begged my doc for a mri three times and. Even had my dad come in and ask her as well. She thought it was alll muscular and wouldn't let me have an mri. I have no idea why.

Four years later I was slurring my words and was sent for an mri. My bbrain came up with lesions. I got sent to a ms specialist and sshe said my pain was due to spinal lesions and sent me for a spinal mri.

Sure enough lesions in spine too. I suffered in pain for four years because of my doc. When I was diagnosed she toold me that she isn't convinced ms ccaused my pain. I told her about my spinal lesions and she had never received those test results. That shut her up!

Many people have said find a new doc or sue her lol. I believe for the rest of my life she is going to work her a** off for me and that is way more important for me. She kknoows she messed up and will never make that mistake again!

I wish you all the best

[Hoffa70]

I have had EMG's done on my arms which showed severe nerve damage. They said I had carpal tunnel and did surgery in both hands. I still have the same issues as before if not worse. I was sent to a pain clinic but they did not do any test for anything. They only prescribed heavy narcotics which at the time I was unwilling to take. I wanted to have a diagnosis before being pumped with drugs. Now the pain is so bad I think some form of relief may be needed. No one has done an MRI yet. I will be requesting this next. Seems I need a new team of doctors.

[HVAC]

Sorry for your condition and not having diagnosis yet.

I have never heard of MS lesions showing up on a X-ray. My MS lesions only showed up on a MRI with MS protocol. Do you have abnormal neurological exams. Can you get an appointment with a neurologist preferrably a MS Specialist?

What about a pain clinic. My MS Specialist sent me to a University pain clinic. It has been the best thing that ever happened. On top of MS I then developed Ovarian Cancer and have been on chemotherapy for two and half years. The pain clinic tried all kinds of medications until they got the right ones for me.

When you are diagnosed with MS they use the same medications for pain they would use if you did not have MS. Muscle relaxers for muscle spasms. Drugs like Lyrica, Gabenpentin, and Trileptal for nerve pain. I am on narcotics for my cancer and MS pain. I suffered needlessly waiting for a MS diagnosis which took me a couple to get. I wish I had gone to a pain clinic sooner. It will not keep you from a diagnosis.

Alex

[Hoffa70]

I have had numbness and tingling in the extremities, burning in my extremities, numbness in my face, as well as migraines, slurred speech at times, dizzy spells, fevers, rashes, and severe pain. My skin even hurts to the touch on my back. I do know some of my issues may be due to the chemo and radiation treatments I had. It is not scoliosis. The wording in the reports is what I used in my post. I have been waiting to hear back from doctors today but have not heard back yet. Would love to hear from others who may have had the same things show up on reports. It has been a long journey over the last 4 plus years.

[kwarendorf]

Hi Hoffa - Welcome to the group.

While you say you have many symptoms of MS, you don't give specific examples. This makes it hard for ust to comment. And while your recent x-rays show some signifcant mechanical issues, they won't prove valuable when it comes to diagnosing MS. For that you would need MRI's.

You mention findings of sclerosis and hypertrophy. There is a condition called osteosclerosis, which is characterized by increased bone density. Is that what the xrays showed? Is it possible they are talking about scoliosis, or curvature of the spine.

In any case, the sclerosis associated with multiple sclerosis is damage to or scarring of nerves in the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS does not extend into the lumbar spine. So if the findings on your xray are cusing your symptoms it would appear to be unrelated to MS.

Kyle