MRI of head of patient with chronic headachs

[emmalousmom]

Hello,
my husband has had headaches for over 10 years and is on many meds and has tried many meds to cure them, the doctor finally did an mri of the head and this is what it says:
This examination shows a large cisterna magan, normal variant in the posterior aspect of the posterior fossa. The vermis is intact.. the right and left cerebellar hemispheres are normal. the brain stem is normal. there is no significant white matter disease. There is a signal small focos of high FLAIR signal in the deep white mater deep to the right sylvain fissure which, as I have stated, is non specific. The white matter is otherwise normal.

They say in one statement it is normal and in the other there is something different, would this cause  his long standing headaches. I know it is probably not curable, but would be nice to know the reason.
Louise Needham

[janie920]

I have had to get not only a second but a third opinion to get things right with me, and it takes alot of patience. Don't give up, and if you know you or your husband is ill, you make it known that to the doc that you are comfortable with his answer or you are not and that you are not giving up on this...Good luck, and God Bless.
janie

[Tuckamore]

Hello and Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. Ten years is a long time to suffer with headaches. I am sorry for your husbands pain.

I did some reading on the subject and your confusion is understandable. Mega cisterna magna has been associated with infarction, inflammation, and infection. In the absence of other findings to suggest a posterior fossa lesion, a mega cisterna magna is unlikely to be clinically significant.

A FLAIR signal can also be insignificant. The best suggestion I can provide you is to see a good neurologist. These findings together could account for your husbands headaches but could mean nothing. These images require the interpretation of a skilled neurologist to determine what if any significance they are in your husbands condition.

I apologize that I can not offer more help for you. Please let us know what your husband discovers. I will look forward to your updates with great interest.

Take Care,
Tuck

[Mollyrae]

Hi:

Have you dicussed these findings with the Neurologist? It does sound quite normal. I have had an MRI with contrast of the brain and I have multiple white matter lesons and what this means (Doctors terms) is I either hit my head hard at one point in my life or I have the beginnings of Alzheimers (sp). I'm too young for the Alzheimers so I tend to think I hit my head.

There are no Doctors in this forum. You may want to post this in the expert forums. There you will find actual Doctors to answer your questions.

Please take care and good luck.
Mollyrae