possible lead??

[illinwithoutacause]

okay, so i went to see neuro #3 a week ago friday and she was going to review my images from february & april with her radiologist.  last week i started having some more freaky symptoms--bilateral leg weakness, numbness in my nether parts and overall sense of being ill.  i put a call into her to tell her what was going on and she just called me about an hour ago to tell me that she had gone over my MRIs and she and her radiologist concurred with my 2nd opinion neuro that the hyperintensities that showed up at C-7 and T-5 are not signs of demyelination.  They do believe that what it could be is a hydromyelia which is an dilation of the spinal column caused by something like chiari malformation (which i do not have) or a disc herniation impinging the spinal cord above (which i do have at C-5-C6).  she did say that my neuro exam was consistent with disc injury, and she is ordering a repeat MRI w/ contrast of my C- and T-spine on a 3T machine and i should get the call to schedule it soon.

i don't know if this is the answer to the hell i have been through or not, but at least someone is thinking for a change, trying to help me and i am beyond grateful for that.

blessings to you all.
binx

[zenhound]

For what it's worth my neuro is a woman and doesn't really listen. I mean, she's not as bad as some of the stories I read about, but she does the whole "maybe it's stress" thing. And then last time I sent her an email she did a whole non-answer thing that was frustrating. So maybe it's not sex, or maybe you should only see the same sex that you are.

[theasian]

i had a woman neuro first and she was brilliant, i loved as much as a patient could love their doctor, i really couldn't have asked for a better one. but then my case got a bit difficult for her so she sent me to a more senior neuro. i honestly don't like him but he's one of the best in our country so if there's anyone who can "fix" me, i'm sure it will be him. unfortunately though he's adopting the "wait and see" approach (the other neuro also did that) because he feels that i'm not showing any specific symptoms of anything yet. to cut a long story short, i think that also biased towards women neuros
take care

[illinwithoutacause]

hi theasian,

thank you so much for your reply.  i have to say that after seeing over 27 doctors during this hellish journey, i am relieved to have a neuro who is willing to communicate with me.  the first one i saw was quite brilliant and well meaning, but he was young and seemed to have attention deficit disorder.  he never returned calls and didn't follow through on anything.  the other veteran doc who allegedly specialized in diagnosing difficult to diagnose neurological conditions came out of the gate like a shot, but once he didn't see MS lesions on my spinal cord, i fell off of his radar and he stopped returning my calls.

maybe i am sexist, but it is my perception that having a woman neuro in this case is better for me.

i hope we are all able to find our tickets out of this desolate place we call limboland sooner than later, too.  in the mean time, it sure is nice chatting with you all and "feeling the love".

peace,
binx

[theasian]

i'm glad to hear that the neuro is willing to go through things for you and that she is doing something! it's always nice when you find one that is proactive and doesn't want to take the "let's wait and see" approach.
i hope that you will be telling us soon that you are no longer a limbolander! :)
take care

[illinwithoutacause]

thank you both for the responses.  we'll see what happens next, and i'm trying not to get my hopes up, but i have to admit, my spirit was a bit lighter this morning after the phone call after having had such a difficult last week.  just the mere fact that the neuro called me back herself and talked to me for several minutes was a huge plus considering the faulty communication skils my previous two neuros possessed.

i will keep everyone posted.

blessings to you all,
binx

[faithhopegreatestlove]

I am so excited for you!  I can't help but watch your progress because I, too, think that my impinging disk in my neck is one of the root causes of the neuro problems I'm having. I don't know if there's even a 3T available in this area, but I can tell you, no one here has suggested I get better pics. Looks like your doc is really on the ball.
--faithHGL

[jibjen]

Hey toots,

WELL...your right at  least they are looking for things!!!! and a 3T is supposed to be aawesome....so maybe it will show something that they did not see on the last films.....

Please let us know.....

Thinking of you
Jibs