PDA

View Full Version : MRI result



fed up with it
24-02-07, 17:51
I had an mri done 8 months ago because i was experiening dizziness, but it was 6 months before the results were given to me. They were that i have an ultra white patch on my brain but it isnt anything to worry about, i asked if it was ms, and the doctor said no, i said have i had a stroke in the past and not known about it, she didnt answer that either other than to say it was anything to worry about, however see is going to refer me to a neurogist because i am so sensitive to lights, whether they are in shop/computer/fruit machines? any ideas should i be worried. If not what was it?

RLR
24-02-07, 18:49
Okay Carol, in order for me to offer a sensible reply regarding your MRI, you're going to have to be far more explicit about the results other than "a white patch" evidenced on film.

MRI is designed to create contrast between various tissues in the brain, so a white patch is virtually meaningless unless you can be specific. All MRIs are read by radiologists, who provide comments regarding the results. You should have a copy of this interpretation and if you care to, please provide the comments from the radiologist verbatim. Moreover, I would also need to know specifically what your physician has interpreted from the film and you should have a formal copy of that interpretation as well.

You have to realize the complexity associated with this sort of diagnostic test and the need for me to know exactly what your physician and the radiologist are commenting upon relative to the MRI results in order to be of assistance to you.

Having said that, photophobia (light sensitivity) is quite common among patients with migrainous headaches and chronic headaches of this variety can indeed produce areas of greater intensity on certain MRI sequences, but this is not a diagnosis, particularly if you don't suffer from migraine type headaches. Even if you do, I lack necessary information from the reports to make a suggestion at this point.

So in order for me to offer any type of response, I'll need to know what the reports state verbatim. Also, always remember to exclude any personal identfying data when discussing test results over the Internet in order to protect your privacy regarding medical records.

Best regards and Good Health

Meg
24-02-07, 19:22
Hi RLR,

Here in the UK things work a little differently to the USA. We don't have the 1:1 dealings with reports and paperwork and 3rd party clinicians such as a radiologist as you do there, as there is no insurance to get involved with.

The likelihood is that on the NHS Carol would have been referred from her family doctor to a specialist who would have then referred her on for an MRI. The MRI report would be sent back to the requesting specialist who may or may not have seen Carol in Out Patients and may have summarized the reports salient points back to her and the family doctor, or at this stage just have written a referral to the neurologist who will get copies of the reports and assume care of Carol until a diagnosis and plan is formulated.

Whilst referrals and tests are ongoing and there is not a definative diagnosis to work on, details of unconclusive tests are not usually passed back to the patients in detail.

fed up with it
24-02-07, 20:08
Hi i know it seems a bit vague, but all i know as i do not have a copy is that the result was sent back to the doctor saying that there was an ultra white patch (sorry) i can't be more pacific! but i was never re called so after 8 months hopefully this would suggest i have nothing to worry about! I know that an mri image is more complex than an xray. As i say i was originally sent as i was worried about m.s which has in her opinion been ruled out. Hopefully when i see the neurogist re, the light sensitivity i will be able to ask more, sorry its seems so vague. My main symptoms are i have been diagnosed with m.e but i get dizzy spells which have improved since my ferritin has gone up from 4 to 9. and my hb from 9 to 11. Hope this helps. Ps i am sure if there was anything serious i would have been told before 8 months re. mri.

RLR
26-02-07, 01:02
When I state that Carol should have a copy of the interpretation reports, I infer that she, together with any patient in Europe or the U.S., has a legal right to obtain and hold such documents in their personal records. Patient records belong to the patient first and foremost. It's not that she should have necessarily been given the reports, but that she should request copies. I should have been more clear on that point. Patients do not have to accept treatment in the blind and certainly have the legal right to know any details of test results, certainly well beyond "nothing to worry about."

I am able to provide an opinion, but only based upon the specifics of the MRI interpretation. You are correct, however, that had the increased signal intensity on the MRI been of medical import, they would not have ignored it.

Again, I'll be glad to help if I can, but the list of possibilities for an "ultra white patch" appearing on MRI is far too exhaustive.

I also note in your original posting that you apparently had low ferritin. If you experience anemia, then it could certainly explain the dizziness, especially if it is accompanied by lethargy and hypotension.

RLR

fed up with it
26-02-07, 10:15
Hi, thanks for your reply, if in the future i recieve a copy i will re.post, but i have to relax on the fact this was 8 months ago, and i have'nt been recalled. But i will certainly question the mri when i see a neurologist.

angiebaby
05-03-07, 22:59
Hi Carol, if you were concerned that you hadn't heard anything in such a long time then you could ring them and check up on it, you know how slow the hospitals are round here!!! I had to wait for 2 months before i got X-RAY results, and then i had to ring round for them. Anyway, just to let you know that i see my neurologist on Wednesday, will let you know what happens. And can i just say Hi to RLR, nice to see you on this web site, as you probably know i also visit your website! LOL. Catch up with you after wednesday to let you know what's happening.x