Brain MRI after major spine op...

[Julia33]

Hi there,

I am new to this forum and searching for advice. I am a fit and healthy 37 year old. In may, I had a tumour removed from my spinal cord and have now fully recovered and I am back running the roads. I was convinced I had a tumour in my brain so the doctor put me in for brain scan for reassurance. The results came back stating "no brain tumour or lesions" but "evidence of abnormal t2 signals in the medulla (the part that joins spine to brain). The report said "reasonable to request another appointment". So, the radiologist left it up to me to make another MRI appointment. Do you think this is anything to worry about. I nearly freaked out with the doc who read the report. I made the appointment and the next MRI is on 11th oct (seven weeks after my first one). My friend who works in the med profession said it could be abnormal signals in medulla from major spine surgery. Help!!

Julia xxxxx

[hanshan]

My first response is that this is a medical issue which can only be resolved by your doctors.

Posters here can help with anxiety-related issues, and give support.

[Julia33]

Thanks for your reply and advice, Hanshan.

The only thing I am clinging on to is that I can't see it being "urgent" otherwise they would not have given me a choice, through the doctor, as to whether I wanted another scan done. They would have phoned me from the MRI dept direct as they did with my spine scan in May. Also, would not have thought they would have kept me waiting for 7 weeks if life threatening?

Julia xx

[hanshan]

Hi Julia,

If I can hazard a guess, there's probably some code built into the statement "reasonable to request another appointment".

The imaging people probably have a set range of statements of varying intensity like "Should request...", "Strongly advised to request...", and "Seek further treatment immediately". I'm thinking that the "reasonable to " bit indicates that they think it is in a lower risk category.

Take care,

Hanshan

[Julia33]

I had not thought of that.....you are most probably spot on with that comment. Thanks so much for your reassurance, support and sensible feedback

Julia xxxx