This past week I had a neurology follow-up again, finally. There is good news, and mixed news, but nothing that I would really call “bad news”. The first thing is they may never know exactly what happened this past January. Here is what we do know however.
I do not have MS. Doctor was quite adamant about that several times. I have none of the usual clinical signs. There is still a very small chance it is, but doctor would be extremely surprised if it was MS. That in many ways is a load off, as although treatments for MS have come a long way, it is still a difficult to manage disease.
I do have a bulging/ruptured disc around T6-T7. Which is a bit of a strange place to have one, but it is very clear on MRI. I also have a bit of a fatty tumor in the same area so my spinal canal is at least moderately narrowed in that area and could be causing some of my issues. My neurologist doesn’t think its surgical, but he is sending me to Neurosurgery to get their opinion and be sure. That appointment is next week.
I do have a couple of “scars” on my brain. Now that could be from the two concussions I know I have had in my life, it could be from a virus that left a small scar, or it could be from tiny blood vessels breaking and scaring over. To make sure I don’t have issues with the blood vessels in my brain I am getting scheduled for an MRA, just to make sure that I don’t have any issues with that.
I do have high spinal fluid pressure each time I have had a spinal tap. That could be something related to my optic nerve and affects my balance and feeling. He is sending me to an opthamologist to check those things.
Now onto the things that my neurologist is speculating about. First is Transverse Myelitis. We may never know if it was that as the lesion is not visible on MRI (but those lesions can go away after the damage is done), however, my neurologist came up with a theory that it is possible that my disc rupture/bulge could be covering up where the lesion is, creating a “perfect storm” sort of situation where my problems are caused partially by both issues.
He also said we may never know exactly what happened. He agrees that there is definitely a neurological cause, and sometimes they are unable to settle on an “official diagnosis”. He is at least sticking with the Transverse Myelitis for now as that is the closest to explaining what happened with me.
Overall he is pleased with my progress. I can walk better than I did in April, my strength is better. He is recommending I go back to physical therapy, and I agree. So I will be starting on the therapy train again. I next see him in May.
More Later-
Bratschetech Baroque 