I actually had a consultation on Monday of this week to discover the results of my recent MRI scan. I have been a bit lazy recently on the blog and for that reason I did not give the update as soon as I had the news, also, its taken me a few days to let the results sink in, be processed in my head and turned into coherent reasoning that can be viewed here.
The results were....
Basically, the most recent scan shows no or little change of consequence in my inflamed area of the neck and no new white spots of note on my brain.
This is obviously fantastic news for me but at the same time, a little overwhelming as I need you to understand that since we first found inflammation and spots in my earlier MRI, I have woken each day with the thought that there is a silent disease spreading through my neck and brain and I am in no control of it. It really is that simple, for the last 9 months or so, I have worried myself silly and waited for the day where we could compare scans taken a distance apart to see if this condition grows silently or lies dormant.
So a huge weight is lifted. It is now pretty safe to assume that while I don't have the symptoms that took me down earlier this year and while I can wake each day without getting out of bed and falling over or having an attack of various levels, then its safe to assume that the condition is not developing or spreading in my neck or brain. On the other hand, if I do have another bout of symptoms then its a different story.
On reflection, I should be gloriously happy but I don't allow myself to be that way and I don't really know why. Is it just the case that Myelitis won the first round and I took the second? Or, is it a case that I still wake every day thinking that something is going to happen to me. I know for a fact that if anything does happen then the thoughts of inflammation and brain spots will run rife in me. The question is, will another attack ever happen? And if so, when? I don't have the answers to these.
As usual, and once Christmas is out of the way, its time to take steps to be healthier on the whole. I did some good work earlier this year and I have let it go by the wayside so I am definitely one of those diet types for 2008.
I genuinely wish I could sit here and be more hopeful about the future, rest assured, a part of me is. A larger part of me believes that there are still a few rocky times ahead and as I was a scout, remember what Baden Powell said......"Come and see some puppies young man", I mean "BE PREPARED!!!".
Friday, 30 November 2007
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Its a big day for me!!!
I always know when its going to be a big day, basically because I cant sleep.
Here I am, approaching Midnight, bright eyed and bushy tailed on tenterhooks because I know something is going to happen.
And what is it that is going to happen then? Well today, Wednesday, is the day I have an MRI scan at Lourdes Hospital in Liverpool.
So why is this scan so important? Well, its the first time that I have had a proper scan since my first bout of troubles earlier this year. It is the first time that those results of over 6 months ago will be compared to a fresh set of results. In this way, we shall see if there is any progression in my condition.
What are we looking for then? My Myelitis came about due to inflammation in my spine around the neck area. There were 2 slightly dark areas in the last scan so obviously we want to see if other dark areas have appeared or if the existing areas have grown in size.
The second thing we are looking for is spots on my brain (sounds horrible). In my previous scan, I had several white spots on my grey matter but the consultant called these "BSUO's" which is consultant talk for Big Shiny Unidentified Objects. We all get spots on our noggins over time but in the case of tracking the progress of something like MS, these lesions (another horrible word) grow in size. So in my case, we will be looking to see if the spots that were there last time have stayed, gone or grown.
As you can see, a lot can be told from an MRI scan but to ultimately be diagnosed with the MS word, there are a few more boxes that need to be ticked.
I found an interesting article on the Internet about MS a while ago. It basically said that there are more wrong diagnosi of the condition than there are legitimate ones. To combat this, the criteria for diagnosing the condition was re-evaluated and there are lots of small symptoms that have to occur over a period of time subsequent from each other before a diagnosis can be made.
In my case, every day that passes without the symptoms I had earlier this year is a scalable bonus. 2 symptom attacks have to happen within 12 months of each other to tick one of the boxes. So even though each day I wake up with some ache or pain that I feel is going to trigger something, it doesn't, and with that in mind I get one step closer to March 2008 which is where I pass the 12 month mark. I think you can see my thinking here.
Anyway, back to the MRI. I can only hope for the best, and the best is no progression. I have been through a lot in the last few months but on reflection, my condition is no worse than it was following my recovery earlier on in the year.
Unfortunately, I don't get to see my consultant to discuss the scan until a week on Monday. I would have been able to see him this coming Monday but I am in Germany as part of my product training in the new job and I could not drop tools on this.
As usual, I will keep anyone who cares updated, wish me luck.......
Here I am, approaching Midnight, bright eyed and bushy tailed on tenterhooks because I know something is going to happen.
And what is it that is going to happen then? Well today, Wednesday, is the day I have an MRI scan at Lourdes Hospital in Liverpool.
So why is this scan so important? Well, its the first time that I have had a proper scan since my first bout of troubles earlier this year. It is the first time that those results of over 6 months ago will be compared to a fresh set of results. In this way, we shall see if there is any progression in my condition.
What are we looking for then? My Myelitis came about due to inflammation in my spine around the neck area. There were 2 slightly dark areas in the last scan so obviously we want to see if other dark areas have appeared or if the existing areas have grown in size.
The second thing we are looking for is spots on my brain (sounds horrible). In my previous scan, I had several white spots on my grey matter but the consultant called these "BSUO's" which is consultant talk for Big Shiny Unidentified Objects. We all get spots on our noggins over time but in the case of tracking the progress of something like MS, these lesions (another horrible word) grow in size. So in my case, we will be looking to see if the spots that were there last time have stayed, gone or grown.
As you can see, a lot can be told from an MRI scan but to ultimately be diagnosed with the MS word, there are a few more boxes that need to be ticked.
I found an interesting article on the Internet about MS a while ago. It basically said that there are more wrong diagnosi of the condition than there are legitimate ones. To combat this, the criteria for diagnosing the condition was re-evaluated and there are lots of small symptoms that have to occur over a period of time subsequent from each other before a diagnosis can be made.
In my case, every day that passes without the symptoms I had earlier this year is a scalable bonus. 2 symptom attacks have to happen within 12 months of each other to tick one of the boxes. So even though each day I wake up with some ache or pain that I feel is going to trigger something, it doesn't, and with that in mind I get one step closer to March 2008 which is where I pass the 12 month mark. I think you can see my thinking here.
Anyway, back to the MRI. I can only hope for the best, and the best is no progression. I have been through a lot in the last few months but on reflection, my condition is no worse than it was following my recovery earlier on in the year.
Unfortunately, I don't get to see my consultant to discuss the scan until a week on Monday. I would have been able to see him this coming Monday but I am in Germany as part of my product training in the new job and I could not drop tools on this.
As usual, I will keep anyone who cares updated, wish me luck.......
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