This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

1. In diagnosing, is it common to have an MRI only looking at one section (the spine, for instance) and maybe follow-up with other scans or is an MRI usually ordered over the entire brain and spine at once?

2. At what point are the scans generally useful? Do they only show lesions at a certain point in the progression such that those in the early stages won't have them? Do they only show lesions during active attacks?

I'm sure this has been answered before, but I'm looking for a really simple answer and figure it would be faster to ask than to search through all the results for "MRI diagnosis".

Hi.
I am in the testing phases now. I had 1 MRI of my brain and they found some lesions. The neurologist order the next MRI of my LUMBAR and they didn't find any. So next he wanted to do the lumbar area. However I decided to hold off for now before testing further. If I have more symptoms I might go back and continue. Otherwise I plan to go back in 1 year and see if another MRI of my brain shows any new lesions. That is the way they can tell if there is recent activity.

So as of now, I am not diagnosed with MS, although the lesions are unexplained.

The doc told me that if they woudl see other lesions as they continued the MRI's, it woudl confirm MS.