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Neuro Visit and MRI Questions

Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:29 am
by Sadie9
Tuesday I saw a neurologist for the following reasons-tremors in hands, tingling in neck and on top of my head and elbows. Cramping and jerking movement in hands, sometimes the whole right side of me shakes, pain in my hands when I'm writing or doing anything fine motor related, dizziness, slurred speech at times, forgetfulness and pain in my eyes at times with flashing light on the right side of my right eye... Sometimes I also feel like when I'm walking around-it feels like I might faint although I never do. I've been worked up for Celiac-negative, Lupus and Lyme-negative.. EBV-Negative.

Long ago, I had a CT of my neck and head looking for a salivary stone and it showed incidentally that I had some hypodensity in the basal ganglia. I showed him that and based on his in office findings, he said it could be parkinsons, wilsons disease or MS. So I got my MRI of the head done yesterday with and without contrast.

He called the pain, involuntary spasms and jerking in my hands and arms something called dystonia. He said I have intentional and postural tremors.

So I guess my questions are- do any of you have the above symtoms? How long did it take to get your MRI results and if those show nothing do they usually run other tests?

Re: Neuro Visit and MRI Questions

Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:34 am
by lyndacarol
Sadie9 wrote:Tuesday I saw a neurologist for the following reasons-tremors in hands, tingling in neck and on top of my head and elbows. Cramping and jerking movement in hands, sometimes the whole right side of me shakes, pain in my hands when I'm writing or doing anything fine motor related, dizziness, slurred speech at times, forgetfulness and pain in my eyes at times with flashing light on the right side of my right eye... Sometimes I also feel like when I'm walking around-it feels like I might faint although I never do. I've been worked up for Celiac-negative, Lupus and Lyme-negative.. EBV-Negative.

Long ago, I had a CT of my neck and head looking for a salivary stone and it showed incidentally that I had some hypodensity in the basal ganglia. I showed him that and based on his in office findings, he said it could be parkinsons, wilsons disease or MS. So I got my MRI of the head done yesterday with and without contrast.

He called the pain, involuntary spasms and jerking in my hands and arms something called dystonia. He said I have intentional and postural tremors.

So I guess my questions are- do any of you have the above symtoms? How long did it take to get your MRI results and if those show nothing do they usually run other tests?
Welcome to ThisIsMS, Sadie9.

You say you have "been worked up for Celiac-negative…" What exactly did your workout entail?

There is a well-established test protocol for celiac disease: A physician takes a set of blood tests during a period when the patient has not been on a gluten-free diet; then, depending on the results of the test, a physician might proceed with an upper endoscopy, long known as the gold standard for a celiac diagnosis.

The reason the blood tests must be taken when the patient has not been on a gluten-free diet is that the tests measure the patient's reaction (or lack of reaction) to gluten in the diet. (The longer a patient has been gluten-free, the less chance there is of measuring anything and getting useful results.)

Some physicians might want to take only one or two blood tests, but the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University (http://www.celiacdiseasecenter.columbia ... esting.htm) recommends the following set to maximize the chance of getting accurate results:
Anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) both IgA and IgG
Anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA) - IgA
Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) - IgA
Total IgA level

Negative blood test results are then often followed by endoscopy and a biopsy of 4-6 locations in the intestines.

http://celiac.org/celiac-disease/non-ce ... nsitivity/
NON-CELIAC GLUTEN SENSITIVITY (NCGS) is a condition with symptoms similar to those of celiac disease that improves when gluten is eliminated from the diet.

People with non-celiac gluten sensitivity can experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, bone or joint pain, and chronic fatigue when they have gluten in their diet, but other symptoms are also possible. While these are common symptoms of celiac disease, these individuals do not test positive for celiac disease or for a wheat allergy.

Were any or all of these included in your work-up? The aim was only to rule out celiac disease? How about the less severe gluten sensitivity?

Re: Neuro Visit and MRI Questions

Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 10:44 am
by Sadie9
Yep I had the endo and colonoscopy and biopsy
along with all the labs. I work for a specialist so they made sure to cover all the bases of Celiac disease and he always pushes for the more specific tests, but I'm not sure about the gluten sensitivity. I don't really have any abdominal issues or intestinal issues though I know you can still have it regardless.