Latest MRI: if I only had a brain

My MRI results are in and the verdict is: no change. This means that I am not getting any better, but I haven't gotten any worse. At least this time, I feel I'm doing about the same as I was two years ago. There have been times when the MRI was stable, but I was in a tailspin.

When my neurologist called, I refrained from asking if the films had shown that I have a brain. I've worn out that joke and know better. An untrained eye like mine can easily identify that they are looking at a brain inside a skull, but the lesions or "spots" as I prefer to call them are harder to see. Early on in my diagnosis, I found a useful web site that showed pictures of "normal" MRIs beside ones for people who had suffered a stroke, had a brain injury or had been diagnosed with MS. It is a surreal experience to find yourself looking at what is inside your head and seeing that it's damaged. I've never broken a bone, but I would think that someone who has looks at their xray and it confirms what they already know. As for my MRI, there was a time that I was blissfully unaware of what was going on inside my brain and spinal cord. The scan makes it real for you, undeniable evidence that you have the disease.

So, in the grand scheme of things a stable MRI is a good one. It means that my current treatment is doing its job and slowing the progression of the disease. My brain may look like Swiss cheese, but there are no new holes and the ones that I have aren't any bigger. I will stay the course because I don't have anywhere else to go.

To learn more about MS and see some actual MRI pictures, go to http://www.ucsf.edu/msc/faq.htm and scroll down to diagnostic tests.