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@Annie13 

Last reply

Annie13

Recent MRI results

Hi everyone, Hope you are all keeping well? I haven't posted in a while but have been keeping an eye on things here daily. I was hoping for some advice on my recent MRI results. I had the MRI without contrast in July and only got the results this week. According to Neuro my 3 old lesions on my spine are gone (healed) and I have one small new one on my neck. I'm a bit confused, is it usual for lesions to heal and I'm assuming this is a good thing? Also is it better to have contrast when having an MRI to get a better picture of what's going on? I was on copaxone and now they want me on either tecfidera or gilenya. I asked for LDN but was turned down fairly sharpish. The threat of PML terrifies me but also does the thought of a relapse that leaves me with permanent damage so feel like I have to accept one or the other. Thanks in advance everyone
2
@Stumbler
@Stumbler
 

@annie13 , disappearing lesions may not be as clear-cut as that. When the brain repairs damaged myelin the repair is not perfect. Though the nerves may look okay, they typically still transmit their signals more slowly than they did before the damage. This slowness may show up as the reappearance of old symptoms when a person gets overheated. The use of contrast in an MRI highlights any active lesions. Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) is used "off-label" for MS. There is only anecdotal evidence of its efficacy and it's for these reasons why this isn't prescribed. All of the Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs) are powerful drugs with unwelcome side-effects of varying gravity. But, these risks are known risks, which are mitigated by regular monitoring. If these risks breach their thresholds, your DMT would be reviewed. Hope this helps.

@Annie13
@Annie13
 

Thank you @stumbler. Sound advice as always. I'm 2 years since diagnosis and still learning how this MS business works. Something tells me I may never stop learning!