10th MRI and an inflamed brain

Yesterday was a pretty momentous day, involving my tenth MRI scan in almost as many years. This one was also special because it was the first MRI scan of my head and top part of my spine. At this point every single part of my body has been imaged by an MRI scan.

Goal of this tenth MRI scan was to clarify whether or not the numbness and pain which I feel on the right side of my body is due to an inflammation or swelling in my spinal column or brain. One twenty-minute scan and a brief wait later, I got invited by the radiologist to have a look at the results.

Though the spinal column itself looks fine, with no obvious swellings or inflammation, the brain itself did show a couple of spots which might be inflamed or similar. It'll be up to the neurologist to determine whether these spots are anything to worry about.


It's still very probable that these numbness and pain symptoms are a result of endometriosis, which was the neurologist's second option as well. For this I need to see an intersex expert, which is a process which may take a while. Fortunately my medical coach is handling the matter of getting an appointment at the right person, but just making the initial appointment is taking months already, with the actual appointment maybe still taking another few months as well.

On the bright side, since I started back on the contraceptive pill, the numbness and pain seem to be significantly reduced. Aside from a couple of days during which my abdomen felt like it was rotting away and severe pain in the vaginal area, the only thing which I'm really noticing currently is an incredible feeling of exhaustion. Far more than usual.

I'm not sleeping well, naturally, and maybe this is just the point where the lack of proper sleep and the constant feeling of extreme stress due to the eviction case is finally catching up with me. For all I know this stress underlies these possible inflammations in my brain, courtesy of my immune system being undermined by the stress that I'm under.


In short I'm still left with many questions and many uncertainties. Hopefully at least some of it will work out over the coming months.


Maya