S10E6 Stable but Symptomatic What Your MRI Results Actually Mean_Transcript
[00:00:00] The MRI results are in, and I am so grateful to say that after 10 years of my diagnosis, everything remains stable. But after sharing the news, I found myself wondering something I think a lot of women with MS wrestle with. If my MRI is stable, why do I still have symptoms? In this episode, we're talking about what stable actually means and why stable and symptom-free are not the same thing, and the gap that so many women with MS are trying to navigate every single day.
And before we get started, I wanna invite you to something special. Living with MS can feel overwhelming, but one habit can shift everything. That's what I'll show you inside my free webinar, How to Help Slow MS Progression, Starting With Just One Habit. Think of it as your first step towards more energy, [00:01:00] confidence, and hope.
Save your seat at aleenebrennan.com/webinar. Welcome to my MS podcast, where women with MS learn how to slow progression and live a life they love. I'm Aleene Brennan, your MS sister and a practitioner who knows the science and the reality of living this too. Each week, I share simple science-backed habits to boost your energy, stay consistent, and feel like yourself again.
Because MS may be a part of your story, but it doesn't get to write the ending. Welcome back, my friends. I am so happy to share this good news with you. My MRI results are in. If you listened to last week's episode, I talked about it being my 10-year anniversary of my diagnosis, and it was time for my annual MRI.
And despite being stable for 10 years, I still [00:02:00] get nervous about the MRIs. It's not the machine itself. Like, I actually do decent inside the machine despite the banging and being in a tube only inches bigger than me for the better part of an hour, but it's the week leading up to the MRI, the anticipation of the results, and then of course, waiting for the results after the MRI and constantly refreshing that page of your patient portal, waiting to get that notification of new test results.
Well, I went for my MRI at 7:30 on Saturday morning in Philly. I love going at that time because going that early on a Saturday morning just makes it a little less chaotic. So I got there nice and early. I was called back relatively quickly. And of course, you know, you get in the tube, they hand you the earplugs and the headphones.
They ask you what music that you want, and you're handed that little ball to hold onto, and then [00:03:00] they press the button, and you are slid back into that machine. And then they let you know They're getting started. And the hospital that I go at doesn't automatically give you the IV contrast every single time.
They actually have somebody while you're in the machine reading the results, and if they see any activity or anything questionable, then they do give you that IV contrast. But if they don't, if everything looks stable, they don't give it to you. So it's kind of a spoiler alert in the middle of the test, which is good and bad because then if they're not giving it to you, like there is this big exhale and I cry every time.
Like, I literally am in that machine with the cage around my head, and then the tears start trickling down the side of my face there, which is super comfortable 'cause you can't, like, barely blink, let alone, like, try to dry a tear. But then it's terrifying on the flip side that [00:04:00] if they do give you the contrast, how can you not, like, instantly feel like it's a dead giveaway that MS has somehow progressed?
So yeah, so it's kind of like it's a good and bad thing. And I don't know about you, but I feel like I kind of like lose track of time because how can you not? There's no indication of how much time has passed. But the tech let me know that I was at the point of the MRI where they confirmed that I don't need the IV contrast.
And I just like, again, instantly, like the tears started going down and I had this big exhale like, "Okay," like, "it must be stable. It must be stable." But you still don't know. You still don't know until you have that confirmed report. So they take me out of the machine, I get dressed and driving home, and as soon as I get home, I'm constantly, like, refreshing that portal page.
And I didn't know if I was gonna get test results that day or not because it's a Saturday. So not only do they tell you that it normally takes like 24 to 48 [00:05:00] hours to get results, but again, it was a Saturday, so I didn't know if that meant 24 to 48 business hours, or at least, you know, one or two business days.
But I was so surprised. I checked the portal and the results were in, and it said stable. Like 10 years after my diagnosis, 10 years after hearing the words, "You have MS." 10 years after all the fear, like all the uncertainty, the diet changes, the lifestyle changes, the supplements, the MRIs, the tears, the prayers, and everything in between.
MS remains stable. And that is a blessing. That is such a blessing I do not take for granted. And of course, it feels so good to be able to share that news with my family too. But then there was this moment afterwards, and I'm wondering if you've ever experienced it too. I shared the good news, and they [00:06:00] were obviously very excited.
You know, they're doing the congratulations and, like, all the things. So excited for me. And then they go back to their normal routine and the rest of their day. And I wouldn't expect them to do anything different. But after the excitement settled, I found myself wondering, like, "Wait a minute. Do they think I'm fine now?
Like I don't really have MS anymore? Like I got the diagnosis 10 years ago and I somehow, like, outgrew it or graduated from it?" Because I do still have MS, and I do still deal with the occasional fatigue and brain fog and heat sensitivity Because a stable MRI doesn't mean that I don't have MS anymore.
So as I was, like, processing all of this, I was like, "We need to talk about this on the podcast because there's no way that I'm the only one who is experiencing this." So I wanted to talk about, like, what does [00:07:00] stable actually mean? So here we are, my friends. Let's talk. When your neurologist says your MRI is stable, they're talking about disease activity.
Like, do you have any new lesions? Do you have any active lesions? And have any existing lesions changed? And thankfully, in my case, the answer was no. No new lesions, no active lesions, no evidence that the disease is actively progressing on my MRI. And my friends, that's a huge win. But this is the part that confuses and honestly frustrates a lot of women with MS.
You can have a stable MRI and still have symptoms. You can still experience fatigue and brain fog, heat sensitivity, numbness, tingling, balance issues. So the question naturally becomes, if my MRI is stable, why do I still feel like I have MS? [00:08:00] Because you do. A stable MRI doesn't mean MS is gone. Stable and symptom-free are not the same thing.
It means that there is no evidence of new disease activity right now, but your body is still working with a damaged nervous system. I hate saying it that way because I don't wanna feel damaged, and I know you don't either. But we need to understand the disease that we're living with, right? Think of lesions like damaged spots on your phone charger.
Like, I think back to my original iPhone charger. I mean, like the ones that we have today. It's that white cord, and inside that white wrapping are all of the, like, actual wires and cords themselves. We just have that pretty white coating around them. Well, I would like wrap the cord up, like, just to keep it tighter, and in doing so, over time, it started to break that white cover open, so it would expose some of the wires [00:09:00] underneath.
Once I realized what it was doing, I stopped doing that 'cause I didn't wanna make it worse, but that original damage was already done. The white coating on the outside of the wires had already frayed. So it wasn't getting worse, but that original damage was still done. And because of that original damage, sometimes my phone would charge, sometimes it didn't, and sometimes it was just slower to charge.
That's kind of similar to the damage that lesions cause with MS. Lesions are there, and those lesions disrupt the communication between our brain and our body. Our nervous system can't send or receive messages as easily as it once did. So even though you have a stable scan, your body is still working harder because of that original damage.
You can think of it like an old injury, maybe from like a car accident or a previous sports injury. You got injured, and [00:10:00] for the most part it healed, but, but it's almost like there's, there will always be some like underlying damage there. And sometimes you still notice that years later. Like maybe a part of your body gets stiff, or maybe it aches when it rains, or maybe it limits your range of motion.
It's that old injury that creates some of those symptoms. MS is similar. You may be stable. You're not-- It's not actively progressing right now, but your body is still carrying those old injuries, and that's why symptoms can still show up. These symptoms now, they don't warrant you being in a hospital, but they also don't let you live your life the way that you want.
This is the gap your doctor doesn't fill. Your MRI is stable, so your doctor says, "Everything looks great. See you next year." But you still don't feel like yourself. Both can be true. You are stable, and you still struggle with MS symptoms, some especially [00:11:00] fatigue. But this is the very gap that diet and lifestyle can be really effective with.
It's not trying to cure MS. We know that there is no cure. But it can help you feel better in your body. It can help you get a boost of energy. It can help you create more stable energy throughout your day. And for many people, it helps to reduce brain fog. And for me, it was so important that I had something that was within my control that I could help to slow this down.
I wanted something that would help me still hold on to the dreams and goals that I had and the life that I had been working so hard to build over the years. I was okay if I had to adjust the timeline or details of how it would look, but I wasn't willing to completely let go of all of those dreams, goals, and the life [00:12:00] that I wanted.
And diet and lifestyle has helped me to still have that ambitious heart and find a way to still live out my goals and dreams without letting MS take me down in the process. These diet and lifestyle habits, they don't erase my diagnosis. They don't cure MS, but they absolutely have improved my quality of life.
And you- and the beautiful thing is you don't need to do drastic overnight transformation. You can start with small changes. That's how I have guided thousands of women through this process. It's not drastic overnight transformations. It's starting with something so small. You can do it no matter how heavy the fatigue feels in your body today because you need a plan that works for real life with MS, 'cause we're not starting from ideal.
We are starting from [00:13:00] exhausted. And for so many women, they think, like, an MS diet or protocol is out of their reach because they just don't see how they could possibly start or stay consistent when they feel the way that they do right now And if that's where you're at, I want you to know there is a way to start, yes, even if you are completely and utterly exhausted.
There are small things that you can do just to get the ball rolling. You just need to tip over that first domino. Because when you start small, it's something that you can do today, and then allows you to do it the next day and the next day. And before you know it, these small changes are starting to gain momentum.
They're starting to ease that fatigue, starting to lift that brain fog, and you get that hope back, that hope that you can actually start to feel a little more like you again and live the life that [00:14:00] you want, not the one that MS tries to dictate. So will we continue to have symptoms living with MS? Most likely, yes.
But what I've become so passionate about is knowing that diet and lifestyle can help us turn down the volume on them, giving us back some control and quality of life and our dreams and our goals. And what I've also realized is that those diet and lifestyle changes are so important, and I truly believe that they significantly contributed to me being stable for 10 years.
But I also know that it doesn't guarantee me being stable forever. I'm turning 47 this year, and whether I want to admit it or not, bodies change as we age And with that, so does MS. This was a big driver behind the class that I teach about the MS [00:15:00] biological clock. So our bodies age, we know that, right? As time passes, our bodies age, but so do the systems in our body.
This is the connection that, that I don't think many of us are making. We think of aging as maybe, like, physical appearances, but think about the inside of your body, too. Your immune system ages j- just as the rest of your body ages. And as our immune system ages, it becomes less efficient with managing inflammation.
Inflammation becomes harder to manage. And also our hormones shift as we age, too. Hello, perimenopause and menopause. And that just adds an extra layer of complexity onto managing MS. All of this affects how we experience MS. MS responds differently in your 40s, 50s, and 60s than it did in your 30s. [00:16:00] So when I say I'm grateful for being stable for 10 years, I mean it.
I am. But I also know I can't just sit back and rest on those laurels because I know as I'm aging, my experience with MS can likely change as well. So it reminds me how important it is to keep showing up for those habits that supported my body these past 10 years. The habits that got me 10 stable years need to be more intentional now than ever before.
I can't coast on my past success. I share this not because, like, I'm trying to scare anybody about the MS biological clock. That's the opposite of what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to make us aware of it because it's meant to empower you, 'cause the flip side is true. The sooner you start making changes, the more power you have to protect your quality of life and the life that you want to live, the life that you do not want MS to take away from you.[00:17:00]
So 10 years ago, all I wanted was a stable MRI. Now I have one, and I realize something. Stable is worth celebrating. It is a gift. It is not something I take for granted. But also, stable is not the finish line. I still want energy. I still want a clear mind. I still wanna show up for my daughter, to build a business, to live the big life I have always dreamt of.
This is real life for the ambitious woman who got diagnosed with MS in the prime of her life. We don't want MS to step in and take away the life that we have been working so hard to build. And the good news is there is so much that you can do. to protect it and to feel better. So if you're hearing this and you're like, "Yes Thank you for putting all of this into words because this is exactly how I feel.
You are not alone. [00:18:00] You're just living in the space between stable and symptom-free, and that's exactly where so many of us are right now as well, and we're learning how to navigate this so you can keep dreaming bigger than your diagnosis. And that's exactly what the conversations are that we have on this podcast here and what this community is about.
Because living with MS can feel really confusing in so many different ways. It's invisible, it's unpredictable, and yes, you can be stable and still symptomatic. But we're navigating this together, and I wanna encourage all of us, myself included, to do it with a little more grace and ease on ourselves. And also, if you are living in this gap right now, stable MRI but still struggling, I want to invite you to my free class where I walk you through exactly where to start [00:19:00] even on your heaviest fatigue days.
You can register over at alinebrennan.com/webinar. I would love to see you there. Okay, my friends, I'm gonna wrap it here today, but thank you for listening. I hope these conversations are helpful. I hope it's been helpful, especially these past couple episodes where I've really started to, like, peel back the layers on my own personal journey.
It's always a fine line of figuring out, like, how much you want of my own personal journey versus the bigger picture of MS, um, and everything that I teach in my programs and with my clients. So I really do try to do a blend of all of it to try to weave a little bit of everything into each episode. So I hope these are helpful.
Um, I always do love hearing from you, so if you wanted to drop me a DM over on Instagram, I would love it. It would mean the world to me so I can get to know you and hear the topics that are [00:20:00] resonating most with you. And PS, many of the topics that we talk about here are listener requested, so if there's ever a topic that you would love to have featured on this podcast, again, send me a DM or an email because I always do my best to pick the most requested topics to, to feature on the podcast here.
So all right. Have a great day. Talk soon. Bye. And that's it for today's episode of my MS podcast. I hope you're walking away with one small step you can put into practice today because that is how real change happens. And remember, MS has its own biological clock, which means the sooner you start, the more power you have to influence your future The best time to begin is now.
That's why I created my free webinar, How to Help Slow MS Progression, [00:21:00] Starting with Just One Habit Today. Grab your spot at alinebrennan.com/webinar. See you there