> Just wondering, has anyone been told that it is necessary to have a
> spinal tap, or a myelogram, to eliminate MS totally as a diagnosis?
I was told that the spinal tap isn't conclusive, but it does give the drs.
clues in one direction or another. You can have a spinal tap without having a
myelogram: with a spinal tap they remove spinal fluid to examine it; with the
myelogram, they inject a contrast material to view the spine on the x-ray. If
you are going to have both done, they probably will do them at the same time.
My understanding -- which may be wrong, someone please correct me if it is --
is that the myelogram is used mainly to see if there are any bones structures
that are interfering with the nerve function, and that the MRI is really a
better, more thorough look. In my case I believe the only reason they did a
myelogram was because I went in the hospital on a holiday week-end, and no one
was there to run the MRI for a few days.
Barbara H.