Need advise Please

[laceyj405]

I recently was given an MRI on my lower back and my cervical spine for back pain and loss of bladdar control.

The results on both showed "diffuse low signal intensity on T1 weighted scan likely related to red marrow reconversion"

I am a 29 year old female and am overweight but never smoked. I had a CBC done about 3 weeks before the MRI and it was normal except the Neut % was high. I have been sick with fevers and night sweats for over a month.

I have recently been on 5 different antibiotics trying to cure strep and finally got rid of it with an IV antibiotic, only to get sick again within a week.

My primary doctor and my neurologist have never seen this on a report and I am still waiting on them to respond. The primary doctor said it couldnt be cancer because the white cells were normal, but the cbc was done when I was very sick. She then said she was suprised my white count was not up.

My sister is insisting that I make myself an appointment with a hemotologist but I hate to do tht without my doctor sending me.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated

[Chirley]

Hi, I don't know what it means either. I have had lots of MRIs in the last 2 years and they all reported something similar. I had marrow infiltration of the bones at the base of the skull and thoracic and cervical vertebrae. This was assumed to be part of the Myelodysplastic Syndrome but I have since been rediagnosed as having bone marrow failure secondary to copper deficiency.

My assumption is that any disease process (including infections) which cause high cell turnover in the marrow can cause this finding on MRI.

As I said this is only my thinking on the subject and I most definitely am not medically very savvy.

Regards

[Neil Cuadra]

Hi laceyj405.

I've been reading up on this. If a pelvic bone is weak, stress on the bone can cause so-called insufficiency fractures, which can explain lower back pain. Pelvic insufficiency fractures can affect the bone marrow, so bone marrow changes can be indicators for these insufficiency fractures. In doctor-speak, "diffuse low signal intensity on T1 weighted scan" is the way this clue can show up. However, bone marrow changes can occur for other reasons as well, including the diseases this website focuses on. I guess that's why your doctors can't fully interpret the MRI results.

Some background: Our bone marrow consists of red marrow and yellow marrow, the red marrow being the primary factory for our red cells, white cells, and platelets, and the yellow marrow a higher percentage of fat cells. As we age the red marrow gradually converts to yellow marrow. Marrow reconversion is when yellow marrow undergoes conversion back to red marrow, in response to an increased demand for cell building. As I understand it this can be a benign condition or it can be a sign of a problem, ranging from insufficiency fractures to red cells breaking down (hemolytic anemia).

Red marrow reconversion is more common in overweight women than in the general population, so there seems to be a good chance that your marrow reconversion isn't something out of the ordinary. A hematologist could evaluate you to zero in on this factor, but in my opinion you shouldn't be overly concerned about bone marrow diseases unless you have symptoms of low blood counts or repeatedly show low counts on blood tests when you don't have a fever. I don't think you get much useful information from the neutrophil percentage or white cell count in a single blood test when you're already fighting off an infection.

You probably want to avoid appointments and tests that may not be necessary so I'd ask your primary doctor if he/she wants to consult a hematologist or have you consult one, and otherwise not go looking for trouble. You've gone plenty to concentrate on already: back pain, bladder issues, and the fevers.

[laceyj405]

I recently had a blood smear and thought I would add the results so maybe I can get some additional advise. I really appreciate the help!What does this blood smear mean?
mponent Your Value
WBC 14.1
RBC 4.42
HEMOGLOBIN 13.7
HEMATOCRIT 40.3
MCV. 91
MCH 31.0
MCHC 34.0
RDW-STDEV 42.3
RDW CV 12.7
PLATELETS 339
MPV 10.6
NEUTROPHIL ABSOLUTE 12.28
LYMPHOCYTE ABSOLUTE 1.38
MONOCYTE ABSOLUTE 0.37
EOSINOPHIL ABSOLUTE 0.01
BASOPHILS ABSOLUTE 0.02
RBC 4.42
HEMATOCRIT 40.3
RETICULOCYTES 2.2
%
RETICULOCYTE, ABSOLUTE 0.095
RETICULOCYTE, CORRECTED 2.0
RETIC IMMATURE FRACTION 10.7
%
PERIPHERAL BLOOD SMEAR REVIEW See Path Report
Component Your Value
BANDS 1
NEUTROPHILS MANUAL 91 %
LYMPHOCYTES MANUAL 8 %
MONOCYTES MANUAL 0%
EOSINOPHILS MANUAL 0%
BASOPHILS MANUAL 0%
RBC MORPHOLOGY Normal
PLATELET EST. Adequate
Component Your Value Range
CORTISOL LEVEL 20.2

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I also had an Mri showing Diffuse diminished T1 signal intensity of vertebal marrow likely related to red marrow reconversion or anemic state.
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Any resources you can give me would be greatly appreciated
43 minutes ago - 4 days left to answer.
Additional Details
The doctor is referring me to a hematologist for a bone marrow biopsy. I am just trying to figure out what they may be looking for.
2 seconds ago

[Marlene]

I can't really advise or make any suggestions on the blood counts. Without looking up all the normal ranges to compare what you listed, it appears most of your results except the white blood cells are normal.

Maybe if you noted which values are flagged as high or low, that would help others looking at this post.

Many things can effect WBC. Other autoimmune diseases,kidney disease, drugs, steroids, and infections/inflammation.

I would think there are additional tests they would run before doing a bone marrow biopsy.