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85 Years And Has Balance Issues. Tests Show Change In Pituitary Gland Size. Related?
my mother 85 has suddenly had imbalance issues and feels like her eyes are crossed . she has had the cat scan, blood work and now an mri . Doctor said all is clear! no sinus , no inner ear , noe eyes, not tia no tumors..but he noticed a change in the size of her pituitary glad from the mri of 5 years ago. Now he want a contrast mri and blood work to check the pitutary. He said an endocrinologist would be the next route and would probably give her some pill to take down what may be sudden swelling causing her walking like a drunk and seeing double, What do you think?
posted on
Tue, 26 Feb 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 27 Feb 2013
Answered on
Wed, 27 Feb 2013
Last reviewed on
Hi,
Thank you for posting your query.
Based on the symptoms, I would think of a posterior circulation stroke as the first diagnosis. In this condition, there may be lack of blood flow in brainstem and/or cerebellum.
Regarding the normal MRI, it happens in some cases. However, a repeat MRI later would show the infarct (blood clot).
Regarding pituitary swelling, it is likely to be a small adenoma (benign tumor), which can be confirmed with contrast scan. In any case, her symptoms are not related to the pituitary swelling.
Best wishes,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology)
Senior Consultant Neurologist
Thank you for posting your query.
Based on the symptoms, I would think of a posterior circulation stroke as the first diagnosis. In this condition, there may be lack of blood flow in brainstem and/or cerebellum.
Regarding the normal MRI, it happens in some cases. However, a repeat MRI later would show the infarct (blood clot).
Regarding pituitary swelling, it is likely to be a small adenoma (benign tumor), which can be confirmed with contrast scan. In any case, her symptoms are not related to the pituitary swelling.
Best wishes,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology)
Senior Consultant Neurologist
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