Multifocal intracranial arterial stenoses

Hello @jobli0 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am wondering how you are feeling and if you feel July seems like a long time to wait given the symptoms that spurred you making this most recently appointment for diagnosis? Is this the soonest that you were offered an appointment?

Yes, July was the earliest appointment I was offered with an option to be put on a waiting list. Yes, I was wondering if the "severe" stenosis of several arteries, as was reported by a head c-t scan with contrast, should suggest an earlier appointment. I am already on what appears to be the appropriate medications for my heart condition so I assume there isn't much more that I can do and I must simply live with this additional information. I am 85 years old with central and obstructive sleep apnea.

@jobli0 the more severe, essentially the more risk there is for stroke. Stroke can impact your brain health so would not take the diagnosis lightly and if I were you, I think I would either seek clarification for why waiting until July won't impact your health or seek a second opinion if you don't feel confident in the response.

I'd like to bring in members @hendglenn2000 @feelingthankful and @mshutch who may have some experiences they can share with you.

Do you feel you can ask for clarification?

Thank you for helping me with my decision. I drafted and sent a mychart message to my PCP asking if she felt a six month wait for an appointment is appropriate when the head c-t scan showed severe stenosis of V4 vertebral artery and severe stenosis of P1 segment of the left posterior cerebral artery.
Initially, her referral for the head c-t scan was for my issues with balance and dizziness.

Get MRI for chiari 1 malformation. Many have it and causes strange symptoms and goes undiagnosed

Hi,
My guess is you should press them to see you prior to discuss the situation, minimally for your own peace of mind, and it sounds like if possibly having symptoms that led to the test it would make even more sense. However, don’t be surprised if they think the best action is to do nothing as sometimes the case. Also, if there is anything you can do with lifestyle you may want to do it at the same time. Good luck. I am just guessing so please ask your doctor or you can call the specialist when they open and see if they have any cancellations or ask them to please see you prior. Good luck. If you are close to Mayo and can go there definitely consider it.

That is much more involved than my current situation. Tomorrow I am scheduled for a Temporal Artery Biopsy. I think it is pretty straight forward and not to get too excited about until I have results. Can anyone else weigh in on this? Janice

I had not properly set my notification choice and didn't realize there were replies. I was last aware of responses in January.
My appointment has been moved to September, so I have not yet seen a neurologist. However, in February I sent a message to my PCP and she requested that someone from neurology call me and explain the head c-t scan. A neurosurgeon called me in early February and explained that the vertebral and cervical arteries involved a redundancy and didn't result in a serious situation. This was after he had asked a number of questions regarding my health. He stressed the importance of being aware of stroke symptoms and getting immediate medical assistance in the event of having stroke symptoms. He also stressed the current status of early treatment. He spent a good amount of time talkin with me and I decided that I could accept his explanation, but hope the appointment date is not moved even later in the year.
FYI: I have also been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy caused by pericious anemia in about 1990, small fiber neuropathy in 2014, obstructive sleep apnea in 1991, central sleep apnea in 2018, congestive heart failure in 2019. I am 85 years old and my mother lived until just short of 98 years old. I don't expect to live that long, but if I do, I don't want it to be in a decrepit state!
I am appreciating Mayo Connect and reading it daily.

I too have spinal stenosis and will have back surgery on July 12th in Lincoln Nebraska. We have the same problem