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Multiple Sclerosis
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Posted 5/11/2015 1:33 PM (GMT -5)
I am a 28 European decent female.
I feel like I am the poster girl for a MS diagnosis.
In October- I had weak/unusual feeling in my right thigh. Lasted 5 days left.
(Side note never been sick and after this occurred had 2 colds and 3 Mastitis cases)
---I have pretty bad fatigue not sure if that is attributed to my mild anemia or this---
Come April I started feeling the same weakness unusual feeling in my right thigh...spread to right calf a few days later and then my whole right leg started to get sharp electric pains. Then my right arm started to get the pain and tingling. Got an ultrasound in the ER for my leg to rule out blood clot. Pain left the next day. Had some residual tingling in my arm and still weak feeling for two more days but for the most part left. Physical exam showed no visible weakness to the doctor.
I set up a nuero apt and drove there and my pain the right leg occurred again once I sat in the car. He did an exam there and as far as I could tell all my reflexes, strength, other tests came out fine. Did have some black spots appear in my eye after he turned off the light and back on again, but the dissipated in like 15 sec. His guess was MS. He ordered MRI of head and cervical spine w/wo contrast to confirm.
After the nuero apt next day symptoms dissapeared. The returned in my right leg after I drove my car a few days later. Otherwise my right arm had the shooting pain and my upper back ached along with an awesome back headache that hurt like hell. Seems to improve after sleeping.
Today found out both MRIs completely clear. Nuero told me no chance for MS. I have a conduction muscle test set up for tomorrow.
Could he be wrong? Am I crazy to still think it is MS. I feel like my symptoms don't fit anything else.
Posted 5/11/2015 8:36 PM (GMT -5)
You might consider what you were doing before the symptoms showed up. Did you have a medical procedure or get some dental work done. You could be seeing a side effect resulting from something you have done. Doctors can get it wrong but understand what causes disease. Disease is caused by toxicity and deficiency. We live in a toxic world and we should try and avoid things which are toxic to the body. We have to eat the foods which supply the vitamins and minerals we need so the body can repair itself. The name of what you have is not important. The important thing is you do everything you can to allow the body to repair itself. Get on a good diet which will give you the nutrients your body needs. Get proper sleep which will allow your body to repair itself. Get exercise which will help the blood flow. Practice prayer and meditation to take the stress out of your life. Put these four ideas into your life and see if it makes a difference.
Posted 5/12/2015 8:38 AM (GMT -5)
Hi Kora,

Welcome to the board. I'm sorry you are having these issues. You are in that awful place called limbo!! You could still have MS. Sometimes it takes a while for lesions to show up. Diagnosing MS is hardly an easy thing. You may want to ask for repeat MRIs in 6 months or so especially if you are still having symptoms.

You may want to check out other diseases that have similar symptoms. Try posting on the fibromyalgia board and the Lyme disease board.

You most likely won't get an MS diagnosis without lesions of some sort. You may want a second opinion. My first neurologist was a general neuro. My second neurologist was an MS specialist. They both said MS but I took it seriously when the MS specialist diagnosed me.

If you suspect MS, be sure you have the best insurance you can afford. MS treatments are extremely expensive. Many beleive this is why it can be difficult to get a diagnosis. Even a diagnosis of "probable MS" typically won't get treatment.

Most of the time, MS progresses slowly. You could be in the early stages. Keep monitoring your symptoms. Meanwhile, read up on diet and lifestyle changes that can help with MS.

Keep us posted. Good luck.
Posted 5/12/2015 10:01 AM (GMT -5)
If you don't mind me asking what is a good insurance company? I have Cigna. My EMG is today. I'm scared out of my mind but I swear nothing else is an answer for my symptoms. My neurologist claims that I don't have ms after seeing the MRIs.

I know it sounds silly but I don't feel like this is slow. In fact I find it strange that there hasn't been a lot of break in symptoms. Maybe a day or two and then back to the symptoms. It's been 3 weeks. Is this typical for ms?

The downside is there is only one MS specialist withing 40/50 miles of me, I will see about contacting them.
Posted 5/12/2015 12:46 PM (GMT -5)
I concur about seeing a MS specialist. Not taking anything away from your neurologist, but it helps having someone who specializes in the disease treat you. I think the 50 mile drive would be well worth your time.
Posted 5/12/2015 1:44 PM (GMT -5)
A good doctor is worth that drive. Cigna is good from what I have heard.

I can never understand why doctors order EMG test when MS is suspected. EMG is a test of the peripheral nervous system. It isnt a test of the central nervous system which is what is damaged by MS. I can only suppose that it is to test for diseases that cause peripheral neuropathy?

I was given evoked potentials (vision, hearing and extremities). This test determines whether or not your central nervous system is working in a healthy functional way. It was a revealing test for my diagnosis.

When I am in an MS flare, my MS symptoms last for several weeks to a few months. After which, I am left with new permanent symptoms. For example; I had one flare where I lost feeling in my legs from the waste down. This lasted for 10 weeks during which time the numbness slowly receded back down my legs. However, I still have significant numbness in my feet and ankles. This numbness is most likely permanent. So to have symptoms for 3 weeks seems unremarkable. The big difference is your symptoms have been all over the place. Mine were consistent and didn't vary dramatically.

I hope this information helps.
Posted 5/13/2015 1:01 PM (GMT -5)
Thank you for your response. My EMG was perfect. My diagnosis because the MRIs were both clean is Fibromyalgia. I just hope it is the correct diagnosis. I have no arm symptoms today and my leg is sore but I presume it may be from the EMG. I got blood draw today to rule our b12 deficiency amongst other things.

Evoked potentials would be interesting. My background is actually in Audiology/speech language. I'd be curious how I would do. I am also possibly getting a lumbar spine MRI next week to rule out for sure herniated disc or pinched nerve but that would only account for my leg symptoms not arm. My initial thought was because of my issues with my epideral with my son that there may have been permanent symptoms that came from that. It only numbed me on one side and I had some issues following that, that came and went.

If you don't mind me asking (this may come out blunt it is not meant that way) but how do you adjust as you get flares? I found it very hard to take care of my 2.5yr old and 9mo old. I was so scared that my arm would start to shake and drop my son. How do you adjust?
Posted 5/13/2015 5:15 PM (GMT -5)
I adjust anyway I can. I ask for help. I have had physical therapy. I have a cane now. I avoid things that cause issues and modify where I can. That what people with progressive diseases do. It's the difficult part of this disease.
Posted 5/14/2015 8:28 AM (GMT -5)
Did you get your vitamin D level checked. Some people have good results when they get their vitamin D level up.
Posted 5/14/2015 11:16 AM (GMT -5)
Kind of, So I just got a blood draw yesterday for b12 amongst other things. I will hopefully know the results by Monday.

My cbc showed I was mildly anemic. My HGB, MCV, MCH and MCHC were all lower than normal. My TSH was on the lower end of normal.

My BUN/CREATININE RATIO a as 20 which is the highest number within normal, though I should also note the evening before I did have a ct scan with contrast so that may have still been in my system.
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