Arm ache, hand pain & weakness

[springlilac]

Thanks in advance for everyone's help/input.
Over the summer I awoke in the night with pain in my Left hand, below the index and thumb finger. The next morning the hand became more painful, weak, and made it difficult to grasp items. The function returned after a few days. But during that time my arm was tingly, my Left foot & leg also began to tingle. The tingle lasted in my hand off/on for a few weeks. The Left leg tingle lasted for nearly 2 months on/off.
Since, I've had another episode in my L hand of the same thing (no numbness, just pain in the same spot), sometimes it feels tired, achy and I have difficulty raising the arm, again lasting a few days.
My Left leg hasn't felt numb like it did in the summer, but I do get shooting pains down the outside of the leg now and then, and almost nearly every day for the last few weeks my Left calf & thigh will ache on/off during the day.

I do not have any of these symptoms on my Right side, except that this week I did get a similar pain on the Right hand, again under the index and between the thumb.

So far thyroid, cbc, lytes, b12 all are normal. My doc doesn't think I have CTS in my hands and now am waiting for an MRI of brain & spine to confirm/rule out MS.

anyone else have similar symptoms?
thank you again.

[springlilac]

Thank you Quix for responding.
I actually went to two doctors. The first didn't care to even run any blood work. He was pretty certain that it was MS. I had to pretty much twist him into testing my thyroid (as it was low earlier in the year) and B12. I never heard from him so assumed it was all within the norms.
I went to my family doctor who has sent me for the above listed bloodwork.  He doesn't plan to send me for anymore blood work until I go for this MRI (which probably will take 2-3 months).
So I've been living with this 'what if' over me almost every hour of every day.

I've been frequenting this and other MS forums to learn more and really appreciate people like you who are providing support.
To answer your question about muddle brain and fatigue, I don't really notice anything significant in them areas... nothing I can't explain by lack of sleep or overwork.

[Quixotic1]

Hi, and a big welcome to the forum!  I hope you find a good place here to learn about MS and get good info and great support.

You have one of the basic requirements for beginning to think about a diagnosis of MS.  that is a pattern of recurring problems of the kind that are seen in MS.  Certainly your pain, numbness and tingling, localized weakness fit within things that are commonly seen in MS.  You also have what sound like remissions where the symptoms improve or go away for several weeks at a time.

The next thing that needs to be shown is that there is some physical evidence that you have damage to the Central Nervous System (Brain and spinal cord) in two or more distinct spots.  This is established by physical exam which can show many things like decreased sensation, hyperactive reflexes, vision or eye abnormalities, loss of balance/equilibrium, ets.  Sometimes this evidence of damage comes from tests like vison tests, or nerve testing (called EMG/NCS) which, for example, would show that that the in your hands is not do to a peripheral nerve problem.

The next thing is often an MRI of the brain and spine to see if there are suggestive lesions that are consistent with MS.

Finally a thorough work up must be done to rule out any better explanation for all the problems and any abnormal tests or MRIs.  These tests usually include the blood tests that you mentioned, but also an ESR, ANA, VDRL, Lyme test, ACE level, copper levels, antibodies against HTLV-I and HTLV-II, HIV, and others if indicated by what the doctor has already found.  There are many mimics of MS.  The MRI may not confirm the diagnosis.  Be prepared.

So, you have quite a bit of investigating to go before anyone can safely make the diagnosis.  But, What you have gone through already is pretty familiar.  Do you also have the frequent problems of severe fatigue and muddled brain?  

We have a lot of info here and even better support for what you go through once someone has said "it might be MS."  Those can be words that turn your whole life upside down.  IF this is MS, you have several factors that speak to a milder course, like youth, being female and presenting with mostly sensory symtpoms.  Many people go through their entire lives with severe disability.

We have a lot of great members, many your age and lots of great info that has been written up by them.

Here is a place to start reading:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/MS-Information-and-Resources-Index/show/22?cid=36

The full list (randomly listed) is found by clicking on the Icon called "Health Pages" toward the uper right of this page.

Also a site with a great and extensive discussion on all things MS is

mult-slerosis.org

Others will be by soon to say hi.

Get ready with your questions.

As to your main question about similar problems, my MS began differently - with sudden leg weakness and monumental fatigue.  But, MS is most known for how variable it is.

Quix