Can somebody help me......

[Bren1213]

I have tingling on my hands after giving birth to my daughter who Is now six.  That has never really concerned me.  I started getting concerned after one night I awoke with a cramp on my foot. When I looked at my foot my toes were bending all the way down.  I quickly rubbed my foot until I got it to relax again.  I still didn't think anything of it.  Then one day I went to bend my right foot and I couldn't bend it with the freedom I had in my left foot.  I tried wiggling my toes and again there was some restriction to it.  I tried lifting my right left and it takes a lot of my strength to lift it.  I don't have that problem with my left. After that I started getting concerned.  I also have a lot of pain on my legs and bottom of feet.  When my husband rubs them sometimes it makes it worst sending a weird sensation all over my body. I tried taking warm baths for the pain and it just made it worst.  When I am tired my walking becomes slow and at times it feels like I have blocks of cements around my legs not allowing me to walk freely and I get very exhausted not having enough energy to move.  I have some muscle twitching on my right hand fingers and on my thighs they are subtle.  I also get a lot of tightness and cramps on my calf muscles and on the arch of my feet. Sometimes when I walk I will tend to go to the side. That is also subtle.  I went camping this weekend and woke very early and went to bed very late so I was exhausted.  I banged my legs against the stairs of the RV several times because my right leg was unable to keep up with my left and kept loosing my balance as if I was drunk.  I have never fallen.  Love to dance tried dancing one day at home and had to stop because my legs especially my right felt as if they were going to give out and my right leg was very shaky.  I am being seen by a Neurologist because I suffer from chronic migraines.  Two months ago he put me in the hospital because of a bad migraine episode where I had a state of confusion and because loss of strength on my right leg.  They ran all type test from MRI to CT of lumbar ... Everything came out negative.  I also suffer from abnormal reflexes.  My neurologist just did a ncv and a emg he saw the lack of strength on my right foot and he suggested I must have a pinched nerve.  I disagree with him...A pinched nerve does not get worst when you are tired.  Also they did the lumbar and they didn't find anything.  Finally he prescribed seizure medication to prevent the headaches and to help my symptoms... I think he is grasping at straws.  It never entered my mind the though of MS, but when I was in the hospital the attending physician came in and asked me was I admitted because of MS.  I was slow to put two and two together and never bother asking the doctor why did he assumed that?  So I started doing research and I find I have a lot of the symptoms.  I have researched a lot of autoimmune disease trying to find out what's wrong with me besides my chronic migraines. I asked my neuro about MS and he said no because my test came out negative.  My PCP thinks maybe I am depressed and that's where all these pains are coming from.  On my blood test I was very low on vitamin D and my Rheumatoid factor is a little elevated.  Can somebody please give me some advice.  I am 42 feeling like 70.......

[kwarendorf]

I agree, nothing is worse than limbo! Keep us posted.

Kyle

[Bren1213]

I thank you so much for the information.  I am going to a new Neurologist soon.  I am hoping it is not MS but if it is I want to know now.  It is better than feeling crazy because I know something is wrong but no one else seems to listen.

I know my body and something is wrong.

[kwarendorf]

Whether or not the MRI's were ordered for migraines or MS, he would have seen lesions if they were present. I'm not sure what they look for in LP results, relative to migraines. A positive LP finding in MS is the presence of oligoclonal bands in the spinal fluid that are not in the blood sample taken at the same time. By normal do you mean no o-bands were found?

An ophthalmologist is a good place to go. They will be able to help rule things in or out. Hopefully the opthamologist will look for signs of inflammation in you optic nerve. Optic nerve involvement is common in MS.

Visual problems associated with MS can take many different forms. In my case my vision issues have nothing to do with my eyes themselves or my optic nerve. It is the muscles that control my eyes which cause me to have double vision for the first few minutes everyday. This is called nystagmus. The muscles get garbled messages sent along damaged nerve pathways. After I fully wake up the double vision clears.

I would urge you to see an neurologist that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of MS. It can be a very difficult diagnosis that requires special expertise.

Kyle

[Bren1213]

ok thanks for the info.  I am trying to find out what's wrong with me before it gets worst.

[Bren1213]

yes Kyle, I had Mri of the brain.  I have had everything done to my head neck and spine.  I had a lumbar puncture done two years ago because of migraines.  It was normal. None of the test I have had has been for MS they have been because of my chronic migraines. But my neuro said he would of seen it on the MRI.

When you talk about vision difficulties is it that when you read everything becomes scrambled?  Unable to focus because that's what happens to me.  I rub my eyes or look away and then try to focus again as if that would make it better.

I was referred to an ophthalmologist.  

[Bren1213]

thank you

[kwarendorf]

I only see mention of MRI's of your lumbar spine. Were images of your brain and c-spine taken as well? When you say they did the lumbar, does this mean you had a lumbar puncture and found no o-bands unique to your CSF?

In my opinion findings of pinched nerve and depression are signs of lazy doctors. Can you find new ones?

Kyle

[kwarendorf]

Hi Bren - Many of our visitors have vision issues that make it impossible to read a solid block of text. I have taken the liberty of breaking up your original post.
Kyle

I have tingling on my hands after giving birth to my daughter who Is now six.  That has never really concerned me.  I started getting concerned after one night I awoke with a cramp on my foot. When I looked at my foot my toes were bending all the way down.  I quickly rubbed my foot until I got it to relax again.  I still didn't think anything of it.  

Then one day I went to bend my right foot and I couldn't bend it with the freedom I had in my left foot.  I tried wiggling my toes and again there was some restriction to it.  I tried lifting my right left and it takes a lot of my strength to lift it.  I don't have that problem with my left.

After that I started getting concerned.  I also have a lot of pain on my legs and bottom of feet.  When my husband rubs them sometimes it makes it worst sending a weird sensation all over my body. I tried taking warm baths for the pain and it just made it worst.  When I am tired my walking becomes slow and at times it feels like I have blocks of cements around my legs not allowing me to walk freely and I get very exhausted not having enough energy to move.  

I have some muscle twitching on my right hand fingers and on my thighs they are subtle.  I also get a lot of tightness and cramps on my calf muscles and on the arch of my feet. Sometimes when I walk I will tend to go to the side. That is also subtle.  

I went camping this weekend and woke very early and went to bed very late so I was exhausted.  I banged my legs against the stairs of the RV several times because my right leg was unable to keep up with my left and kept loosing my balance as if I was drunk.  I have never fallen.  Love to dance tried dancing one day at home and had to stop because my legs especially my right felt as if they were going to give out and my right leg was very shaky.  

I am being seen by a Neurologist because I suffer from chronic migraines.  Two months ago he put me in the hospital because of a bad migraine episode where I had a state of confusion and because loss of strength on my right leg.  

They ran all type test from MRI to CT of lumbar ... Everything came out negative.  I also suffer from abnormal reflexes.  My neurologist just did a ncv and a emg he saw the lack of strength on my right foot and he suggested I must have a pinched nerve.  I disagree with him...A pinched nerve does not get worst when you are tired.  

Also they did the lumbar and they didn't find anything.  Finally he prescribed seizure medication to prevent the headaches and to help my symptoms... I think he is grasping at straws.  It never entered my mind the though of MS, but when I was in the hospital the attending physician came in and asked me was I admitted because of MS.  I was slow to put two and two together and never bother asking the doctor why did he assumed that?  

So I started doing research and I find I have a lot of the symptoms.  I have researched a lot of autoimmune disease trying to find out what's wrong with me besides my chronic migraines. I asked my neuro about MS and he said no because my test came out negative.  My PCP thinks maybe I am depressed and that's where all these pains are coming from.  On my blood test I was very low on vitamin D and my Rheumatoid factor is a little elevated.  Can somebody please give me some advice.  I am 42 feeling like 70.......

[cramp_n_mystyle]

It's really not possible for any of us to know what is wrong with you,since you haven't had testing for MS.

I haven't been diagnosed yet with anything but Fibromyalgia,but I know there is more wrong than that.I just had a VER (visual test that checks nerve impulses) done today and the tech briefly explained that the test is done "when looking for MS and other diseases".

One more thing;a warning.Since you are aware how your body reacts when you're tired~pay heed to it and rest! I remember mowing the yard yrs ago on a hot summer day,and my legs just suddenly went out from under me! Fortunately the lawnmower went the other direction!!!

[immisceo]

I wouldn't get too caught up in what a hospital attending physician said. They can see a crazy amount of patients every day, and it could be something as simple as getting your chart's information confused with one he saw earlier today.

Due to the nature of MS (damage to the central nervous system) symptoms can vary widely. In other words, any collection of common symptoms when googled have a high chance of spitting MS back at you as a cause. Statistically speaking, it's usually likely to be something else.

Your issues aren't shouting MS. Were the tests you had done with MS in mind? By which I mean, was the MRI using MS protocol, was the lumbar puncture done with a blood draw looking for oligoclonal banding, etc?

I know it's frustrating to not have clear cut answers, but perhaps your PCP could at least start pursuing symptomatic treatment so your quality of life improves.

(Sorry if I missed some of your story. Vision issues are very common in MS. It's difficult for a lot of us to be able to read large continuous blocks of text)