Constant tingling

[confused826]

Hi,  I am a 55 yo healthy female, up until Aug. 25th when I experienced a loss of balance momentarily, followed by a headache at the base of my skull the following day.  August 27th, began the symptoms which have been constant and becoming progressively worse:  numbness and tingling in my left arm and left jaw (now traveled to my left leg), ringing in ears, lack of coordination (progressively worse); losing the ability to walk without assistance; vision changes in the left eye, hearing lessened, confusion, forgetfulness, spiking blood pressure (182/112).  Blood pressure retreats back to 120/80 without blood pressure medications. Three trips to the ER.  Visit #1 ruled out heart.  #2 ruled out stroke (MRI of brain negative) and ultrasound of carotid arteries clear.  Neurologist #1 thought it was cervical spinal stenosis, as MRI of cervical spine shows some narrowing, but second opinion did not think it was significant enough to cause these symptoms.  Neurologist #2 believes it is basilar migraine, and is treating me with various medications which he believes should show relief within 7 - 10 days.  MRa was also negative.
Does this sound like MS without lesions on the MRI?
Thank you in advance,

[confused826]

Thank you so much for the feedback.  I will surely keep these things in mind as I work with my neurologist.  He now wants me to consult with a neuropsychiatrist and has put me on an antidepressant, gapapentin, and several other meds.  Seems he thinks I am stressed and depressed, which is causing my symptoms.  I don't agree, as I have just overcome many issues and was finally secure in my job, then wham!  Can't work and can hardly walk.  I'm still upbeat and believe the answers will come, but I have to be proactive and not just believe the doctor has the right answer.
Thanks for your input,
Sharon

[supermum_ms]

Hey babe, no worries :D it happens to everyone at one time or other, and its not always our misunderstanding either, bloopers come out of mouths of dr's too, have you read 'lies my neuro told me' it'll make your toes curl, some pretty big woppers!!

Cheers.........JJ

[tomas2729]

Thanks JJ. I will look it up.

I am really sorry for any wrong information that I gave. I will labor to not do this again in the future. You guys have a great day and I still hope that you find out what's wrong with you.

Best,

Tom

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

MS would be one of the possiblities but honestly, whilst i was reading your post, i was thinking it could also 'possibly' be a transiant ischemic attach (TIA) which isn't exactly a stroke and doesn't necessarily mean a person is going to experience a stroke but it can be a precursor sometimes. TIA's typically dont show up on MRI's etc like the damage from a stroke does, so they are not always easy to dx's, a persons medical history, life style, age, the way the event occurred, sx's, diagnostic evidence of what it isn't etc all have to be taken into account. It being a TIA is just a thought!

Nasilar migrain is another real possibility, but i would of thought it quite untypical for your sx's to start 2 days 'after' experiencing the pain, if it was from migraine, please see http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/basilar-artery-migraines-causes-symptoms-tests-and-treatments

The other thought i had was because of your sx's and the pain being in the base of your head, it could be related to your cerebellum, for basic information see http://neuroskills.com/brain-injury/cerebellum.php - honestly thats probably not the best one to read, try googling for something better, not sure that the cerebellum is related to migrains though.

It might be an idea to read your MRI report, sometimes the clue's are in the details, and not the conclusion, you never know it might point to something.

cheers.........JJ  

Tom: Sarah is definitely correct so please check out msworld or you could even 'search this community' because you really dont need contrast to see lesions. Constrast is used to show the active lesions, and even then there is a timing issue, because delyinating lesion activity doesn't last very long.

[tomas2729]

My bad.... I must have misunderstood what my neurologist explained to me. Thanks for the information. I will check it out.

Thanks,

Tom

[SarahL2491]

Sorry, Tom, but you can see lesions without contrast in MRI........the ones that are active are the ones that show up with contrast......see msworld.org
for more information.......

[tomas2729]

Hello and welcome to the community.

Did you have an MRI of your brain and your c-spine? If so were they with or without contrast? In order for your neurologist to see any lesions they would have had to have contrast.

The symptoms you are describing are consistant with MS but there are many things that mimic MS so it is hard to say what you could have. You are doing the right thing by working with a neurologist for sure. Hopefully they can get you pointed in the right direction. If you are concerned that MS is a possibility for you, you could always ask for a Lumbar Puncture....

I am sorry to hear that you are having issues at all. They are not fun for sure. I hope that you find some solutions and fast.

Best,

Tom