Aa
Im confuse!??
Hi, I need some help here. Im a female and 27 years old, im married and have 1 daughter. I wanna know if there's a possibility of MS. It all started after i was 2 weeks at the hospital for a serious infection of my endometrios. My white cells were at 22 and the next at 26, the normal is around 9-10. They gave me IV antibiotics. Then 3 days after, it started suddendly, i went to the bathroom and i wasn't feeling well at all...i was a little dizzy, but i thought maybe it was the antibiotics, since i had 4 different of meds ... so i scratch my thigh and hip, and i noticed it was numb and it felt like it was frozen. The numbness went trough all my leg and feet, and it was on my left side. So i told the nurses and the took a look at the area ,and they say that they dont see anything red or abnormal, but they will put it in notes. The next night , ive experience something really freaky, i was sleeping and suddendly the numbness was going all to my limbs,then the arms,my back, and even my head. So i opened my eyes to get the remote for the nurse, and i couldn't, cause it felt like i was paralize, it did that for about 5 min i think. And we i opened my eyes, it my room it was all blurry,fuzzy, and it was shimmering, shacky. I was really scared. When the nurses came and check but by the time they came, it wasn't doing it anymore. So they say it might be the medications.
The days pass, still having problems at the initial symptom, then i was experiencing some weakness , and trouble with my balance, dizziness, fatigue all day, and at night had a hard time sleeping because of the pain in my hip,thigh ,lower back. I jsut felt exhausted. I also had every single day some pin and needles sensation in my left hip and thigh, it was icthing,tingling burning ,electric choc sensation. The tingling was going down my left limb until my footh. It felt that my foot was cold. When i was taking showers, just the hot water going on my left limb was painful, alot of sensation of electric choc, maybe the hot water was doing that?? and then loss of my hair...and still do.
Then the doctor came and told him, what is wrong with me? He told me that i looks like MS, and he talk to a Neurologist to ask him is opinion and they both think it's that, but they need to run some more test. So they try a teatment that they give for MS patients and the medication is ''Solmedrol'', after 3 days, it didnt help at a 100% , so they decided to give it for 2 more days. After that it help but not like i thought.
They sent me to pass a CT scan of my head and of the hip. Both were negative.
They Sent me for an MRI of the brain, and No sign of white spots or MS, so everything is negative.
After i got out of the hospital , i didnt felt better. The day after, i was having vertigo, and loss of balance and coordination, i had a hard time, so i was lying down for a bit, and it's then i experience the vertigo. I had lots of nausea also. Im also tired all day. I have a hard time to go to sleep because im having pain in my left hip and limb and thigh, no posture. Well it's been almost a month since all those symptoms ,and today i still experience them ,but especially the numbness in my left thigh,and my visions as change a little and i also have black spot that i see every where i look, i never had that before and it's bothers me, because when i reading ,or looking at tv,etc... it's there and annoying. i have some foggy moments too.
So we went to see my family doctor and he told me that i wasn't MS at all, because the MRI didn't show anything abdnormal and the CT Scan too. He made me feel like it was just all in my head. And for the numbness in my left thigh, well he thinks it looks like a ''Bursitis'' but he doesent understand why i have numbness there,burning,tingling,choc sensation. He wants to give an injection of cortisone in the next days to see if it helps.
So I was wondering, could he be wrong?? because i dont have any answer about my symptoms ansd the way i feel every day.
My uncle as MS for a long time now, and the doctors had a hard time to diagnose him, it took very long before he was diagnose. Im my case ,could it be because it's to early to detect??? or is there something else?? I forgot to tell you, i saw a neurologist and he chek me and he told me ''you don't have nothing wrong and they is no case of a neurologic disease here''. He didn't chek my left tigh...oh well i was really dissapointed because he couldnt tell me what did all this symptoms. And nobody Know's!!!! Is there any one who can help try to figure this out, i need some answers. Thanks alot xo
The days pass, still having problems at the initial symptom, then i was experiencing some weakness , and trouble with my balance, dizziness, fatigue all day, and at night had a hard time sleeping because of the pain in my hip,thigh ,lower back. I jsut felt exhausted. I also had every single day some pin and needles sensation in my left hip and thigh, it was icthing,tingling burning ,electric choc sensation. The tingling was going down my left limb until my footh. It felt that my foot was cold. When i was taking showers, just the hot water going on my left limb was painful, alot of sensation of electric choc, maybe the hot water was doing that?? and then loss of my hair...and still do.
Then the doctor came and told him, what is wrong with me? He told me that i looks like MS, and he talk to a Neurologist to ask him is opinion and they both think it's that, but they need to run some more test. So they try a teatment that they give for MS patients and the medication is ''Solmedrol'', after 3 days, it didnt help at a 100% , so they decided to give it for 2 more days. After that it help but not like i thought.
They sent me to pass a CT scan of my head and of the hip. Both were negative.
They Sent me for an MRI of the brain, and No sign of white spots or MS, so everything is negative.
After i got out of the hospital , i didnt felt better. The day after, i was having vertigo, and loss of balance and coordination, i had a hard time, so i was lying down for a bit, and it's then i experience the vertigo. I had lots of nausea also. Im also tired all day. I have a hard time to go to sleep because im having pain in my left hip and limb and thigh, no posture. Well it's been almost a month since all those symptoms ,and today i still experience them ,but especially the numbness in my left thigh,and my visions as change a little and i also have black spot that i see every where i look, i never had that before and it's bothers me, because when i reading ,or looking at tv,etc... it's there and annoying. i have some foggy moments too.
So we went to see my family doctor and he told me that i wasn't MS at all, because the MRI didn't show anything abdnormal and the CT Scan too. He made me feel like it was just all in my head. And for the numbness in my left thigh, well he thinks it looks like a ''Bursitis'' but he doesent understand why i have numbness there,burning,tingling,choc sensation. He wants to give an injection of cortisone in the next days to see if it helps.
So I was wondering, could he be wrong?? because i dont have any answer about my symptoms ansd the way i feel every day.
My uncle as MS for a long time now, and the doctors had a hard time to diagnose him, it took very long before he was diagnose. Im my case ,could it be because it's to early to detect??? or is there something else?? I forgot to tell you, i saw a neurologist and he chek me and he told me ''you don't have nothing wrong and they is no case of a neurologic disease here''. He didn't chek my left tigh...oh well i was really dissapointed because he couldnt tell me what did all this symptoms. And nobody Know's!!!! Is there any one who can help try to figure this out, i need some answers. Thanks alot xo
IF this is MS, and we don't know that, then what you are having now would be considered part of the first attack and it is still developing. For it to be a separate attack (and this is where your doctor was TOTALLY WRONG) you have to have a minimum of one month, during which you are free of symptoms or the symptoms you have are completely stable. By definition of the International Panel that has defined the diagnosis of MS, you cannot have more than one attack in a single month's time! If you appear to have 2 attacks that close together in time, then it is considered all part of the same, one attack. Does that make sense?
An attack of MS can last several weeks to months.
An attack or relapse can be any new symptom or symptoms. Or it can be a worsening of old symptoms or a combination of the two. No one can tell you what it should feels like. But, from what you have told us, you have continously had symptoms since the hospital and emergence of new ones. Is that correct?
About the ER. If you go in with symptoms they can't see, they won't do much usually. But, if you have a sudden decrease in your vision that persists more than an hour, or a sudden severe weakness somewhere, or severe pain, or anysymptom that can be seen by an observer, you should go to the ER and have it documented.
The improvement you got from the steroids does not count as the attack resolving. The Panel also specified that a remission cannot be counted in the (I don't remember exactly) 4 to 6 weeks after high dose steroids. However, I consider that your response to steroids is an indicator that this is an inflammatory process of the central nervous system, like MS. The problem is, I don't count. :(
In the US, depending on the facility, you can get a copy of your actual MRI. But, I was hoping you could get a copy of the official report, so maybe we could figure out what machine it was done on.
By the way - do you speak both French and English, because your English is excellent? I guess I am asking which language is generally spoken in New Brunswick. I'm sorry for my ignorance.
Quix
An attack of MS can last several weeks to months.
An attack or relapse can be any new symptom or symptoms. Or it can be a worsening of old symptoms or a combination of the two. No one can tell you what it should feels like. But, from what you have told us, you have continously had symptoms since the hospital and emergence of new ones. Is that correct?
About the ER. If you go in with symptoms they can't see, they won't do much usually. But, if you have a sudden decrease in your vision that persists more than an hour, or a sudden severe weakness somewhere, or severe pain, or anysymptom that can be seen by an observer, you should go to the ER and have it documented.
The improvement you got from the steroids does not count as the attack resolving. The Panel also specified that a remission cannot be counted in the (I don't remember exactly) 4 to 6 weeks after high dose steroids. However, I consider that your response to steroids is an indicator that this is an inflammatory process of the central nervous system, like MS. The problem is, I don't count. :(
In the US, depending on the facility, you can get a copy of your actual MRI. But, I was hoping you could get a copy of the official report, so maybe we could figure out what machine it was done on.
By the way - do you speak both French and English, because your English is excellent? I guess I am asking which language is generally spoken in New Brunswick. I'm sorry for my ignorance.
Quix
Gee Thanks Quix ! :) Well my doctor told me yesterday that if the shot of cortison didnt help at all , he;s gonna give a third one at the last and after that...if it didn't change , he;s gonna look further. I just hope he's gonna too.
For the Copy of my MRI....can i really have a copy of my scan???????????????? i didnt know that.
I wanna ask you, probably at the hospital, it was a clinical isolated sydrome...but after the solumdrol...i was ok for a little bit and then my symptoms came back and going on and also now i have some new symptoms.
vision
-floaters,sparkles sometimes,blurry&foggy in left eye only today it did it for now at least,
Spasms or cramps- in the my 2 upper arms , my hands are shaky and feels weak, my 2 pinkys are still feeling numb, Today my right hand started tingling.
Sometimes my body feels just weak, i really have trouble to fall a sleep every night.
Im jsut wondering if im doing an ongoing attack or what else could it be?? Im really not familiar how im supposing to know how it feels an attack. How long is lasting an Attack?
Should i just wait, because if i go at the emergency,im quite sure they wont do anything, because they dont know whats going on with me.
Im really gratefull that im writing to you, you give me support and i really appreciate it!! xoxo
I wanna thank you for the information that you gave me.
Hope to hear from you :)!!
Denise
For the Copy of my MRI....can i really have a copy of my scan???????????????? i didnt know that.
I wanna ask you, probably at the hospital, it was a clinical isolated sydrome...but after the solumdrol...i was ok for a little bit and then my symptoms came back and going on and also now i have some new symptoms.
vision
-floaters,sparkles sometimes,blurry&foggy in left eye only today it did it for now at least,
Spasms or cramps- in the my 2 upper arms , my hands are shaky and feels weak, my 2 pinkys are still feeling numb, Today my right hand started tingling.
Sometimes my body feels just weak, i really have trouble to fall a sleep every night.
Im jsut wondering if im doing an ongoing attack or what else could it be?? Im really not familiar how im supposing to know how it feels an attack. How long is lasting an Attack?
Should i just wait, because if i go at the emergency,im quite sure they wont do anything, because they dont know whats going on with me.
Im really gratefull that im writing to you, you give me support and i really appreciate it!! xoxo
I wanna thank you for the information that you gave me.
Hope to hear from you :)!!
Denise
Denise, It seems that the first thing you need to do is convince your doctor that an initial negative MRI does not rule out Multiple Sclerosis. There is still a measurable chance 5% to 10% of still having MS based on the terrible neurologic attack you had in the hospital, the fact that you had 2 things happen that can precipitate the beginning of MS (the miscarriage and the severe infection), the fact that they TREATED YOU FOR INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN WITH SOLUMEDROL (STEROIDS) AND IT HELPED!!! I capitalized that because it was the doctors' best evidence! You also have a higher risk (about 5% or more) of having MS because of the location in the world where you live and because your uncle had MS.
Here is the page of the US "National MS Society" website that states that 5% of people with clinically definite MS have a normal MRI. It also states that a normal MRI DOES NOT rule out the presence of MS. Look at the section called "What the MRI is used to Measure" and then the section "Diagnosis."
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HOM_LIB_sourcebook_mri
A large prospective study by Riordan, JL in 1998 followed patients over a 10 year period. These patients, like you, had one attack of neurological problems, but a normal MRI in the beginning. Out of 27 such patients, 3 went on to develop definite MS. That is 11%. 1 in 10! The study was printed in the medical journal "Brain." The reason this is a higher percentage is that the first statement includes all people with MS and the Riordan study was just looking at the first MRI done at the very beginning.
O'Riordan JI, Thompson AJ, Kingsley DP, et al: The prognostic value of brain MRI in clinically isolated syndromes of the CNS. A 10-year follow-up. Brain 1998 Mar; 121(Pt 3): 495-503[Medline].
Here is the summary of the study (which is a little old):
http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/9549525?src=emed_ckb_ref_0
The spots you are seeing in your vision may indicate Optic Neuritis and this would place you with a very high chance of developing MS - close to a 50% chance. You should see a neuro-ophthalmologist or at least have a test called a "Visual Evoked Potential."
The weakness and heaviness in your arms with the sensation of "someone "squeezing your arm" is also very characteristic of MS.
What are your options in Canada of seeing another doctor - both a different family doctor and a different neurologist? It is so hard from here because I do not understand the Canadian health care system. Because your MRI was normal and the doctors that you have seen are not well educated about MS, it is hard to give you hard facts to convince them that MS is still possible. Are you allowed to travel to see another doctor at a larger medical center?
Here in the US we just see another neurologist who we hope would be better educated. What are your options?
In the end you may need to print out a list of the risk factors that say that you should have a better work up for a neurological disease.
I can't give you a "proof" that the doctors are wrong. Maybe the others can help with formulating a plan to show your doctor that you deserve more testing.
It is also possible in New Brunswick that the MRI machine is old and not very powerful. Can you get a copy of the official MRI report? Or could you call the hospital Radiology department and ask what the model number of the MRI machine is? Then maybe we could see if it was weak.
Quix
Here is the page of the US "National MS Society" website that states that 5% of people with clinically definite MS have a normal MRI. It also states that a normal MRI DOES NOT rule out the presence of MS. Look at the section called "What the MRI is used to Measure" and then the section "Diagnosis."
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HOM_LIB_sourcebook_mri
A large prospective study by Riordan, JL in 1998 followed patients over a 10 year period. These patients, like you, had one attack of neurological problems, but a normal MRI in the beginning. Out of 27 such patients, 3 went on to develop definite MS. That is 11%. 1 in 10! The study was printed in the medical journal "Brain." The reason this is a higher percentage is that the first statement includes all people with MS and the Riordan study was just looking at the first MRI done at the very beginning.
O'Riordan JI, Thompson AJ, Kingsley DP, et al: The prognostic value of brain MRI in clinically isolated syndromes of the CNS. A 10-year follow-up. Brain 1998 Mar; 121(Pt 3): 495-503[Medline].
Here is the summary of the study (which is a little old):
http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/9549525?src=emed_ckb_ref_0
The spots you are seeing in your vision may indicate Optic Neuritis and this would place you with a very high chance of developing MS - close to a 50% chance. You should see a neuro-ophthalmologist or at least have a test called a "Visual Evoked Potential."
The weakness and heaviness in your arms with the sensation of "someone "squeezing your arm" is also very characteristic of MS.
What are your options in Canada of seeing another doctor - both a different family doctor and a different neurologist? It is so hard from here because I do not understand the Canadian health care system. Because your MRI was normal and the doctors that you have seen are not well educated about MS, it is hard to give you hard facts to convince them that MS is still possible. Are you allowed to travel to see another doctor at a larger medical center?
Here in the US we just see another neurologist who we hope would be better educated. What are your options?
In the end you may need to print out a list of the risk factors that say that you should have a better work up for a neurological disease.
I can't give you a "proof" that the doctors are wrong. Maybe the others can help with formulating a plan to show your doctor that you deserve more testing.
It is also possible in New Brunswick that the MRI machine is old and not very powerful. Can you get a copy of the official MRI report? Or could you call the hospital Radiology department and ask what the model number of the MRI machine is? Then maybe we could see if it was weak.
Quix
Hi Im quite new to the forum and truly sympathise with all youve been through lately. You have had such abad time . Re the health problems Im like many other people dont have any real diagnosis my symptoms started 3+ yrs ago and yes its scary stuff and very frustrating ! I have had problems with blurry vision but mines been diagnosed as dry eye syndrome so dont really kno what to say Im sure someone will have some helpful advice for you as soon as their online Im in the uk by the way xx chris
Hey Denise, sorry you are having a rough go. You need to go to an eye doctor and get that checked out. I too am having eye trouble and have had for 5 years. The one problem is only seen in full blown diabetics which I don't have and the other symptoms of blurred vision and eye pain,floaters and flashes of light which they say have nothing to do with the other problem, have not yet been diagnosed. I'm going to the eye specialist in Nov. for my 6 month check up and am going to ask for them to check for Optic Neuritis. I know how scary this can be when it affects your eyes. My eye specialist said if my (diabetic like eye trouble) comes back again I may eventually go blind and yet they can't tell me why it is happening. Make an appointment and get it checked out. It may not be anything too serious and if it is there may be medication for you but you won't know unless you go.
My prayers are with you
Moki
My prayers are with you
Moki
Hi., I just went yesterday for my second Cortison Injection Oct 19, after the Dr told me , i have to call him in 2 weeks to let him know if it help or not...and then we will give me another Shot and the last one. He also told me if it dosent do anything , well we are gonna have to look further. Geesss i;ve been waiting for that for 2 months now!!!! ahha.
Oct 20- I woke up around 11h am and i opened my eyes and only my left eye was BLURRY AND FOGGY..... and closed my eyes several time and didn't change. It lasted for about 20 minutes. IM GETTING A LITTLE SCARED HERE.... IS THIS NORMAL??? PLEASE I WHAT SOMEONE TO RESPOND !! :)
Denise xoxox
Oct 20- I woke up around 11h am and i opened my eyes and only my left eye was BLURRY AND FOGGY..... and closed my eyes several time and didn't change. It lasted for about 20 minutes. IM GETTING A LITTLE SCARED HERE.... IS THIS NORMAL??? PLEASE I WHAT SOMEONE TO RESPOND !! :)
Denise xoxox
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