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11747651 tn?1420816262

MS or Neuropathy?

I was diagnosed with mild  Idiopathic Peripheral neuropathy six months ago. The symptoms have progressed since then and I had another appt with my neuro. The new symptoms were numbness on my forehead and scalp, also behind my ears. My initial symptoms were numbness in both feet and since then it has progressed up my legs to my knees. Another new symptom is muscle twitches in my legs. My neurologist responded right away with "That's not Neuropthy" when I told her about the new symptoms. (forehead and scalp and ears). She ran a whole bunch of blood tests after that to check for inflamation. CRP, ESR, Heavy Metals, B12, Glucose, Hemoglobin, and a whole bunch more. My question after all this is...if it's not Peripheral Neuropathy, and she had all of these blood tests done (they all came back negative by the way) Could she be looking at the possibility of an MS diagnosis? Her office called me after the results for these came in and scheduled a consultation with her. I just want to know what I might expect when I talk to her. To sort of brace myself. Thanks for any wisdom and input. :-)
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11747651 tn?1420816262
Thanks fir the input everybody. Will update after consultation.  :-)
Helpful - 0
667078 tn?1316000935
Peripheral Neuropathy would not be in the head or face. It is only in the limbs.
Your neuro exam, reflexes and such can tell where in your nervous system you have damage or inflammation. Like Kyle it does not seem like MS but I am no doctor.

Alex
Helpful - 0
5112396 tn?1378017983
To be honest, the thing you might need to brace for is a further "We don't know." Neurological issues in particular are pretty notorious for the drawn out, twisty-turny nature of the diagnostic process. But that's kind of a moot point here just yet as like Kyle said, MRIs would have typically been ordered if those sorts of issues were currently considered on the table.
Helpful - 0
11747651 tn?1420816262
Will do Kyle.
Thanks for your input.
Helpful - 0
1831849 tn?1383228392
Hi Cu - Welcome to the group.

If she were looking for MS I would think she would have ordered MRI's of you brain, cervical spine and thoracic spine. All three would (should) be done with and without contrast.

In diagnosing MS blood tests are used to rule out other possible causes of neurological symptoms, like Lyme disease. There is no blood test for MS itself. At this point she is still fact finding, which is a good thing.

For what it's worth, my non doctor brain did not leap to MS when reading your symptoms. Let us know how the consultation goes.

Kyle
Helpful - 0
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