Possible MS

[beckrrt]

Hi everyone.  I'll do my best to make this as short as I can but I have been having bizarre symptoms for 15 years.  At  28 (now 43)  I'm so frustrated. I began having random stabbing burning sensations in legs, buttocks, and chest wall.  The backs of my knees always ache with any amount of standing.  I have had odd vibrating sensations in one foot and feelings of warm water running down my calf as well as skin "feeling"  hot but it's cold to the touch.  Walk around with a vague dizziness about half the time.  My memory is awful and I swear I've suddenly become dyslexic when typing! The year after having my son (at 37) was horrible.  That's when my hands started becoming weak, painful, and clumsy and I felt beyond exhausted.  My blood pressure spiked in labor and didn't resolve post partim so I was put on a Beta Blocker.  I am at a normal weight and had no previous issues with BP.  I had visual disturbances at that time.  Thought things were moving/spinning when they weren't.  Had one episode when I forgot where I was in the middle of Macy's that year.  Multiple episodes of rocking vertigo after flying, boating, or oddly enough, standing in fornt of elevators!  Also episodes of feeling like a balloon is being inflated inside my brain....I know....weird! After seeing 3 rheumatologists, a neuro, a hand dr, a foot dr, and 3 spine specialists, my latest spine specialist decided to do mri of brain and c spine with and without contrast as she noticed my reflexes were very brisk and legs very tight as well as all of my host of symtoms, a lot of which I'm leaving out due to length. My spine doc is 90% sure it's not MS due to appearance of lesions....but she wants me to see neuro and this still looks scary to me so I'm not relieved! Im only 43 so ischemic changes are scary too, and I don't have migraines.  Neuro can't get me in until May 20th.  I'm restricted in who I see as I work for a University Medical Center and can only see their docs :(  Any advice would be so appreciated.  Thank you so much for letting me post to your site without an MS diagnosis.  I'm so frustrated.  Here are my MRI results

Narrative
EXAM:  MRI BRAIN WITH AND WITHOUT CONTRAST, 12/02/2014 20:09 PM

CLINICAL INDICATIONS: 43 years  Female  hyperreflexia.  Possible MS      

RELEVANT CLINICAL HISTORY:  729.89: Other musculoskeletal symptoms referable
to limbs
796.1: Abnormal reflex
    

COMPARISON: None available

TECHNIQUE: A series of multisequence, multiplanar images of the brain are
obtained both before and after intravenous administration of gadolinium-based
contrast using standard protocol.  Study was performed at 3 Tesla.
Type:  GADOBENATE DIMEGLUMINE 529 MG/ML IV SOLN;
Dose:  DOSE: 13 mL

FINDINGS:

No diffusion restriction abnormalities identified to suggest the presence of
an acute infarct. No enhancing intracranial mass or hemorrhage identified.

Few scattered foci of FLAIR hyperintensity involving the periventricular and
subcortical white matter are noted on series 7 images 22 (right frontal and
parietal lobes), 21 (left parietal lobe), 18 (right parietal lobe), and 20
(left corona radiata). No lesions identified within the corpus callosum or
cerebellar hemispheres.

Lateral ventricles are symmetric and nondilated. No hydrocephalus. Basal
cisterns are widely patent.

Physiologic flow voids are preserved. Sella is normal.

Orbits are unremarkable. Paranasal sinuses and mastoid air cells are clear.

Impression
IMPRESSION:

Multiple nonspecific foci of white matter FLAIR hyperintensity intensity.
Distribution would be atypical for demyelinating disease. Other considerations
include vasculitis, migraines, and early microvascular ischemic change.

[kwarendorf]

Welcome to our group :-)

Many among us know the frustration of not being able to get answers. At this point I agree with Alex. You should see an MS specialist rather than a general neurologist.

MS is a clinical diagnosis. The clinical findings are supported by MRI, blood tests, LP's etc. THere are things that an MS specialist will spot that won't be seen by other doctors.

MS can be a very expensive disease to diagnose and treat. You may want to consider going outside your insurance plan. I went to an MS specialist that was not part of my insurance. As a matter of fact he didn't take any insurance. I had to pay $1,000 out of pocket to see him. I did and he diagnosed me. He is still my doc and I wouldn't think about seeing anyone else :-)

Keep us posted.

Kyle

[HVAC]

If I were you I would see a Neurologist who is a MS specialist. They are a little hard to find. Regular neurologist can miss MS. It amy take awhile for a diagnosis. The MS Specialist might want to do more tests and follow you over time. It took me two years of being followed every six months for a diagnosis.

You can ask for symptom relief before you get diagnosed. I wait unessarily  until I was diagnosed.

Alex