Possible MS?

[sweetie1414]

Hi,I am a 34 year old female.My symptoms started about 1 1/2 years ago.It started with parathesia on  the whole left side of my body(from the top of my head to the tips of my toes) and extreme dizziness,balance and coordination problems.These symptoms lasted about a month and they began to ease off,numbness never completley went away.
Around 9 months later the same thing happened with even further lasting numbness...last week my torso became numb but without the dizziness this time.I am always tired,am in pain and have extreme weakness....could this signs of MS?

[sweetie1414]

Yea , I am trying to be positive and the neuro was just great , he reassured me that everything was gonna be ok....still trying to process it all.I thought i was ready to hear it but to hear him say it devastated me at first , But I guess this is a normal reaction for anyone getting bad news.
At least now I KNOW WHY i have had all these weird things happening to me over the last couple of years.
He gave me information on a drug called copaxone,Has anyone taken this drug? What was your experience with it?

Thanks for all the support
Mary

[Lulu54]

Welcome to this side of the mountain - take some time and process what has just been handed to you.  Then please get on with living - this can be managed and I know you will be doing well with the help of your doctors and family.

i expect to see you around a bunch - I hope you will benefit from everyone's knowledge here.  Be sure to pick our brains all you need to, ok?

hugs to you,
Lulu

[sweetie1414]

As of  9:30 am today was officially diagnosed as having MS. I go to the hospital starting Monday for 3 days of IV  treatments....The neurologist stated that he was gonna treat this aggressively.

[Lulu54]

Sweetie,
Don't let the fear of this overwhelm you - take lots of time to read and learn more about MS and you will see the statistics are not as grim as we all initially think.  The true face of MS is not that person in a wheelchair, livinpeople who are living in a nursing home, dependent on others for all their basic needs.

The true face is the majority of us who live fully functioning lives - just making adjustments in some ways to keep on keeping on!

Read our health pages.  Read everything you can.  Education yourself because that is the most powerful tool you have right now.

stay in touch,
Lulu

[sweetie1414]

Got copy of report, this is exactly what it says:
There are multifocal white matter signal abnormalities numbering greater then 20.Many of these are radially oriented such as Dawson's fingers.

[Karen99]

OMG.  I was getting myself all worked up in a lather reading this post until further down where your PCP was prodded to get you an MRI and a neuro appointment.  

In the event you find yourself up against a wall again, put it in writing to whatever doctor wants TRY and ignore you.  I am cheering for this neuro who made the effort to get the ball rolling.

Be well.  This group is like no other.  

[sweetie1414]

I really don't know what i am feeling right now LuLu.I am still holding out a thread of hope that this is wrong but my gut tells me its not.I think the biggest thing right now is fear , fear of what my next symptom will be , fear of what the future holds for me,fear of the unknown.I have read so much about MS in the last month or so and its a truly  frightening disease.I was hoping it was a spinal cord compression as that would also explain my symptoms......
Thanks so much for being here for me guys as i think i would have just let it go till the next wierd symptom appeared without all the support i have recieved here....I will let you guys know how the neuro goes ..thanks

[Lulu54]

Oh Sweetie,
I am so sorry to hear this sounds like it will be MS.  You should know by now that this MiSerable disease won't kill any of us, but it can make life pretty complicated.

How are you doing with those thoughts  ?  Remember we are here to walk through this with you...   whatever you need, just ask!  Good luck with the neuro on Friday.

my best,
Lulu

[sweetie1414]

Another update
My Dr. called me and read the results of the MRI to me today.
This is what she said it stated
multiple multi focal lesions of the white matter suggestive of multiple sclerosis

My neurologist appointment is Friday..........

[Lulu54]

Hi Sweetie,
it sounds like your doctors are taking this seriously and getting the appropriate testing out of the way.  keep us posted on the next step.

Lulu

[sweetie1414]

Had an MRI of my brain and C-Spine Friday........maybe it will tell us something .My PCP seems to be more concerned now that she received the report from the Neurologist.The look on her face when she read the report for the first time in front of me was one of pure shock.....

[jensequitur]

Make sure that your MRIs are 1.5 Tesla or better, and that they administer gadolinium contrast during the test.  (They usually call it 'MS protocol.')

L'Hermitte's sign is usually caused by a lesion in the cervical (neck) area.  So while you're getting MRIs of the brain, see if they'll do one of the neck as well.

[Lulu54]

here's hoping the next MRI tells more.........
Lu

[sweetie1414]

UPDATE: Went to my PCP again today to discuss the nerve conduction test.They are sending me for an MRI because the neuro had in his report that could be possible MS or spinal cord compression..still dealing with the lhermite's .....just want it to go away

[sweetie1414]

Yes Sandy it is defiantly creepy, to say the least.MIne either goes all the way down my body or feels like it is wrapping around my torso....its really strange. Mine does it almost every time i bend my neck forward ,sometimes it seems more intense then other times especially first thing in the morning when i am half asleep...lolz.

Thanks for writing ,just knowing that there are others who know how i feel helps.

[sandie490]

You know what sweetie,  I get the same thing, sometimes it's a sharp nerve pain, but most times it's a really wierd,creepy uncomfortable nerve sensation, that seems to sometimes golt down my back, or my back and arms.  
Sometimes, it's on and off with me all day.  sometimes  not as much.  Been more frequent though last few months.  The worst one is when I fall asleep and i get one wash over me like right behind my eyes, and wake me up, sometimes several times before I can actually go tosleep.
Anyway my neuro says it's what he calls the Lhermettes sign.  Said very common in ms patients.  in process of trying to be dx.

Hope I helped a little little bit?  Let us know if you find anything out,please? curious
Sandie

[sweetie1414]

Hello Guys,
I went to the neurologist appointment today for the nerve conductivity test.Told him about all my symptoms he did the test and stated that it was not a pinched nerve and that my peripheral nerve system showed no signs of damage.He stated that there was defiantly a problem and that he was going to suggest that my PCP order more tests  but would not go into detail , he just stated that he would write up his  report and it would be faxed to my PCP today.Just an update will let you know when i find out further..thanks

[sandie490]

Hi
I accidently left a comment for you under my name sandie490, so check it out i hope it's helpful.  It's about the pain you get when you get up from a chair.  Sorry! dum.diddy.dum.dum  Sandie

[essdipity]

I have to repeat that your PCP is useless. Maybe she is playing at being a neurologist, who knows, but she is a jerk. You need a new PCP!

At least you are having some of the right tests. Still, the cart is before the horse. You need a full set of MRIs first and foremost.

Your most recent symptom sounds very much like l'Hermittes. It's classic, in fact. Try to hang in there till you see a decent doctor and get to the bottom of things. People here who know me know that I virtually never say this, but I'm betting on MS with a 90% certainty. That's not good, though it's not the worst thing in the world. It's really too bad when a patient who does rudimentary searches to understand her symptoms has a better grasp of things than an idiot of a doctor.

Let us know how you are.

ess

[Lulu54]

Its good to hear they are not ignoring you - try to relax while you wait for the tests.  Apprehension definitely causes more *symptoms* to appear, real and otherwise.

keep us posted,
Lulu

[sweetie1414]

Hi everyone, update on whats going on with me. I got the appointment for the nerve study set uuesday of next week and according to the receptionist that called me the neurologist will be the one who does it. still having the shock sensation when i move my neck in a manor like i am  getting up out of a chair.....wish me luck as i am hoping this almost2 year ordeal is nothing more then a pinched nerve of some kind.

[roncart]

Hi, It sounds to me as though you are going to be going through alot of tests before you get where you need to be (at the neurologists office!!!) The only good thing is the nerve conduction test . That is something the neurologist would probably run anyway. If that turns up abnormal then they will send you to the neurologist. The other thing that I was thinking was if you go to the ent and he finds nothing (which happened to me) when I suffered twice with bouts of vertigo, then they will have to continue to investigate and the next likely doctor for the symptoms would be the neurologist. I am not sure if a catscan of the brain would show ms lesions. Does anyone out there know the answer to that? If it wouldn't then you probably need a brain mri.. Good luck, keep us posted... roncart

[sweetie1414]

Well I went for a Drs visit with my PCP , She wants to send me for nerve conduction tests and to an ENT because of the vertigo. Monday I began having a new symptom
every time i move my head a certain way (mostly when getting up out of a chair) i get and electric shock sensation that runs down my body. I called my PCP's office Monday to tell them about it and obviously they are avoiding me.I am not a hypochondriac and I hardly ever go to the doctor(i dislike doctors in fact) But i am beginning to think they think this of me or just don't have time for me.I wish they would just give me a referral to a nuerologist so that at least MS could be ruled out. I am getting very flustered at this point .....sorry , just needed to rant...lol

[essdipity]

Hi and welcome.

Your symptoms definitely need investigation. Do you absolutely need a referral to see a neuro? Because that's the kind of doctor you need to see. Your PCP sounds pretty useless to me. Sending you to a hematologist with symptoms like yours makes no sense to me, if he ignored the primary reason you went there.

If I were you I'd find a new PCP as well. If you are stuck in an HMO you might not be able to. But do you best to insist on a neuro. Read our Health Pages (upper right of screen) for lots of good info, and post here if you need bolstering. We're good at that.

The best of luck, and let us know.

ess