Strange symptoms

My husband is suffering from a variety of symptoms that so far have been undiagnosed.  Around 2000 he developed a speech problem where he has trouble finding the right word, says the wrong word, switches parts of words, or studders.  In 2005, we went to a neurologist who said that he had 5 small strokes that affected the language center of the brain.  In 2009 developed numbness in fingers of both hands.  In 2010 he was sitting down and suddenly felt a pain in his right thigh.  He reached down to rub the area and noticed that the surface of his leg was numb.  He went to his doctor and she noticed some weakness in that leg and ordered another MRI.  The radiologist who compared the 2 MRIs said that he noticed increased signal in the white matter and suspected demylinating disease.  He was referred to a neurologist who attributes the difference in the scans to the different machines and better technology and did not note any new lesions.  He also disagrees with the diagnosis of stroke from 2003.  The neurologist believes that the pain/numbness in his thigh is from a pinched nerve.  He ordered an MRI of the spine and it was normal.  Since that time, the pain and numbness in his thigh has spread to his outer calf area.  He also has started experiencing muscle twitches all over his body and sudden jerky movements.  When we went back to the neurologist he ordered a sleep study which showed hypopnea and an EMG which showed carple tunnel in the wrists but nothing abnormal in the leg.  There is muscle atrophy in the leg and he suffers from sudden stabbing pains even though he is on 300 mg of Tramadol for the pain.  He has not yet started treatment for the hypopnea and the neurologist wants to wait until April and do another MRI to compare it to the last one.  Are there other tests that he should be having?  All of this waiting is wearing on us.  This is very stressful and frustrating.  It seems like there should be something else they could test him for.  

There are no neurological diseases in the family.  He is being treated for high blood pressure and high cholesterol but is otherwise healthy.

[HVAC]

I understand your frustration. Diagnosing is mostly done by ruling other possibilities out. I wish someone had explained how Neurologists work.

Unfortunately with Neurologists "Wait in see is Normal." Sometimes they need to see how things stay the same or change over time. When they thought I might have MS I had MRIs every six months for two years. I had a ton of blood tests to rule out other diseases. I had A VEP, SSEP, and BAER. I was sent to a Neuro Othamologist and given a bunch of fancy eye tests. Finally they did a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) and then a lot more blood work.

Oh and every time I saw the Neurologist a bunch of tests which seem simple but tell the Neurologist the most. Reflexes, timed walking, Standing with my eyes close, etc.

My symptoms started in the 1960's and I was diagnosed in 2009.

There is a great resource to the upper right called the health pages. If you click on it there is lots of good information.

Alex

[Deb61]

Sometimes it does take quite a while for a diagnosis.  Have you been to an MS Specialist?  You may get to the bottom things a little faster this way.  

If an MRI wasn't done with MS protocol, it may not help with a diagnosis.  My first MRI was done to rule out brain cancer or stroke and was done on an open, weak MRI machine.  No lesions or abnormalities showed up.  When I went to a neurologist, who ordered MS protocol, lesions appeared.  

Then, I had 14 vials of blood drawn to rule out all sorts of diseases and problems.  I had a CT scan of the lungs to rule out TB, an echocardiogram to rule out heart problems, a lumbar puncture, and then fianally another MRI which showed growth of lesions and more lesions.  The day I had my MRI, I was diagnosed and was given literature on the different medicines for MS.  

I've had ON twice, and have to see the opthalmologist every six months.  Does your husband have visual symptoms?  An opthalmologist or a neuro-opthalmologist can also be a person to see if there's any problems with vision.