What next?

[dd3m]

I have had a laundry list of symptoms, including migraines that last for 3-4 days with no relief from pain medicine,  cognitive difficulties (confusion, inability to understand whats being said, inability to understand what I read, etc.), dexterity issues, loss of balance, weakness in the left side, hypersensitivity in the left side, hearing problems and blurred vision on the left side.  I began treating with my family doctor about a year ago for Vitamin D deficiency, however they have been unable to get my vitamin D def. under control. My symptoms continued to get worse and I had a loss of vision for approximately 2 minutes about 2 months ago.  The ER referred me to a neurologist who ordered a complete MRI, brain, C-Spine, T-spine and L-spine.
The MRI came back with with multiple lesions in my brain and a possible one on my spine (there was a poor quality on the films due to movement, so it was non-specific and could have been an "artifact") I went to see a MS specialist who stated that my symptoms did not seem to be MS, however she wanted to to do a spinal tap to rule it out.
My questions are:
Should I wait and get another MRI in 6 months (as most of the information available seems to indicate) before getting the Spinal tap?
Could the Vitamin D def cause the lesions?
What other diseases present with similar symptoms?  

[cainer]

hi   its frustrating  i know!!  but  id get the mri.. they try to rule other things out. they want to be sure - i got upset  well thats another story,but hang in there, let us know how its going!  hugs tick                      - that dye in the mris well i personally wouldnt let them do the contrast-

[COBOB]

I would not call a spinal tap conclusive.  A positive spinal tap for => 3 OCBs would move MS pretty high up in the list.  A negative spinal tap mean very little.  70-90% of people with MS have a negative spinal tap for OCBs.  I think you could get the spinal tap and depending on the results, do a follow up MRI.

MS symptoms vary widely from one patient to another.  My MS doc wanted to watch and wait for 6 months, so we did.  In that period I had a negative lumbar puncture, developed a new problem, and new lesions.  That was enough for him to make a diagnosis.

Low Vit D levels in childhood have been associated with the development of MS as an adult, but I'm don't think that low Vit D is directly related to demyelination  

Lyme's disease is one of the conditions that causes lesions in the brain that mimics MS and can cause a variety of non-specific neurologic symptoms

[della770]

It sounds classic for MS but there are other possibilities and a repeat test would be
a general rule but there could be other things that cause this abnormality and the
other cause may affect lungs.Vit. D deficit are certainly to my my mind are
a big common denom and I am not sure what the link is but it has so much importance to the bodily functions.A spinal tap would be conclusive and ease your mind but very
scary thought.Good Luck.