Well, Wecome to our little house and I'm sorry you feel so lousy.
Nothing you have describes things we see in MS. So, I think I can reassure you a little there.
My first, second and third reaction were infection, infection and infection. Specifically it sounds like a viral infection.
The West Nile thing has to be evaluated and I hope your doctor is consulting an Infectious Disease specialist. West Nile doesn't always, I don't think, cause a severe brain infection, but may cause a flu like illness and many of the symptoms you have. Your headaches may have indicated a mild encephalitis, espeically if you were very drowsy or little confused.
The appearance of IgG at about 6 weeks of infection is about right. I don't know if the absence of the early antibody, IgM, is an accurate one or not. I haven't researched West Nile.
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Just a little info here. After the beginning of an infection with soemthing you've never had before, the first antibody to appear is IgM - which is specific for that disease. Then after about 6 weeks the IgG appears and within a short time the IgM disappears. Then the IgG titer (level of antibody) rises pretty rapidly for some time. After a few months, the IgG falls to much lower levels and often remains positive for life.
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If the West Nile thing doesn't go anywhere, then your symptoms are also suggestive of Lyme Disease. The screening test for Lyme Disease is not very accurate (many false negatives) and that should be repeated and, I believe that the second order test should also be run. This is called a Western Blot.
So, your case should be considered by an Infectious Disease specialist, perferably with a full evaluation of you. He might suggest a spinal tap and I think this would be a good idea. In a couple weeks the West Nile IgG titer should be repeated and, if that is the infection you have, then you would expect the titer to be rising rapidly. But, all of this should be done with the ID doc. West Nile must be reported to the CDC.
Good luck. Keep us posted.
Quix
Hi and welcome,
The one thing that jumps out to me if I understand it correctly, fever, even a slightly elevated one, is not a symptom of MS. If I'm wrong about that someone else will correct me. I hope you will keep us posted on your progress - we are very good listeners. Lulu
re: West Nile, are they going to follow-up with a NASBA test or have they done that? Has anyone talked to you about that? Also, has anyone mentioned testing your CSF for markers of inflammation?
Bio
Hi, I want to welcome you to our forum, it really is a great place with great people.
Wow, sounds like you've had your fair share of tests!! I don't know what a positive lgG would mean, but there are others here who will.
As for your MRI, was it done with and without contrast, and did they use MS protocol? That is usually the standard when testing for MS. What strength machine did they use? The best these days is a 3T.
There will be many others that will jump in here and help you. While you are waiting you might want to check out our health pages, they are just so informative. You can get to them by clicking on the health page icon in the upper right hand corner of the page.
Hope you will stay with us, this is a great place to be when you need answers and support as you are trying to get a dx.
doni
I'm sorry you are going through so much right now. I can relate to not being depressed before but you are now. All the testing and no answers is very hard. Just know that you are not alone, and this is a great place to come to for support. I don't have any answers for you, but there are others on here that I'm sure can give you some insight that may help. I hope you have a good doctor that is understanding and willing to try to get to the bottom of this so you can move on. Take care and keep in touch.
Puff