hoping fo an answer

I had fell(a common occurance) and broke my wrist so the ortho doc sent me to a neurologist due to the numbness and tingling feelings on the right side of my hands and fingers. i had an MRI which showed i have numerous non-specific spots(within the deep white matter)  in both hemispheres of my cerebrium.  i had the ver and aer test which came back normal my doc informed me today. h is being vague about a dx and states he is puzzled. he wants to do some more test including a spinal tap last. I have most of the symptoms that go along w/MS. My question is.. could it be MS even if my ver and aer test came back normal? He did say he ruled out strokes.
I also have lots of falling down along with memory loss which seems to be short term memory.
He now wants me to go for a sleep disorder test. also i suddenly ive devloped major lower back back that goes fr waist to my toes.
any info would be greatly appreciated.
thanks cherryl

[Heather3418]

I am sorry to hear about your fall and broken wrist.

I am glad to hear that you have a doctor that seems to be doing the necessary testing to try and find out what is wrong.  Could this be MS>?  Yes it could; but could also be a dozen other things, as well.

I would go ahead with the spinal tap, which can give your doctor invaluable information.  I don't quite understand the "sleep study," but your doctor must have his reasons for ordering one.

Please keep us posted about your testing.  Also, welcome to the MS Forum.  As people awaken this morning and sign on to the Forum, you will probably get many responses.  This is one heck of a great supportive group.  Our forum is growing by leaps and bounds, so if you post and someone doesn't answer right away, don't get discouraged.  This happens.  But trust me, someone WILL answer your posts.

Again, welcome and Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Heather  

[cherby]

Hello Heather!
Thankyou for your warm welcome and responding to my question. Like I stated I think my doc is being evasive even though he states he is puzzled and is not sure of dx. Like I stated I have many symptoms of MS and just wish there was a faster way to find out if it is or not.
I'm glad I stumbled on to this website and feel i can gain lots of knowledge from you all.
I want to wish you and yours a happy holiday season.
Thanks again,
Cheryl

[Quixotic1]

This is a re-post from your other post:

Hi, Sorry that such disturbing confusion brings to our house.  No matter hwat the diagnosis ends up being, you are among friends here and are always welcome.  I am a retired physician with MS.  I post here unofficially and was a pediatrician, not a neurologist.  We can't diagnose anything lonline, but I can talk about what you have told us in the context of MS.  I also have several questions to clarify what you posted.

First, how old are you?

You mention that falling is common.  Do you know why that is?  Is your balance poor or do you seem not to be able to deal with ground or floor uneveness?  Do you stumble a lot, or walk into walls (yes, many of us do) or miss the doorways and hit the doorjams?  If so, how long has this been going on?  

Are your symptoms new?  Or have you had them before and they have come back?

The tingling and numbness in a limb or on the body is a common presenting symptom of MS?  I see why they did an MRI.  Numerous lesions on both sides of the white matter of the brain is what is seen in MS.  Apparently yours were not absolutely classic of MS.  Either they weren't in the "perfect" locations (not a requirement) or they were smaller than a "classic" oval, MS plaque.  That does not at all mean that they are not from MS.  It's just that the radiologist can't tell and leaves it up to the neurologist to make the determination.  The diagnosis of MS is a "Clinical Diagnosis."  This means that the meain information comes from the patient's own history and physical exam.  The MRI is becoming (for better or worse) more and more important in establishing the diagnosis.

The Evoked Potentials tests are supplemental tests that, when positive, support the diagnosis of MS.  When they are negative they are not very helpful.  The VER - Visual Evoked Potential - is the most useful and is the one that is most commonly positive in MS, but in a third or more cases it is negative.  The Audio-Evoked potential (is that what you are caling the AER?) is the least helpful test.  One that is more commonly helpful when there is abnormal sensation in a limb (like your wrist) is the SomatoSensory Evoked Potential.  However, all of these can be negative in Multiple Sclerosis.

Many physicians are not comfortable sharing their suspicions that a person has a serious disease.  They will be vague and noncommittal about their opinions.  There are two ways to look at this.  One is that when people hear the suggestion of a serious disease, they become quite anxious about it.  In my experience, I would share what I was looking for, and keep the parents clued in.  I found that when you don't reveal your thoughts, people imagine far worse things and the anxiety is higher.  But, each doctor has their own style.

What other symptoms of MS have you had?

Are you linking the falling episodes with the memory loss?  Do you not remember why or how you fell?  Or do you also have ongoing poor short term memory?  If the first is true, have you also had an EEG?  The sleep study is often done when people have neurological symptoms, especially cognitive like memory.

I didn't understand what you were trying to say about now having "major lower back ???"  Pain, numbness?

It sounds like your doctor - is he a neurologist? - is taking you quite seriously and looking hard for your correct diagnosis.   Congratulations!  That is very good and absolutely necessary to make this diagnosis, or any other.  That is the first thing that a person needs - an interested doctor who is determined to find out what is wrong.  He will also need to do a battery of blood tests to rule out mimics of MS.

The spinal tap is often a part of the workup, probably more often than not.  It is positive in the majority of cases, by showing that there is an immune reaction and inflammation occurring in the Central Nervous System that is not occurring in the rest of the body.  Sometimes the diagnosis can be made without it, and that appears to be what your doctor is thinking.

You've found a very good place for someone in the midst of an MS work up.  We have plenty of people in your shoes, many with a diagnosis of MS either years ago or recently (like myself).  We also have others who thought they had MS, but were found to have one of the  many other dieseases or conditions that cause a lot of the same problems.  We are a great bunch with lots of information and support.  What you need to know is that MS is NOT a death sentence.  Many people live near normal lives, punctuated with periodic bouts of disability.  Others have a more difficult time.

Others will be by to say "Hi" and offer their thoughts.  We will be waiting for your answers.  They will help us give you more information.

Welcome again, Quix

[cherby]

Wow!!! you have alot of knowledge. ok so here it goes. my falling down has been going on for about 3 years now. im clumsy and stumble and it is getting worse. i fall more often now. the numbness and tingling is in my hands and up my arms. which began in the summer. as far as memory loss i go place's not knowing how i got there or how long i was there and what i did while i was there. that happened 2 times in the summer. i find my short term memory most affected. like i ended up in the hospital for pnuemonia (pneumonia) and did not know how i got there and staed 10 days back in october. things like what i did a few days ag i cannot remember. my speech has changed in the fact that i find myself struggling to find  a word when speaking like going um um. In november the left side of my body began shaking uncontroably and did not stop for about 48 hrs. During that time my daughter got married and cannot remember the wedding... some bits and pieces. i experience pain in my lower back and generally all over at times. like in my hand going up to my shoulder.
Also i get up to urinate at night time when sleeping more then during the day along with sudden urges.
Please forgive me i know im skipping around.
Also during the summer family and friends would ask if i had been drinking because i was acting "loopy" and my gait was off. It was during tht period when i took a trip to MI and dont remember how I got there like i stated above.
I experience dizziness alot even when im laying down if i turn my head to the other side its so dizzy i feel like im gonna faint. My neuro doc sent me to have an exam from a heart doc and i did not remember ever going to the appt and to this day can not tell you where his office is but he sent the reports to my neuro. I am also very depressed and find my self having severe mood swings at times gettin real irate over nothing really. I am also tired all the time... even if i've gotten 10 hrs of sleep.
Im going to give you verbatim what the MRI stated (i have a copy).
IMPRESSION: NUMEROUS NONSPECEFIC FOCI OF HIGH T2 SIGNAL WITHIN THE WHITE MATTER OF BOTH CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES. THE VENTRICLES AND CORTICAL SULCI ARE OF NUMEROUS NONSPECIFIC FOCI OF HIGH T2 SIGNAL IN THE SUBCORTICAL AND DEEP WHITE MATTER OF OF BOTH CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES. OTHER WISE THE GRAY AND WHITE MATTER DEMONSTRATE NORMAL SIGNAL. THERE ARE NO AREAS OF RESTRICTED DIFFUSION TO INDICATE ACUTE ISCHMIA.
Im sorry this is so long but as you must know I am going crazy not knowing. doc is going to do a spinal after the sleep study. i believe he did all the blood work already.
like i stated before i asked can we rule out MS and he said no he just does not know and is very puzzled.
Oh and the back pain starts in lower back and travels down to my feel and is real in tense pain but a different kind of pain almost burning.
Well there you have it. I would truly appreciate any info you could share with me with this new info.
thankyou so much for the warm welcome and insight you have provided me with.
Cheryl