ms symptoms?

hi.  i have a list of symptoms from tingling in my feet and hands, feeling like an electrical shock occurs in my feet around 1 or 2 times a day, occasional trouble swallowing, trouble with my speech (the wrong word pops out or i can't find a word) and communication (sometimes i don't understand what people are saying to me), and most annoying and troublesome is my balance.  i started with just feeling offbalance sometimes and now i'm dizzy and fall and am walking with a cane.  i have had an mri with contrast and no lesions.  blood test ruled out b12 and lyme disease, etc.  going tor a neuropsyche exam, but can't get in for 4 months.  neuro wants to schedule spinal tap after that.  i am frustrated and angry that i can't walk around, take care of my garden or travel...and that i am expected to wait with no answers.  recently i started pt to strengthen my core so i don't fall so often.  pt said it looked like i have parkinsonism symptoms.  isn't there anything i can do?  this is affecting my job and my life.  i don't like to go out or talk to people anymore and i have to for work.  what should i do?  i just can't keep going like this.  any suggestions out there???

[tonyad]

  Hello and Welcome to the Forum :)

Sorry that you are dealing w/ all of this crazy stuff!  Are you currently seeing a Neuro now?  While PT's are good at their job...They are in no way able to give you any kind of a dx. In Parkinsons you have visual tremors...BUT...In MS you can also have tremors.

   Are you on any kind of meds right now to treat your symptoms?  If not, I would ask either you PCP or your Neuro to give you something for these sx until they can get some answers as to why you are feeling the way you are.

   While some of the sx you are descibing  could be neurological in nature......But you need to have other mimics ruled out!  Have you had that done as of yet?  This can be done through blood work to rule out a B-12 deficiency or some other things. As well as an MRI using the MS Protocol.  

     If your Neuro will not do this for you, then I would find another one that will listen to you and try to find out what is going on!  Keep us updated....

Peace,
~Tonya

[js1989]

Thanks for the response tonya.  i've been going to a neuro, and had a mri and some blood work up (at my internist request).  he says since i'm not having a stroke or blacking out it isn't urgent.  the've ruled out lyme disease, b12 deficiency, lupus, etc.  i called him after my pt told me the symptoms looked like parkinsons, and now he's going to see me again.  if i don't get some action from him this week i think i will look for another dr.  he was content to let me wait months even though i keep pushing, and won't do a spinal tap until after the full neuropsych test (brain function).  i didn't know there were meds i could take now to help.  my internists agrees that if i don't get some help from the neuro this week she'll recommend someone else.  do you know what kind of meds help people with my symptoms?  i didn't think of that.  anyway, thanks for your advice and time.  
take care,  janice

[jensequitur]

I would recommend being more assertive with your neuro, and if they keep you waiting, look for somebody else who can help.  

They have various kinds of medication - some for neuropathic pain, some for spasms and cramping, and some for energy levels.  Unfortunately balance problems are something you'll just have to put up with!

[tonyad]

    Sounds like you have had the correct Blood Work done to rule out Mimics.
Now, just to let you know., Your Internist can Prescibe those meds to you. It does NOT have to be by a Neuro!!

    Some of thethings I take are:
Baclofen......for spasticity
Gabapentin.....for Neuropathy
Klonopin
Alprazolam
Amitryptiline.....for sleep (works soo good)

        Of course, I am on several more but no need to list all of those too.......But the first 2 that I mentioned are of great help. Have your Internist RX one or both to you so that you can at least treat your symtoms (symptoms).

Peace,
~Tonya

[js1989]

thanks to both of you for your responses.  i see neuro friday and am taking my sister along so we can tag team and try to get some answers or at least some help.  if no help then i will take your advice and see my internist and ask for another dr. and some help with these symptoms.  i guess if i don't push for more help sooner i have no one to blame but myself.  thanks again!
take care,
janice

[js1989]

i have determined to be more assertive when i see the neuro on friday.  instead of waiting 5 months for response (the earliest i could get the neuropsych exam).  any ideas of questions i should ask?  i thought i would refresh his memory on my symptoms, why i need to have some answers or further exploration for answers, and if there is any medication i can take now or anything i can do other than physical therapy to help me until we find a diagnosis and treatment options.
i appreciate any insight and advice you can give me.
take care,
janice

[jensequitur]

Since you've been through the gamut of testing for MS, and they've found nothing, your next step is to request help with your symptoms.  I would make a list of the symptoms you've found most troubling, and talk to him about those.

good luck!

[js1989]

thanks!  do you know if the spinal tap is the final test for ms?  he wants to do that after i have a neuropsych exam.
take care,
janice

[js1989]

talked to my dr. about getting some treatment and he says they will mask my symptoms and he doesn't want to until after he diagnoses me,  now there's a problem with my insurance the the neuropsych, so they cancelled my appointment.  .i have nothing that is happening until my 2nd opinion in january.  i think i'll call my internist and see if i can get something to help me (meds).  thanks for your help.  

[Adnvwsti]

How frustrating and disappointing.  I've followed the thread here, going back to mid-July, and it is obvious that you are making the right decision.  When a physician will not give you the medication you need to help you manage symptoms that you have clearly charted out for him, then he's not worth his salt, in my opinion.  You should not be made to suffer so that a physician may, at his leisure (quite literally) provide a dx in the absence of medications.   I am fairly certain that there are no medications that will interfere in the results of a simple spinal tap, but if there are, the hospital can tell you what not to take prior to the procedure.  I strongly support you in being proactive and finding doctors who will treat you with more compassion than you have received thus far.  The stress of suffering while you wait for an appointment that may not materialize can exacerbate your symptoms.  I hope you get a caring doctor who won't minimize your complaints to see you soon.  

[jensequitur]

Oh, bummer!  I think that's the next best step - getting something to treat your symptoms.  At least you can feel better, even if you don't know what's going on.

[js1989]

thanks for your comments and help.  my regular dr. is going to try to get the 2nd opinion dr. to move up my appointment.  if he can't, then we are going to knock on the door of every neurologist local to try to get an appointment.  she recommends i keep up with physical therapy, and perscribeed gabapentin to help with my balance issues -- though she says it's a crap shoot because she doesn't know what's wrong with me.  she says the neuropsych exam is cognitive, so treating my symptoms shouldn't interfere with it.  hopefully i get a 2nd opinion before 2011.  thanks again for your support.  i think my family is really getting bored and tired of this whole thing and don't want to hear about it anymore.  they're starting to act like it is all in my head and if i just rest more it will all be ok.  sometimes i just do not know what to do.