Help, Please!?!?!? Severe Movement Impairement and Vertigo

Help, Please!?!?!? Is Vertigo common with MS?
by thester6474, less than a minute ago
For the last three years I have been living with multiple symptoms, with multiple diagnoses, some that I question more and more on a daily basis.  

My symptoms include:
a burning pain in muscles, numbness in extremities, loss of sensation in parts of bodies, stiffness, major fatigue, depression, major headaches, spasticity, spasms, myoclonus, restless leg, tingling in head and extremities, vibration sensations, buzzing sensations when moving head from time to time, anxiety, major cognitive dysfunction, sleeping dysfunctions, inability to feel and recognize touches unless they are visual, muscle weakness – especially in extremities, extra tension in arms and legs with usage, chronic indigestion, walking (I have a gait), constant state of tiredness – inability to complete most tasks – moving or lifting items, exercising, walking, carrying grocery, brushing hair, etc.

To make the situation worse on October 28th I woke up and the room was spinning and has been since.  As soon as my Neurologist's office opened I called and informed them of the fact that I was unable to walk with out running into items or falling completely down.  The nurse told me to lie down immediately and to do nothing until she called back.  When she called back, she told me to either go straight to the ER or come there.  I was told that I was suffering from Vertigo.  Unfortunately he has refused to do any testing, just take me off of medication the last few months, which has not helped.

My Rheumatologist last month looked in my ear and noticed that my eardrum was swollen remarkably on the right side so decided to send me to my ENT.  He also decided before the appointment to prescribe two weeks of high dose prednisone 4 5mg tablets in the am, and 4 at night as well as two 600 mg antibiotics daily for two weeks.  This helped the eardrum go down as well as the apparent ear infection I had at the time.  The ENT said that it could have made the Vertigo worse, but was not the main cause, and in turn sent me for an MRI with and w/o contrast and well as Vestibular PT.  I had already done the Vestibular PT eval just 6 weeks in advance.

This time the results were much worse she said, she didn't give me the results from the first time.  This time though when she scored me standing still and doing a few different exercises I scored only 13 out of 24.  When she scored me for gait it was 8 out of 24, so both are pretty poor.  She said that she hasn't seen it get that bad that quickly.

I do have my a copy of my MRI results and just had a question as to, should there be any white areas on the scan?  I do see several white spots on the back lobe upper area, as well as the middle lower area.  I see a few others, what scares me is the last time I had scans two years ago I had no white ares.  What are some causes of white ares on MRIs?  What are some causes of Vertigo?  Could it get to the point where I no longer have any balance?

[opinmin]

For starts, dump that Neurologist that did NOTHING for you if you can.  If physicians don't listen to you and/or don't want to treat you=RED FLAGS; they are not for you!  Remember, you are the paying customer; don't give your money away for nothing.  

Find another Neurologist to evaluate the MRI and you.  Ideally, the MRI should have been done with CONTRAST; imaging is better.  They are many causes for vertigo and white areas on MRIs can mean different things.  Please try to see another Neurologist.    Do you have a history of MS in your family?

Keep us posted.

[thester6474]

Yes I do have two family members that have multiple sclerosis.  I had the mri done with and without contrast, and I have an appointment with another Neurologist but couldn't get in until the very end of April.  I am just not sure I can hold out that long, not knowing what is going on.  And if my health is progressing this quickly the last few months, what will another two months allow?

[opinmin]

You can ask that office to call you if they have a cancellation so you can get in earlier.  It is hard so say if you will stay stable until you see the NL.  If you feel your symptoms are progressing to out of control;ER ASAP.  As far as the MRI, the NS might one to obtain another one with constrast.  

Keep us posted.  

[thester6474]

Anyone with Vertigo need the use of assistive devices such as a walker or wheelchair?  My physical therapist just ordered a walker for me, and I feel as though my world has been turned upside down.  If so how did you deal with the grief?  And has it been a permanent change or was it just temporary?

[Lulu54]

Hi theseter,

I saw your question pop up over here on neurology - you might want to come to the MS forum and ask the same thing.  We have lots of people with vertigo experience.

As for the grief of dealing with these problems, here is an excellent health page that our members put together on acceptance.  I hope it helps.  -Lu

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/Acceptance----a-journey/show/1028?cid=36