How long for a diagnosis?

Hello doctors,

Thank you for this website, first of all!

I am so frustrated by this "diagnosis process." I'm 23 years old, but starting when I was about 18 or 19, I began having symptoms that have gotten progressively worse and include "flare-ups." This year has been the most debilitating by far, and I'm beginning to think I could possibly die before anyone figures out what's wrong with me.

Interesting tidbit--- I grew up in a Christian Science household (I'm not CS anymore) and never visited a physician's office until the age of 18 or 19. The whole "family history" aspect as a tool for diagnosis is out of the question, although my mom couldn't hide the fact that she completely lost her sense of smell when I was about eight years old.

Here are my symptoms, which are ALL over the map... All of my doctors believe we are dealing with multiple conditions, except for the one neurologist that blew me off after the first consultation assuming I was just another hypochondriac. On that note, I have excellent social health, a good education, a loving husband, a safe and clean home, and a job that I love (although I can't work right now due to THIS!). Anyway... Symptoms include extreme fatigue, dizziness, muscle weakness, headaches and migraines, muscle stiffness, numbness of extremities, tingling (face mostly, head, legs, and more), difficulty with balance and walking, muscle burning, confusion, memory loss, GERD (diagnosed) all the symptoms that entails, IBS (diagnosed) and all of the symptoms that entails, neck pain, back pain, leg pain, occasional severe pain under my chest, sometimes it is very difficult to breath-- especially after i eat even small meals or get too warm, inability to move arms/legs for short periods of time), frequent UTIs, frequent ear infections, temperature oddities--- one ear usually measures 97.5 degrees while the other one usually measures 101 degrees (WEIRD), unsure if this is related but I recently began developing ovarian cysts... ahhh... what else... I'm sure there's more...

Sounds like multiple sclerosis, right? Well, I've had a brain MRI with and without contrast and it was normal. Spinal MRI (three parts)? Normal. CT scan of brain and abdomen? Normal. Nerve conductivity test of legs? Normal. Bloodwork? Normal. More bloodwork? Normal. Vision--- normal. Allergies? None.  Normal, normal, normal!!! The only NON-normal thing so far is that I was positive for Babinski's sign (was unaware of it until then) and that I didn't know if some of my fingers and toes were going up or down when I had my eyes closed. Lupus, MS, RA, lyme disease, B12 deficiency, and all of the common stuff has all been looked at... not all of them ruled out... but none of them looking positive. But I'm seriously NOT normal, and its NOT in my head. Is it possible to have MS without any lesions?

Someone please help me. Any ideas? Any suggestions??? I have a 6 month old baby and need to be able to take care of him-- without balance, memory, and extreme fatigue issues!

Thank you so much!!

[farsights]

I'm still waiting for a diagnoses also (which I hope comes back good).  I'm getting test done that I think are not even close to helping me.  

[Dr Rajgopal]

Hi,
I can understand what you must be going through. Your symptoms do suggest of Multiple sclerosis and Amylotrophic lateral sclerosis. A series of MRI of brain and spine may be necessary to rule out the diseases. A single MRI may not confirm the disease. You must go for a spinal tap procedure or lumbar puncture for the study of cerebrospinal fluid. It is an important investigation that could rule out or confirm the diagnosis of both the diseases. Positive Babinski’s sign suggests of a neurological disease. Please consult another neurologist for the LP and complete examination. Hope this helps you. Take care and regards!