Mysterious Neurological Symptoms

[jkakers]

Dear doctor,
I have a question about some possible muscle/nerve symptoms.
Approximately 4-5 months ago, I woke up one morning with the right half of my tongue being numb and the left half being fine. I felt as if I had 2 different tongue in my mouth. On that day, I also had a severe headache on the same side that the tongue was numb. I was seen by a doctor who noticed that my left eye was reacting slower than the right. He drew some blood and sent me for an MRI of the brain to check for lesions/ stroke which came back normal. For several weeks after that, my face- particularly my lips and mouth were numb. My left arm also became numb and my left hand very weak as well as all the joints in my left hand became very, very painful and I had difficulty using it. The doctor said that I was having complex migraines.
About 3 weeks after the numb tongue, I had a very strong heart palpitation causing a rolling, cold sweat and I fainted (did not lose consciousness).
I had an entire cardio work up which all came back normal. The cardiologist told me that I am stressed. I have been having the palpitations since the age of 13 when I was diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever.
Now I continue to have the palpitations and episodes of fainting, my left arm frequently goes numb and my left hand is almost always weak.
About 2 months ago, I began having muscle twitches in nearly every part of my body. They are very small areas and be one movement at a time or several small movements. They feel much like an eye lid twitch. These twitches often last all day long but sometimes I will have a day with only a few twitches. About 2 weeks ago, I started having a sensation that my actual nerves are shaking inside my body and the twitching has also moved to my tongue. There are also times when I feel tingly in small localized areas or all over the top of my head. I have also begun having joint pain in my hands- especially the ring and pinky fingers on either hand..
Some other symptoms that I had prior to the the 1/2 sided tongue numbness that I did not pay a great deal of attention until now are that the 2 outer toes on my right foot frequently go numb, I get a cold spot on the back of my right leg, sometimes I feel as if there are bugs biting me but there are no bugs and extreme dizziness that sometimes can last all day long or come on suddenly and then go as quickly as it came. These symptoms have been occurring for almost a year now.
I am diagnosed with Idiopathic Hypersomnia with Long Sleep and currently take Adderall. Prior to Adderall, I was taking Nuvigil. I took the Nuvigil for just over year and then my doctor changed the medication to monitor if the symptoms were being caused by the Nuvigil. I have been taking Adderall for approximately 2 1/2 months.
Many people blame all of this on stress and Anxiety attacks, but I am adamant that I am not stressed out more than what is typical among nearly all people. I actually feel that I am much less stressed than the normal person and have never had an Anxiety/Panic Attack.
Any advice you could give me would be very helpful.
Thank you.

[jkakers]

I have had so much blood work done recently it's not funny. Especially the thyroid. I have had that checked at least 50 times in the last 10 years. That's the only thing anyone would ever check when I would try to get answers about my sleepiness. When my thyroid would come back perfect and every other lab result perfect, my sleepiness was blamed on Depression or flat out laziness (a term actually said to me by more than one doctor). I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was not Depressed, but that's the word that kept being used and it was SO hard to convince people I wasn't. It took me nearly 30 years to convince them and to get a real answer. Sometimes I wonder if I am up for the fight for whatever this new thing is when it's not yet severely disrupting my life.

Thanks

[Karen99]

You are overdue to see a neurologist.  Some of what you are experiencing could be from a neurological cause, migraine for instance.

It's too easy for doctors to attribute your symptoms stemming from stress, and some cannot be blamed on Idiopathic Hypersomnia, as I'm sure you know.

Have you had a thorough physical recently?  CBC, Thyroid, etc?  

Take care.  

[jkakers]

Thank you for your response. I thought I was posting on the doctor board. I'm new to the community so I'm still learning how it works.

I plan to ask for a referral to a neurologist. I have not been examined by one yet. The MRI was done in the ER. My biggest problem is convincing people that this is not just stress even though many of the symptoms can be caused by stress.

Thanks again!

[Karen99]

Hi and welcome.  We do not have a doctor on this board but many community members who may be able to offer you some advice.

Perhaps a visit to another neurologist may be helpful.  Have you been seen by a rheumatologist yet?  You have many symptoms and complaints that need to be fully investigated.

Have your doctors found any abnormalities?

Keep us posted on how you're doing.