Hi - I am a 30 yr old male, 5-9, 145, in good shape and in good health. I have never been in an accident, had major surgery, or gotten hurt very badly. I have never even had a major illness, but am now having some problems that I think are neurological. I have scoured the internet and read countless postings but nothing seems to match what I am going through. I hope someone here can help me figure things out.
I started experiencing the following symptoms in early March of this year (2009):
- tingling/pins and needles/ numbness in my right leg from knee down on the calf side, sometimes including foot, lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours - almost feels asleep/waking up
- after a few days, same thing in my left leg, less frequent, less intense
- same thing in my chin and cheeks (under the eyes), occasionally in the neck
- moderate back pain, area where neck hits back
- tightness/ high tension in both shoulders
- symptoms continue to come and go, sometimes disappearing for days at a time.
- Example - Tue and Wed of this week I felt fine, Thurs all day, all symptoms, as intense as ever. Fri moderate, today mostly fine, tomorrow ???
I usually don't take anything, but if the sensations are very intense I will sometimes take an aleve or advil. I don't know if it helps or if the feelings just go away, as they come and go during the day.
In addition, I had some weakness in my right shoulder and legs, the feeling you get after a vigorous workout where your muscles feel very fatigued, only without the workout. This seems to have passed.
I saw my general doctor, he thought it was spinal stenosis and ordered an MRI and referred me to a back specialist. MRI showed mild cervical stenosis, central canal stenosis, degenerative disc disease and kyphosis mostly in C4-C5 and C5-C6. The general doctor did all kinds of blood tests, and I was normal (dead center of the range) for literally all the things they test for.
The back specialist told me that these conditions would not cause the symptoms that I have and suggested I see a neurologist. He also said that if you gave 100 people my age an MRI, 30% would have mild stenosis like me and that it shouldn't affect me in any way (just to avoid contact sports, etc.). I have an appt with a neurologist in June.
Has anyone had similar symptoms or have any idea what might be causing this? If so what worked for you, what should I try?
Thanks in advance