Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Ruling out possibilities

I am a 27 year old female, and I have been having strange neurological symptoms for nearly 3 years.  I get left-sided numbness, which often begins in my face then spreads to my arm and sometimes my leg.  Sometimes this is accompanied by a headache, but not always.  The longest this has lasted is 4 days.  The last "attack" I had was accompanied by dizziness and fatigue also.  I should also add that lately I have had joint pain, specifically my left hip and right shoulder.  I don't know if it is related but I am getting that looked into.
I have seen a few neurologists, who have said complicated migraines.  I recently started seeing a "headache-specialist" neuro., who thinks this may be atypical migraine but wants other things to be ruled out first.  So he is recommending I see a general neurologist to rule out blood clotting diseases, connective tissue diseases..... I am wondering if you have any recommendations on what other things should be looked into?  So far I have had an MRI and MRA, which have both been fine.  No other testing has been done.  Thank you- these attacks are very scary (I always think "stroke") and I am anxious to find an explanation once and for all!
2 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
If you are tested for B-12, a good idea, get the number results and unit of measure. Do not accept "It's normal" as an answer.

If the level is under 350, methylmalonic acid and homocysteine should be tested. These usually expose a false normal.

Make sure the doctor know that a large percentage of those with neurologic damage from B-12 deficiency are NOT anemic. They can become badly disabled and near death before developing the blood disorder.

Also,
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Dear Dianne:

Sorry that your having problems.  The usual things we think about causing symptoms of paresthesias can be vitamin B12 deficiency, diabetes, alcoholism, refsum, collagen vascular diseases, genetic diseases (which are pretty rare and likely you don't have these), etc.  Most of these can be detected by some simple lab tests such as vitamin B12 level, CBC, ANA, sedimentation rate, etc.  Some of these can be ruled out by history (i.e. symptoms eating certain types of food, family history, diabetes, social history).  Assuming that your neurological exam is perfectly normal, then any one of these enities would be in their preliminary stages and might not be diagnosed by lab results only.  Some diseases take alittle time before they become evident and only give "soft signs" early on.  Some tyes of peripheral neuropathies can be detected by EMG but usually one waits for more signs of peripheral abnormalities.  Evoked potentials can detect some demyelinating and neuronal loss diseases and is a possible test to consider.  I would think that the best way to approach this is to get some of the basic labs as mentioned as see what would be next.  In your favor is the completely normal MRI/MRA of the brain.

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD
Helpful - 0

You are reading content posted in the Neurology Forum

Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease