Diagnosed with stress (?) - but symptoms continue

[chels82]

In October 2007, I had a severe migraine that started out with what I call a body jolt and brief blackout while standing.  It felt like someone had turned out the lights and the floor was moving under me.  This lasted for all of a minute and I was fine, but then I had numbness that started in the left side of my face and traveled downward to my left arm.  From the numbness began a jerking motion in my neck, that would move my head to the side, left ear touching left shoulder.  The movement was uncontrollable and constant.  I also started to develop a curl to my left hand when I would walk.  I was taken to the emergency room after it got to be extreme.  After that, I was sent to a neurologist who said I may have something called "dystonia" which is a movement disorder.  I was sent for an EEG, which came up normal.  I was put on a mild Parkinson's medication to mellow the head jerking motion, which seemed to resolve the issue.  Eventually, I was sent to a second neurologist who specialized in dystonia, only to be told that this was stress related.  

Almost a year later, my symptoms occasionally return.  I will have body jolts, have unexplained numbness/tingling in the left side of my face, tremors in my left hand, head jerking, brain fog, blurry vision...mostly all together.  There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to these symptoms.  It starts with a body jolt and the other symptoms follow.  If it happens in the morning, the foggy, blurry feeling lasts all day and I will be completely fine the next day.  There is no history of dystonia in my family but there is a history of seizures.

I'm just curious to get an opinion on this, does stress sound like an accurate diagnosis or could this truly be something more?

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

How are you?
Since your MRI and EEG findings have been unremarkable causes like stroke, seizures and migraine can be ruled out.
Dystonia is a neurological disorder in which sustained muscle contractions and abnormal postures occur. This disorder can be inherited, birth related, due to physical trauma or infection.
If all these causes have been ruled out, stress remains the only factor. Stress can manifest in a lot of different ways. It is important to do some relaxation exercises like yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises.

[chels82]

I should have mentioned that, I had an MRI when I was in the ER and it was negative.

[Cherriebomb]

Did your neuro say anything about an MRI of your brain?