Greetings fellow Canadian: Sorry you're having such a tough go of it. I will totally go out on a limb here and risk making a complete fool of myself just to give you some kind of possible possible ideas. I'm certainly not a doctor but I just feel your struggle. Don't worry too much, if it is somehting post viral I'm sure you WILL get better! Hang in there!
MAYBE:
1. B12 deficiency, that can cause neuropathy (pain/tinglig in arms/legs)--happened to my girlfriend.
2. Herniated disc
3. Thoracic outlet syndrome
4. Severe osteoarthritis with osteophyte formation impinging on nerve roots in spine.
5. Myasthenia Gravis
OK, and this is what I personally came across for myself when looking into diseases that can apparently be similar to MS (ready . . .?)
Diseases like Tumour or other Cord compression, Stroke, Acute Disseminated EncephaloMyelitis (ADEM), Lyme disease, Sub-Acute Sclerosing Panencephalitis, Neurosyphilis, Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Cerebral Arteritis, Acute Transverse Myelitis, Herpes Simplex Encephalitis, Polyarteritis nodosa, Sjogren syndrome, Behcet's syndrome, Sarcoidosis, Paraneoplastic syndromes, neuromyelitis optica (Devic's syndrome), HIV-associated myelopathy, Adrenomyeloneuropathy, other Myelopathy, Spinocerebellar syndromes, Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis, Guillian Barre Syndrome, Polymyositis, Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, Parkinson's Disease, Cerebral Haemorrhage, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Mononeuritis, Huntington's Disease, Post-Infectious Encephalitis, Arteriovenous Malformations, Arachnoid Cysts, Arnold-Chiari Malformations, Cervical Spondylosis and many more.
Crazy!!!! eh?
Maybe though it can give you a couple of ideas to look into on your own. It can also drive you up a wall trying to diagnose yourself like that. I think it's best just to wait and see what your doctor says in person!
All the best to you!
Hi Jeff: I'm sorry, I see now your older posts and I see you've been tested for many things I mentioned. How absolutely frustrating for you to say the least. Don't give up, they WILL get to the bottom of this! Toronto is supposed to be a good place to get care so I hope they can help you, if they can't they will send you to someone who can. Sorry your diagnosis is taking so long. Hang in there buddy!
Thanks for the Reply...
Ya I've had a lot of tests so far....but I can't give up....I have an 11 month old son that needs me healthy...so I'm praying everything works out for me...
I have appointments with 3 neurologists in 3 of Toronto's best hospitals coming up...so maybe you're right and It's about time I stop trying to diagnose myself...cuz It absolutely does drive me up the wall...
Wish me luck.....
- Jeff
Well....my first Neurologist appointment was a big waste of time....He went over the MRI's I had done on my Brain and Spine...Tested my strength and reflexes again...then sat me down and said ...
"I don't think that we're gonna find out what's happening to you here, maybe I can refer you to somebody with more resources"
I couldn't believe he said that....Meanwhile after 7 weeks I'm still dealing with waves of Burning and weakness all over my body....
I'm glad I set up appointments with multiple specialists....I have another appointment tomorrow...I'm praying this one will be more compassionate.....