Weird Symptoms: headache, blurred vsision, twitching, numbness

[stuckinsidemymind]

Lately I've been having lots of headaches for the past couple of weeks.  It seems like its one long headache (6-8 hours) with 15 minutes - 1 hour of break in between.  Also in between headaches and during headaches I get the following symptoms:

-blurred vision
-twitching (especially in the arms and legs but its occured in every muscle I can think of including my tounge)
-fatigue
-numbness in hands and feet
-weird tingling senations in hands and feet
-lightheadedness

All the twitching is beginning to make me sore and my hands and legs appear to be weaker.  Especially my legs since I know my leg has been twitching all day.  It seemed to go be going away, but after I took a shower it picked right back up, and my hand started twitching.  

Last time I went to the doctors with these symptoms (in October) I was pretty much only treated for the headaches and had a simple blood test in which everything seemed fine.  After this time, I have been referred to a neurologist and I meet with the neurologist next week.  This is become EXTREMELY annoying and all these headaches are having a MAJOR impact on my life.  What could I possibly have?

[DragonTU84]

I have had quite similar symptoms to what you describe. Is the tingling and numbness sometimes in the head too?? That is how it is for me most of the time.

I am going in to see a neurologist in a few weeks.

It all started for me after I started taking Zoloft. I was taking it for anxiety/panic disorder, and then these problems started. :(

I get bouts that last maybe anywhere from only 10 minutes to an hour or more!

I get dizzy, my head feels heavy/pressure in the head, there is ONE spot in the head that feels the pressure or maybe even pain, there is this tingly-like sensation going through my head, usually in the spot I feel the pressure, my hands grow colder, I get clammy/I sweat, then the head will sometimes feel like it goes "numb" in that part. The tingliness and numbness will also spread down whatever side of the body I felt the tingliness/numbness in the head first.

My entire body shakes, probably because I am shooken up from all the problems, etc. I also feel very dizzy/lightheaded and off-balance. My legs grow wobbly, like it is hard to walk on them. And sometimes I am SO dizzy or lightheaded that I need to sit or lay propped up (laying down just oddly makes it worse!!) to regain my balance.

Ohh yeah, and I have this constant ringing in my ears, which increases/gets louder when I feel the attack coming on.

[pattis]

All of these symptoms are very familiar to me.  I had all of them plus more.  They are mostly gone now after long term antibiotic therapy for neuroborreliosis, aka Lyme disease.  The longer you go without treatment, the worse the symptoms become, because without antibiotics, the bacteria are allowed to multiply unchecked.  As the bacteria load increases, the symptoms worsen.

At my worst, I woke up one night entirely numb.  The numbness which initially affected only my left hand and side of my face, had progressed to include my right hand, then my feet, and so on, finally to this frightening point.  

That's when I decided I had to take my care out of the hands of the Drs I'd been seeing for the past 7 months.  Upon googling my symptoms, I came across Lyme disease as a possibility and then remembered the insect bite which I'd ignored the previous year.  When I told my Dr.s that I thought this was what might be the problem, they pooh poohed the idea.  Realizing that I wasn't going to get anywhere with them, I searched for an LLMD and found a group that specializes in tick borne illnesses, made my appointment for the earliest appointment  I could get, and the rest is history.

If you would like to be tested for Lyme disease, be aware that not all Drs regard this illness as seriously as others do.  Because lab testing for Lyme disease is not very reliable, the illness is controversial.  It's important to be evaluated by a "Lyme Literate MD"  (LLMD) who is up to date on the best labs to use for testing (not all labs are equal in their reporting) and their knowledge of symptoms, etc.

A couple of good websites to check out for information are:  www.lymenet.org
and:  www.lymeinfo.net

Be aware that many MDs think Lyme disease can be cured by 2-3 weeks of antibiotic therapy, and if you continue to complain of symptoms beyond that point, then it's just in your head.  Neuroborreliosis is much more serious than that.

I wish you luck.

[patsy10]

I really don't think it's stress but I know these symptoms cause us a great deal of stress.  I have all those symptoms too.  I've had them for almost 2 years.  I've had every neuro test available.  All have come back normal.  I would guess the neuro will check you for neurologic disease like MS, neuropathy, b12 problems etc...I know sometimes viruses cause these things too.  Try not to panick (easier said than done).  It's really very scary though.  Also, if everything comes back normal, consider looking into lyme. Good luck.

[stuckinsidemymind]

Actually the doctor was concerned and referred me to a neurologist and said if it got too unbearable to go to the ER to be admitted.

[hm2007]

Stress?  If the doctors sent you home and weren't too concerned, I wouldn't worry too much.