arm weakness and neck ache

[jkasperows]

For a while now I have had the grinding/aching feeling in the back of my throat.  I have also had aches in my neck under my jaw area.  Sometimes in the morning my head feels like it is shaking.  I have been getting weird headaches.  my vision is perfect but my eyes go out of focus all the time.  Have been to an eye doctor and they say my eyes are fine.  I guess I don't know what my own eyes are doing.?  sometimes my arms feel heavy.  I have not lost strength that I notice.  They just feel heavy when at rest.  My doctor gives me a standard look-over and askes me to grap his hand, push on him, pull on him, the standard **** then give me a script for pain medication and sends me home.  This ache in the back of my throat make me feel like I need to cry sometimes.  this is starting to effect my life.  I feel like I have some kind of infection.  I blow green, yellow stuff out my nose every morning and my wisdom teeth are impacted.  I tell my doctor this and he gives me a CBC and says I have no infection.  My eyes seem to be getting worst and sometimes I get very tired.  how bad do I have to get before someone will listem to me.  I am very healthy.  I work out three times a week.  I eat no junk food and drint plenty of water.

[adelaide]

I'm baffled too.  I have one question though: What is getting in the way of getting a referral to a specialist, such as a neurologist?  Is something on a personal level stopping you, or is your doc. unwilling to do so?  Frankly, until you receive a proper evaluation, I think that you are pretty much stuck with asking, "What is wrong with me?"  What is stopping you from moving forward with this?  Is it an insurance issue, fear of speaking up to your physician, or what?

[jkasperows]

I took several hot baths this weekend.  no noticable difference with anything.  maybe the bath made me feel a bit better if anything.  Woke up Monday morning and everthing was almost gone.  not totally bu about 95%.  no tired arms no nothing.  my vision was crystal clear.  This is what bothers me.  I have days like this that I can't connect to anything.  I will take it.  Got up this morning feeling good bud not as good as Monday.  go figure

[daisyrose]

I agree with Adelaide on this. Not saying it's nessecarily ms, but I've gone through very similar symptoms on and off over the years. The thing that actually grabbed my attention was the lump in the throat thing. I get that one too, definitely not connected to my mood, moreso fatigue. I've always omitted that part to the doctors for fear they would just say I was depressed. But I have the heavy limbs. Arms and legs. When it first started to happen, I found it difficult to hold up my head. I hate to say it, but I havent been diagnosed with anything yet. And I have been actively seeking medical help.The heat does make it worse. Not to put ideas in, but other symptoms may crop up that seem totally unrelated. keep track of them and tell your doctor. Don't be like me and leave things out due to embarassment. By the way, for me, they havent ruled ms out or some other demylenating,or muscle disease. P.S. it also could be something simpler too! I guess my point is not to ignore or poo-poo what your going through. I had impacted wisdoms several years ago and had them removed, don't know if there was a connection, but my jaw certainly feels better! Good luck to you!!!Hope you find good understanding doctors and a diagnosis that is easily treatable.
Please keep us posted.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-PW]

Although I cannot give you a clinical diagnosis, I have some reccomendations. First, it is important to have an infection ruled out with blood tests and a sed rate etc. Then get your impacted wisdon teeth and chonic sinusitis dealt with, then see what symptoms are left if any. Probably the teeth and sinuses are triggering more chronic headaches, and getting to the root of the headache this way is also important. Interim treatment of chronic headache appropraitely should be managed by a headache neurologist.

Good luck

[adelaide]

Heat is one of the most common of the factors known to aggravate symptoms of MS.  Elevating the body temperature even one degree Fahrenheit can cause new symptoms to become exacerbated and cause old symptoms to re-appear. This is temporary and doesn't cause the disease to progress any more rapidly, but increased temperatures can cause temporary dysfunction.  The nerve fibers in the person with MS have a spot or spots of myelin damage, and although nerve conduction is somewhat recovered after a flare-up has ceased, the myelin is never completely repaired.  When the body becomes overheated, nerve conduction is slowed, and the nerve impulses that travel down the set of fibers cannot "jump" the gap where the myelin has been damaged.  Therefore, the part(s) of the body that have been served by the bundle of nerves stops functioing (only temporarily) until the nerve tract is cooled.  Those with MS should avoid over-heating; prior to more advanced diagnostic tools, heat was actually the method used to diagnose MS.  The "hot bath test" was used to check for changes in vision, muscular strength, or other symptoms.  The person with MS is much more sensitive than the average person to very small rises in internal temperature.  As mentioned, this doesn't cause a progression of the disease, but usually causes a temporary dysfunction.  When over-heated, they might literally feel so fatigued and heavy/weak that they are unable to function until they are cooler. Even a slight elevation in body temperature caused by an infection (including a sinus infection) may cause increased weakness, loss of balance, or visual problems such as blurred or hazy vision.  I hope that this gentleman will be evaluated; Whether MS is ruled in or ruled out, that would at least give him information.  He can't begin to manage his condition until he knows specifically what it is he's managing.  If he were to have MS, he would be advised to begin treatments that have been shown to slow (not cure, but slow) the progression of the disease.  Hope that helps, and I also wish you and yours a Merry Christmas.

[gaylemh]

Hi!  I was just reading your comments.  What will taking a warm bath show if you have the symptoms listed? Just curious.

Happy and Healthy Holidays!

[adelaide]

Yes, there is a test that can determine "probable" MS.  The radiologist reads an MRI, suggests a possible diagnosis, which is then given to the Neurologist, who makes the diagnosis based on the MRI results combined with your symptoms.  Frankly, I'd insist on a referral to a Neurologist.  I wouldn't ask the physician if he thinks you need one, I'd say, "I want a referral to a good Neurologist, because I have symptoms that I know can sometimes be associated with MS.  I might be wrong, but I want to investigate this further.  Who would you recommend?"  The reality is that he has indeed done as much as he can, and ethically, he should have referred you long ago.  He can't provide answers without the appropriate medical tests; a Neurologist would evaluate this further.  I would specifically say that you want to see a Neurologist.  And seriously, take a very warm bath and see whether or not there are any changes in your energy, vision, skin sensations, and so on.  Please post what happens, and if you notice any changes, jot them down and be sure and let the neurologist know.  Good luck!

[jkasperows]

Thanks,  I will take the bath tonight.

[Kirklin]

You should probably seek out a doctor at a major university hospital, or a place like Cleveland Clinic.  If I were you I wouldn't worry about MS just yet since it is so rare and there are many more symptoms that you'd likely be having.  Based on what you've said about blowing out snot I would first get a sinus CT, and then move on to a contrast-enhanced MRI of your cervical spine and brain.  It is also not out of the question that you could have a type of neuralgia or nerve compression, which is why you need to see a neurologist as well.  Find out what triggers this pain and keep a daily log, finding a trigger mechanism is important.

[fcar]

It sounds like a sinus infection especially with the dicolored muscos coming out of your nose.  That can give really bad head symptons and make you fatigued.  Also consider a thryoid test.

[jkasperows]

Thanks for the help, MS?  I have been to the doctor complaining to him about these types of things for over a year.  he keeps looking at me and telling me he cant find anything wrong.  He tried to put me on Celexa.  I'm not friggen depressed.  Is there a test for MS?  how long do I have to deal with this before my doctor does something.  I keep going back to him.  I think he thinks I am a Hypochondriac.  But I am not a weak person or a complainer.  But now my wife is telling me that if there was something really wrong with me the doctor would have found it.  maybe I need to be a man and just suck it up.

Thanks

[adelaide]

I think that your physician should evaluate you for possible MS.  That feeling in your throat could actually be similar to the heaviness that you feel in your arms.  Also, MS symptoms tend to be exacerbated by infections, even sinus infections.  You can be quite muscular and physically strong and still feel  heavy and even weak during an MS flare up.  It can feel as though your arms or legs are heavy, as though someone has poured lead into your muscles.  The same feeling can occur in your throat; as though something were stuck there.  Good luck, and keep us posted.

[jkasperows]

hey everyone  Thanks for the posts.  I am 39 years old.  The pain in the back of ny throat is mor like a dull ache.  The best was to describe it is like the feeling you get when something chokes you up.  At the same time my inner ears hurt.  my doctor has looked in my ears and says he can see nothing.  The heavyness I describe is just that.  It feels as though my arms are heavy.  Like when I set them on the arm of a chair  the sometimes feel like they want to slide off.  But yet I can still lift the same amount and still can do the same amount of push-ups.  I don't know....maybe I'm just getting old.  It seams as though these these things are to too mild for a doctor to find.  Maybe I sould wait to see if they keep getting worst.

[no_hands]

How old are you and how long has it occurred for?

I'm no doctor at all, but have a look at this.

http://www.surgery.missouri.edu/departments/neuro/chiari/aboutchiarimalformation.htm#chiari

[adelaide]

Does the pain in your throat feel more like a true pain, or more like a thickness, rather like a pressured feeling?  Has your physician asked you questions such as, "Would you describe the pain for me?  Can you describe, as best you can, the heavy feeling in your arms?  What might you compare it to?"  Those are very important questions, because different sensations can be experienced in a very different manner by different people.  For example, some people describe a "weak" feeling in their arms or legs, when others will describe the same sensation as a heavy feeling that may or may not be associated with weakness. Some people have vision that "comes and goes" but blurred physician when fatigued gives a different clinical picture than hazy, foggy vision when stressed or over-heated.  Your physician should ask you to be as specific as possible. What do you mean by "pain" and what symptoms do you experience from the impaction of your wisdom teeth.  Are your gums sore, or does this result in pain in the side of your face?  I'd also want to know how long this has occured, is it daily, is it worse when you have a sinus infection (let's forget the blood work) and so on.  One other important question: what does your headache feel like, and where is it located?  Those are just questions for thought.  Good luck, and one other note: trust your gut feelings.  You live with your body, and you know what you experience.  There's no medical test that can speak for you.   Suggestion: on a "good day" when your body is at it's peak, recline in a tub of very warm water and see whether nor not you notice any difference in your strength, coordination, or your vision.  Good luck.