Double vision, unsteady gait, migraines and MRI is negative

[River525]

My mother has been battling migraines, fibromyalgia, and rheumitoid arthritis for 5+ years now and has been to doctor after doctor ranging in all specialties.  This summer she began to experience double vision, loss of memory, unsteady on her feet, and is always at a loss for words. These symptoms are constant.  She is 65.  If you didn't know her - you would think she had been drinking alcohol all day.  She had a MRI with contrast and it came back negative.  She has been tested for everything and the doctors are saying she might have had a small stroke but can't be sure.  She is taking quite a few prescriptive meds ranging from B-12 injections once a month, Lyrica, Topomax, and others I can't remember.  

If the MRI is negative and other tests are coming back negative; is there anything else we should be looking at?  She is so frustrated because she has such a good spirit but is so tired of her inability to enjoy life.

[caregiver222]

joesi - You are on the money (you get points, good for gifts at Walmarts), but a normal glucose tolerance test won't pick this up. The intravenous test has replaced this.

[caregiver222]

The liklihood is she has a metabolic syndrome disorder, which can only be properly diagnosed with an intravenous insulin challenge test, which requires a short hospital stay. Your physician should have picked this up on the first day of the evaluation. These patients often appear to be drunk, and are sometimes arrested for DWI. The good news is, it is treatable, and if this is what she has, she will be able to regain function. There are other possibilities, but this one glows in the dark from a big blinking neon sign.

[joesi]

Have you/they checked her blood sugar levels at various times of they day?  Just a thought.