wondering if ancylosing spondylitis can cause brain lesions

[trex11]

I was diagnosed with colitis, currently have a jpouch, also diagnosed with ancylosing spondylitis, I also have brain lesions. My neurologist has been monitoring the brain lesions for some time, 3 months ago did a spinal tap,and said I had ms, put me on aubagio. I have no other neurological symptoms of ms other than the lesions. when I asked why spinal tap confirmed ms he said it showed inflammation in my body, but I have two inflammatory diseases, so would this be a confirmation of ms? I have been on aubagio for 3 mths and I am having a hard time gripping things, finger tips numb and tingly and have numb patch on my side. went to hospital and they said it was a ms attack. How can it be an attack when i have never had symptoms before meds and now I am on meds to control attacks and I have one? I think  it is a reaction to the meds, but they disagree. I am questioning my ms diagnosis, is there any evidence that could support that AS could cause the lesions, any thing else we should be looking into? or is ms a proper diagnosis? any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[TheLightSeeker]

If I were you I would check all the tests including the latest spinal tap which led to the Neuro's conclusion, against the McDonald diagnostic criteria for MS.
The Aubagio side-effects do include numbness in the feet and hands, however this is on the ... reportable list of symptoms to your doctor and at the same time the advice is to ... discontinue taking it!
Who's kidding who here?
It seems that the entire medical/drug system is dysfunctional - barring emergency medicine.
It is possible that partly, your neurological issues, prior to the Aubagio, could be attributed to deficiencies in vital nutrients and vitamins, due to your colitis.
What type is it, what is the treatment plan (also for the AS).
Have you done periodic tests to monitor your nutritional, mineral and vitamin status?
Best wishes,
Niko

[trex11]

Thank you TheLightSeeker . . . my colitis got so bad I had to have my colon removed and currently have a jpouch. For my AS I was on several classes of drugs, had bad side effects on all of them except Nsaids, so am currently managing pain with an aniti inflamatory. I don't even know where to begin with the dr's. do I get off aubagio, or wait for second opinion about MS, do I seek advice from arthritis dr? Very confused, but thanks for taking the time to reply. My family dr does check my vitamin status yearly and every 6 mths for iron as I have needed infusions due to very low levels of iron. Thanks again

[TheLightSeeker]

"AUBAGIO may cause serious side effects, including: reduced white blood cell count — this may cause you to have more infections; numbness or tingling in your hands or feet that is different from your MS symptoms; allergic reactions, including serious skin problems; breathing problems (new or worsening); and high blood pressure. Patients with low white blood cell count should not receive certain vaccinations during AUBAGIO treatment and 6 months after.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away."
--Source: Mfg website

And make sure when you tell your prescribing doctor you want this to be documented (on record) and
"You are encouraged to report side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1‑800‑FDA‑1088"

The key words are : numbness in your hands that is different than your
MS symptoms (I think the answer is yes, however, you are the ultimate person to answer this)
There's no consensus on the discontinuation issue in regards to your hand numbness side effect, but personally I would ditch it, if my doctor had not followed the newest Mcdonald dx criteria for ms in addition to not feeling any improvement  while 3 months on Aubagio!!! .
This is insane to put  patients through all this, without much regard
for their suffering!
Aubagio is used for patients diagnosed with remitting relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS)to reduce flair-ups.
Do you have an RRMS diagnosis?
You need to check the tests you had for ms against the McDonald criteria, yourself!
Do not leave things entirely to the doctors and medical system.
Being proactive is going to make a positive difference in your outcome!
Cheers,
Niko

[trex11]

Thanks Niko, you have been a big help! Yes I was diagnosed with RRMS, but with no neurological symptoms, the meds were suppose to prevent them from happening . . . it all sounds crazy now, but when the doctor was explaining it, it sounded like the right thing to do. Now afraid to get off in case it was an attack. I have a lot of thinking and research to do. Thanks for your time, I appreciate it