is this ms or transverse?

[ceeweed]

am curious as to how long others have attacks. My symptoms started with a debilitating headache (like electric shock therapy on one side of head) that sent me to emerg on day 5 of 24 hours a day pain (dont' get headaches so this was out of teh blue). Then 10 days later, i noticed my left leg from knee down was numb to the touch .. the headache finally went away after 14 days ... but the leg persisted and either got a little worse, or stayed the same for 4 months until one day, the numbness progressed to right leg then up thighs and groin to the bra line with pain at left side of ribs and a tight banding (ms hug?) and itching and burning in same area. Went to neurosurgeon who did an emerg MRI or thoracic ... where they found one small lesion at T6 but the radiologist called it transverse myelitis (although with a huge question mark because it was so short extending only one cord length, and that the symptoms went on for months).
After oral steroids, one month later, the numbness is better by 50% but still there and now, when i run (i had to start running again - only 20 minutes - i am going crazy with depression/anxiety) ... i get hermittes sign 10 minutes into my run which lasts until 30 minutes after i run ... ARGH!

My neuro doesn't think it's ms though ... he is perplexed because EVP came back normal, and LP blood work is normal (still waiting OBands results), and he ordered full spine MRI this thursday... but not doing a brain MRI yet ... (I had one in July this year and it showed increased 'non-specific' white matter that could be demylineation or scarring). But neuro didn't even look at the film.

So is it common to have normal EVP's with all these symptoms and still have MS? Is it common for an attack to last this long?
Please help, i am going crazy!

[Ricobord]

Have you been checked out for Lyme Disease yet?  It can cause all the symptoms you describe. It can mimic MS, but usually doesn't quite fit right.  When symptoms look like MS, but the doctor is doubtful, then look for Lyme.

My Lyme also mimicked MS. I didn't have a bulls eye rash or any joint problems. When symptoms are predominantly neurological, they call it Neurologic Lyme. In these cases, it is a good idea to look for Bartonella, a tick borne coinfection that makes the neuro and ago symptoms of Lyme worse.  I have about 20 small lesions in my white matter thanks to my Lyme. I have read of others who got one or two lesions on their spinal chord from Lyme.

The medical community is still in a big controversy over nearly every aspect of Lyme.  Most doctors don't recognize it, don't know about the many false negatives on blood tests, and think a month of antibiotics always cures it.

I encourage you to find a LLMD, a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor who is familiar with tick borne diseases and knows how to make a clinical diagnosis when necessary. You can find one through a local Lyme support group or by contacting ILADS from their website www.ilads.org.

You will want to get tested at IGeneX, a specialty lab that does more advanced testing and finds cases that other labs miss.  Know that a negative blood test does not exclude it.

This document has a fairly complete symptom list that might be helpful.

http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf

You are welcome to come post on the Lyme Disease forum.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
Since the symptoms followed a headache, there is a possibility that you have benign intracranial hypertension. This happens due to high CSF pressure. A spinal tap is both diagnostic and curative. This will also help rule out MS. Symptom-wise, it is less likely to be transverse myelitis. Peripheral neuropathy secondary to Lyme’s, lupus, diabetes, hypothyroidism is also possible. The symptoms can also be due to hyperparathyroidism. Both hypothyroidism and hypoparathyroidism can precipitate benign intracranial hypertension. Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined. Take care!