help!! fibromyalgia, myasthenia gravis or ms

[weeme]

hi there

please could you help ive been unwell for about a year now started with sudden attacks of severe muscle weakness affecting my neck,chest with breathing problems and dizziness and also a feelin of goiong to collapse as blood pressure plummets and i go a horrible gray/white colour.  this all lasts for a few hours then when i rest it all goes away.  Although it leaves me with a lot of pain in back,neck and chest.  Then i had a virus xmas 2008 and my symtoms were really bad every day i had bad dizziness, breathlessness, chest and neck pain, i could only walk a few steps without being very breathless.  This all lasted about 5 weeks then went away.  when i drive longer than 20/30 mins it brings on the muscle weakness in chest, neck and i have trouble holding my eyes open they feel like they want to close all the time.  Also sometimes when i drive i get a numb left sole on my foot and numb toes.
All these symptoms come and go.
I usually have my right side affected and for a while now i have been having numbness in right hand, arm, leg with weakness and my hand also goes blue and cold.
the more i do the worse it makes all my symptoms ive also had problems swallowing and chewing. the sun makes things worse too.  intermittently i have had problems falling over to left side, muscle vibrations,severe migraines, muscle twiches and spasms, blurry vision, severe fatigue which sometimes improves only to worsen again the more i do and also joint pain.
so far i have been told i have costochondritis, gasrto osophageal spasms and possible fibromyalgia and M.E i had a 5 min neuro exam which apparently was normal, my heart is fine i have pernicious anaemia which is controlled.

sorry this is so detailed but please could you HELP im so fed up and need to get to bottom of things as i am a single mum of 2 boys and some days struggle physically to look after them.

i am currently waiting on a private appointment which i am having to pay for (from uk)

[Dr Rajgopal]

Hi Weeme,
How are you today? It is really sad that you are suffering so much with a bad health.
I can say that your symptoms suggest more of Multiple sclerosis than Fibromyalgia.

Let me tell you about some of the symptoms of MS. MS causes damage, partial or total paralysis of  muscles leading to complete loss of strength of muscles. That is why you may experience trouble in walking, keeping your eyes open, breathing, swallowing, and also muscle twitching, involuntary movements etc.

Numbness and tingling is a characteristic feature of MS since it is a demyelinating disease and it affects the nerves. Dizziness, severing of symptoms with heat( you mentioned that sun aggravates the problem), inappropriately cold body parts and acid reflux are surprisingly symptoms of MS though you have been diagnosed to have costochondritis and gastroesophageal spasms separately.  

Did you go for an MRI of the brain and spine? You may require a series of MRI to rule out MS.

Increased sensitivity to travel sickness or driving may be due to vestibular ataxia associated with MS.

In addition to a thorough medical history and examination, a variety of specialized procedures are helpful to accurately diagnose MS. These include imaging techniques, such as MRI, spinal taps or lumbar punctures (examination of the cerebrospinal fluid that runs through the spinal column), evoked potentials (electrical tests to help determine if MS has affected a person's nerve pathways), and laboratory analysis of blood samples.

Please consult a neurologist and go for all these diagnostic tests. Some of the symptoms mentioned by you also resemble the symptoms of SLE(Systemic lupus erythematosus) and Myasthenia gravis but almost all the symptoms seem closely related to MS. Do keep me posted after you get all the reports of the diagnostic tests. Hope this helps you. Take care and regards! Hope you get better soon!  

[weeme]

hi there Dr Rajgopal

thanks very much for answering my questions you are a very kind and helpful man, i only wish you were in uk and maybe i would get somewhere with a diagnosis.

i havent had an mri or lumbar puncture as the neurologist i saw said there was no need as the 5 minute neuro exam he performed all seemed normal!  but i must say that your opinion confirms my suspicions all along, but because of what the neurologist said i have honestly feared that it is all in my imagination.

i have had so many symptoms on and off which all seem to come and go and strangely while i was pregnant all seemed to have dissapeared then about 4 months after the birth of my son is when all these problems began. And before i was pregnant i was having a lot of severe migraines, very painful spine and neck with electric shocks down my spine!
now the shocks down my spine have gone but have began in the left side of my head.

im really cant tell you how greatful i am for you answering me back and i will keep you updated if thats ok i have a private appointment with a neurologist on tue 15th sep 2009 so i will see how things go and let you know

again thanks

weeme

[Dr Rajgopal]

Hi Weeme,
Do keep me updated about the developments or diagnostic findings. I'll be eager to help you always. Wish you a good health always. Take care!

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