Need advice

[Harv7]

Last summer, I started to lose sensation in my left foot. I noticed that there was some muscle wastage. I contacted my GP and he sent me to a specialist who performed an operation to free up the nerve. This was partially succesfull as I have regained feeling in my foot but not to the standard it was before. However I have now started to get Pins and needles in my left arm which occurs throughout the day when my arm is in certain positions. I have looked on the internet and it led me to an MS site. Is my symptons indicative of the disease? Thanks for any replies

[Harv7]

Ang, got an appointment tonight with GP. Up to now no back Pains. But you are describing what happened to me with my left foot. Will get back to you later about what GP said.

Harv

[21angie]

Hi, i to started with loss of sensation/numbness first in my big toe then to sole of foot, do you have any back problems? i also have the terrible habit of looking things up on the internet sometimes it can lead to all sorts of thingsand can make you worry even moreso. Have you discussed the symtoms with your gp?
thanks angie x

[Harv7]

Sally, I'm a 37 year old male, never smoked, moderate drinker and train regularly. I'm in pretty good physical condition for my age, the reason that I'm concerned is that all the symptons appear on the left side and seem to be related. I sometimes have muscle spasms in my left arm but this has occured infrequently and I have have not suffered any weakness in the muscles. Thanks for your earlier reply.

Heather as you can appreciate it it gets quite scary looking at the internet!!!! I have made an appointment to see my GP tonight and hopefully he can sort me out. Thank you for your kind words and welcome and be assured if it is MS I will be a regular contributor to this excellent forum

Regards Harv

[Heather3418]

Hi Harv,

I have to agree with Sally.  Your problems can be caused by compression on the nerve.  Many other disorders can mimic MS.  Unfortunately when you do a search on the Internet of symptoms you are having, the articles don't always tell you that.

If you feel strongly that you are having symptoms suggestive of MS, then you need to get your Primary Care doctor, to get you an appointment with a Neurologist.  He can perform all the necessary testing to rule out one disorder or another.  He actually may be able to put your mind at ease by diagnosing your problem right away and finding a treatment for you.

There is a certain "criteria" you have to meet, in order to be followed up for possible MS.  Go to "Google" and type in McDonald Criteria or go to the MS Society webpage for more details on specific symptoms.  This should help you sort out all the information out there on the net, that can make a person even more confused.  As it did to me so many years ago.

I have been diagnosed with MS for 12 years and I remember those early days.  They are confusing...

I sincerely hope you are able to find out what is causing your problems.  IF it's MS, this forum could very well be your greatest asset.  Good luck to you.

Heather

[Super_sally888]

Hi Harv, welcome.

Other things would need to be ruled out before you consider MS.  Particularly because the pins and needles occur when your arm is in certain positions.  This would make it more likely that your symptoms are caused by nerve compression rather than something like MS.

Please provide some more details about your symptoms.

Do you have any other health conditions that could be contributing to your symptoms. Ie. Diabetes, obesity, smoking, other.....

You would need to follow up with your doctor to see what he thinks is the cause and what can be done about the pins and needles in your arm.  Of course, you could also try to avoid the positions that cause pins and needles.

I would also recommend taking a Vit B1,6&12 supplement.  This should be the higher strenght (for treating peripheral neuropathy) rather than the ones that you get in the health store.

Hope this helps.

Sally