Do my symptoms scream MS to you?

[panic01]

To anyone

I've been feeling funny for about 2 months now, first thing I noticed was no sexual drive and iniability to achieve orgasm (i have no idea if this has any idea with MS) Then I had what felt like slivers in my hand and cuts in my arm, and twice when the "cuts" were irriated by me pulling up my sleeve I had shooting pain go up my arm into my right shoulder. There was no slivers or cuts just to be clear on that. As well I had a tremor in my right hand, thought to be due to anxeity, That went away after about 2 weeks, I did goto the hospital during this time, and the Dr. did a neurological exam, and said that everything looks fine. Neurological Exam #1 from time period above

Then after that for about another 2 week period I experianced extreme constipation and dehydration, Im guessing the dehydration was due to the constipation, but what do I know I'm not a doctor lol. As well when I had to urinate, I couldn't just go, I had to sit there and really think about it. And I had an uncontrolable Itch that started in my right leg and both feet. No rash or anything, just CRAZY itchy. The itching migrated from my right leg, to my left and then to my arms, both at the same time, then finished off in my shoulders and back of my neck. When it went to my shoulders and I scratched it at some points I would get the shooting pain in my right shoulder.

This is when I started to experiance numbness in my right side (arm, trunk and leg) When I sit in a chair I rarely experiance the numbness. Only when I would stand up and start moving, it felt like when your foot falls asleep and you step on it (before the pins and needles) This happened about every 2-3 mins when I was upright and moving.
Also when I bend my head forward and touch my head to my chest sitting or standing I get a non painful but very unconfortable buzzing sesantion in my lower extremities. During this time my right leg swelled up like a balloon, and I was sent to the hospital for suspected DVT.(blood clot) I did not have a DVT and my leg swelling went down when I had some rest.  I had 2 neurological exams during this time both came back normal, although one was not very thorough. At this point I'm getting no answers but feeling like **** and starting to feel like I'm going crazy and the Doctors are not taking me seriously.
Neurological Exams #2 & #3 from time period above

Now this is the last 3 weeks or so, Its like everything in my face has stopped working. I have no gag reflex, when I need to sneeze I never follow through, just the build up to the sneeze. I have these coughing/choking fits that come out of nowhere, and the only thing that controls them is chewing gum to help with saliva. And ta da....I have double vision. I was really happy I wasn't having any vision problems until this happened. I have no eye pain unless I look with the bad eye to the left, upper left and up. Also the "second" vision I see sometimes does not see the same colour and textures as the good eye. Example my friend was wearing a orange shirt, which i could see in the good eyes image and it was yellow in the bad eyes image. Right eye is good and Left is bad, I can see perfectly out of my right, and vision is blurry in the left.
The numbness in my right side (arm, trunk and leg) is not as intense. On a scale of 1-10 ten being the worst. My experiance before with this was a 10 in intensity and now I'd say it is about 3-4. Also It only happens every 30 mins maybe, not even.
So it took having double vision for me to be referred to a neurologist, and Neurological Exam #4 finally was not perfect. My right elbow had little to no response to reflex, and no gag reflex as well as the eye stuff. I am scheduled for an MRI cause they do suspect MS. I just want to know if this ALL screams MS as anyone. I know some of it does, I'm scared.

So the symptoms that have been present the whole time are just the no sex drive and not being able to achieve orgasim.
And the one thing I didnt mention was that I have this weird taste in my mouth for almost the whole time, and I do not know how to describe it.

Sorry for the novel
Please help

[Heather3418]

Forgive all the grammar and spelling mistakes.  I've been having some difficulty with that lately and yes I do have MS and have been diagnosed for over a decade.  Doesn't make me an expert, mind you, just someone with a disease I'd rather not have.

Heather

[Heather3418]

NO, LESIONS IN YOUR SPINE DO NOT MEAN, "WHEELCHAIR."  Please put your mind at rest about that.

Some of your symptoms do scream a neurological problems and other symptoms do not point to that.  Remember that you have can more than one things wrong with you and that's why an MS Specialist can help you sort it all out.

You say alot of your symptoms are a come and go type thing.  If you were in a flair up of MS symptoms, you would notice your symptoms lasting much longer, for weeks, possibly months at a time.  Can they come and go throughout the day?  Yes...especially if you are doing something that aggravates things, to cause the symptoms.

There is alot of testing to go to rule out what the other posts have said are "mimics of MS."  MS can be a very hard disorder to diagnose, since so many other things will exhibit the same symptoms.

What you need to remember, is that all of us here on the Forum, will go through this with you.  We are not doctor's, but can offer you experiences that we have been through and maybe some tips about dealing with some doctor's and testing.

Take a deep breath now and try to get relaxed a little bit.  Stress is not good for anyone.  It only makes things worse.  Your eye problem should be checked out as soon as possible, while you are having symptoms.  The best doctor to see is a Neuro Ophthalmologist.  When it comes to symptoms of the eye that may involve MS, they know exactly what to look for and are the best at what they do.  A regular Optometrist just will not do, in theis case.

We are here for you.  I promise,
Heather

[panic01]

Also, if i do end up with lesions on my spine, would that mean i will end up in a wheel chair alot faster? Presuming I do get Dx with MS. I havnt been able to find out much on that. Im sorry Im 22 and scared, Ive never even broken a bone.

[Udkas]

Hi there and welcome to the MS Forum,
As Mistylee has pointed out there are some excellent health pages on this forum.  You just click on the icon up the top of this page on the right hand side. Many MS topics are covered from symptoms, to procedure for diagnosis etc.

I think with such a lot of things going on you should be evaluated by a neurologist and an ophomalogist for your eyes.  It is good that you are having a MRI done in the future.  I wish you all the best with that. Opps just re read your post and you are under the care of a neurologist. That is great.

Many of your symptoms do fit MS symptoms but there are many things that can mimic MS. So sometimes the diagnosis process is a long one eliminating other causes etc.

Best wishes with your tests, keep us posted on the results, try not to get too anxious although sometimes this is difficult as it can make things worse.

Take care,
Udkas.

[panic01]

If I have Optic Neuritis would it be going away quickly or generally does it last a long time? Im basically scared that cause i've had so many symptoms in such a short period of time, that If I do have MS my prognosis will be not very good at all.

Oh and yes they are doing my spine during the MRI as well

Thanks for answering :)

[mistylee]

Hi Panic,
I am so sorry you are feeling this way. I am also in limbo with suspected MS. I hope the neuro is also doing an MRI of your spine cos one of your symptoms could be L;hermittes which is caused by a lesion in the spine.

As for the sex thing I have experienced numbness or altered sensation down there but only on one side of the perinium, the left. It certainly diminished my sex drive too but glad to say it is in good working order now so hopefully yours will too.

I am no expert on MS but it screams MS to me. It sounds like you also have Optic Neuritis .
It has been a long 4 years of symptoms for me. Some people get a dx quickly and others not so quick.

As for the constipation I also suffer this during a relapse and is a common complaint with MS. If you are dehydrated ie not drinking enough fluids, this will make constipation worse. Eat plenty of fibre and drink lots of water. I find a natural laxitive is sometimes needed to help things along.


With MS the reflexes are usually brisk but as I say someone with more knowledge about MS maybe able to help you with these questions. The top right hand of the forum there are health pages which will help you understanding more about MS.

Good luck with the MRI and let us know how you get on.

Mistylee