Do these symptoms sound like MS?

[Shell72005]

Hi, I am 25 years old and my twin sister was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in December. She began the diagnostic process in August when she was having speech difficulty ( she would frequently replace one word with another, for example she would want to say "light" and would instead say "bite", the word usually rhymed, we joked about it at first and thought that maybe she was stressed), and then a part of her left lower cheek went numb. She has about 10 lesions on her MRI and has just started injecting herself with rebif. I have been having tingling sensations on the left side of my body ( my arm mostly, feels like pins and needles), my left arm and hand feel weaker than my right and I am having the same speech difficulties that my sister initially presented with ( and these types of speech problems have never happened to me before). I usually have a great memory and find myself struggling with my words ( having a hard time getting out what I want to say, as well as replacing words). I have read that an identical twin has a much higher chance of having MS if their twin has it. I honestly feel like I am having a nervous breakdown and maybe these symptoms are all in my head as I am constantly worried about my sister ( but my sister said she felt like she was having a nervous breakdown when her symptoms first appeared). I was hoping that someone might be able to tell me if these symptoms sound MS related? Should I try to get an MRI?

[Quixotic1]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.  You got the skinny on your chance of developing MS with an identical twin who has it.  They are very close to 1 in 3 - 30%

With that level of risk and "any" neurological symptoms you should definitely have an MRI.  It would be rare if you had exactly the same symptoms as your sister, but not impossible.  I especially worry about the left sided weakness.  that is less likely to be due to stress.   Problems with speech are frequently do to stress and being too aware of any mistakes we make in speech.  The more we focus on our speech, the more we are likely to mispeak.

I am not saying that any of your symptoms ARE due to stress.  But, you are worried and you have a high likelihood of developing MS.  So, a visit to a neurologist and an MRI of your brain and spine are really important both to set your mind at ease or to diagnose something that needs to be found.

Cali - I'm sure you read ess' posting that a fraternal twin has about the same likelihood as a plain sibling of having MS - and that is about 4% or 1 in 25.

Your sister is clearly in denial of having what you have.  That is just fear and her way of dealing with it is to ignore it and hope it goes away.  I hope you can gently support her and let her know that MS is not the end of the world.  There is al least some hope of slowing the disease with treatment.  She might also have some other problem atltogether that MIGHT be completely treatable.  She's lucky to have a sister like you.

I hope, both of you Shell and Cali, and Shell's sister will join us here for all the  help, support, information we can give.

Quix

[cali1892]

I think it's a good idea to get the MRI.  Like I told my sister, at least that way you can get treatment.  And who better than your sister to go through this with.    

My sister's symptoms include serious fatigue, stumbling, hands, face tingling, and going numb.  Headaches, vision problems, speech problems, bladder problems, and what I call brain fog.  I know there's more.  I just can't think of them right now.  I actually have been in a fog a bit today.  
I have been thinking about getting her to go to the eye doctor this time.  Just on the premise of getting her eyes checked.  They will more than likely want her to get an MRI too, and she won't follow through.      

[Shell72005]

Hi cali, it must be difficult for you to worry about your sister.... what are some of her symptoms?

[Shell72005]

Hi tartar, I do not suffer from raynauds or circulation problems, however there are a lot of vascular problems on my father's side of the family. It must be very difficult for you to have watched your sister go through so much, I cannot imagine what you have been through.
He wrote PPMS on your records but doesn't listen to your symptoms? Maybe you need a second opinion from a neuro who will listen to you, that is not right. Please let me know what happens with your second scan.

[Shell72005]

Hello, thank you so much for your responses....I think I really need an MRI to clear all this up. My twin sister is worried and I want to put her mind at ease if I really am having stress symptoms...I am going to encourage her to join this forum, I really appreciate the warm responses from you. She is going through so much right now with her recent diagnosis and I think that this forum would help her. Thank you so much :) and I want you all to know how much I admire your strength.

[tarter]

To Shell72005

I am also a twin my sister is paralised from the waist down she had spinal cysts down her spine and could walk till 18.
She suffers with carpeltunnel syndrom and gets odd sensations in arms.

I have MS symtoms and the speech is like yours never had it before my left hand is weaker and left leg.

Tonight i cannot dry hands because the left has no strenth it drives we mad.
I trip alot when walking and have left side numbness on face.

The Neuro now thinks MS having second scan tomorow.
I noted on my records he wrote ?PPMS this I dont go with because I have relapses he doesant always listern and gets my details wrong.

My first scan there were 3 leisions so I will see if there is any brain changes.
What you are describing sounds MS related if you have had work up for MS mimics.

I hope you get some help and answers soon.tarter

PS do you suffer with raynauds or any circulation problems?

[essdipity]

This is from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke web site:

---------

In the population at large, the chance of developing MS is less than a tenth of one percent. However, if one person in a family has MS, that person's first-degree relatives-parents, children, and siblings-have a one to three percent chance of getting the disease.

For identical twins, the likelihood that the second twin may develop MS if the first twin does is about 30 percent; for fraternal twins (who do not inherit identical gene pools), the likelihood is closer to that for non-twin siblings, or about 4 percent. The fact that the rate for identical twins both developing MS is significantly less than 100 percent suggests that the disease is not entirely genetically controlled. Some (but definitely not all) of this effect may be due to shared exposure to something in the environment, or to the fact that some people with MS lesions remain essentially asymptomatic throughout their lives.

-----------

ess

[cali1892]

I am a twin, though not identical.  I don't know what the chances or rates of both twins having MS are.  But my my twin sister is having symptoms as well.  I think what worries me the most is that I am the proactive one and she is not.  She will not go to the doctor.  I have told my neuro about her and she is very interested in seeing her.  But she just flat out refuses to go.  I have actually tricked her into going with me and seeing the doctor.  She told the doc what was going on.  They scheduled  MRI did blood work and scheduled a follow up appt.  She never went to the MRI and won't go back to the doctor.  All her blood work came back fine.  
Anyway, I feel for you and your sister.  Maybe someone else will chime in with some answers.
      

[essdipity]

Welcome to the forum!

I do understand your fear and worry, and I agree that you should have things checked out as soon as you can.

However, and this is a big however, it is quite possible that your symptoms are caused by stress. You of course are concerned for your sister, and especially because you're identical twins, you are attuned to your own body a great deal more at this time.

Yes, you do have a greater chance than average of getting MS, but it is still low. Wouldn't you be glad to find that you have stressed-induced symptoms that are readily treatable?

Please let us know what happens. I'm sending good wishes to you and your sister, and invite her to join us here too. MS is no fun, but many of us live with it quite well.

ess

[Armygirl73]

Hello there!

Welcome to the forum. You've found a great place to get a lot of your questions anwered. We have some terrific people on here with a wealth of knowledge.

I can't say whether you have MS or not ... your symptoms can be caused by MS or other issues as well. You definitely need to get into your doctor. If the rate of MS increases in twins, then I would say it's even more important that you be seen.

I'm not a doctor, but I really feel you need to be checked out with the symptoms you are exhibiting. MS is a quirky disease and not something you want to ignore. Please get checked out. Let us know how you are doing, and please stay with us as you navigate this process. We have terrific support here.

Blessings,
ArmyGirl73