Help!!

[Meredith2981]

Hi I am a 28 year old single mom that has been struggling with debilitating symptoms for the last two years! It all kinda came on suddenly about two years ago when I was helping my mother move during the summer. I had some Vertigo (which I had never had before), severe fatigue, and pain like I had the flu, then it went away. I Have had tingling in my feet for a very long time but it then started to progress into my knees and hands and face. I now have spasms in my lips and twitches. The following December the vertigo returned along with all the same symptoms.
I would have kinda a ebb and flow of energy changes and pain in my body (especially my back and hands). The tingling was there everyday and everynight. My GP told my I was hyperventilating. . .I thought would I not know this?! He ran the normal autoimmune and vitamin level blood tests and everything came back normal.
I relocated in the summer of 2008 and found a NP to treat me and listen to my symptoms. I started having severe facial headaches so she prescribed all kinds of sinus and decongestants, nothing helped. I told her about the tingling and how it was getting worse. I went back in this March with Vertigo again and complete exhaustion. I can't even describe this type of fatigue. . .it is so bad! I begged her to refer me to somebody so she reffered me to a Neuro.
I went and saw the Neurologist two months ago and he specializes in Memory and genetics. He took all kinds of blood and did a sleep study, pulmonary function testing and MRI without contrast. He found that Ihad nerve damage in both feet. . .I had very decreased reflexes in my feet and that babinskis sign. . .he said that all of my other reflexes were very hyperreactive. I went back and got all of my results and he said I had a gene for memory and blood vessesl problems and restless leg. He said he wasn't sure what was causing my tingling and numbness and that he was going to check my copper levels and that the exhaustion was from the RLS. . .I have been on 200mg of Provigil and it wasnt even helping my exhaustion!
I have done alot of research in the last few months and I had two very severe cases of epstein barre as a child and there is a link between that and MS. Do you think that maybe the doctor should have done a MRI with contrast of my brain and spine. The MRI i had done was in one of those old portable kind and it was only done of my brain without contrast.
I am so confused and my life day to day is absolutely miserable! I have a two year old and I am trying to take care of him and I dont even have the energy to drive or get off the couch.  Do you think I should get a second opinion from a specialist. I have so many symptoms that are MS related.
Please someone help me find some answers. . . I am so miserable and my family is so worried?
Thank you!

[uk2]

Thank you and take care and in touch us single mums have to stay together i have to go back on my own tomorrow to the consultant who thinks this is all in my head so i am going to tell him of the numb patch and ask if that is in my head!! 2 yrs ago i had a MRI that said i had bulging disks at C2 and L4/5 and Si casuing narrowing but not enough then to be causing my problems but i wonder if 2 yrs down the road they are not causing more trouble now.

best of luck

sam

[Meredith2981]

Thank you so much for your posts!! I have already found the health pages so informative!! I am going to see my NP on Friday and take a lists of Neurologists that specialize in MS and nerve problems so that she can hopefully refer me to one. It is so frustrating when you think you have found the one doctor who is going to find out what is wrong with you and hopefully make life so much better and then he just turns out to be all wrong and just misses everything! Sometimes I just think well maybe "I am crazy and it is all in my head!" When he told me about my nerve damage and my relfexes that was when I kinda became very worried that something could be wrong and maybe this was not in my head!
uk2. . .Dont give up hopefully you will find a suitable doctor. . .I sure hope so, it is so hard being a mom all by yourself and feeling so bad all the time!
essdipity, thank you so much for your kind words and I will keep you posted on what I find out!
Thank you!

[uk2]

Hi

i have been ill since 2007 and been on this site since then too i am a single mum of 3 girls and am undx so know what you are going through i am in the UK and all our MRI are done on low strength and always without contrast!! its so frustrating my neuro wants rid of me as he says i just have a pain condition but do pain conditions cause large numb patches on your side and other sensory issues he now thinks this is all in my head!!

Sam

[essdipity]

Hi, Meredith, and welcome. I'm so sorry you're feeling rotten, and not getting adequate medical help either.

I'm no doctor, but I've been around here a good while, and I *strongly* doubt that your fatigue is from RLS. The neuro you're seeing sounds strange. Absolutely you should have had an MRI of brain and spine, with and without contrast if at all possible, and it needs to be read by a good radiologist and a neurologist specializing in MS.

Please make sure you see a doctor who knows what he or she is doing, and who performs all the rule-out tests for MS. Also one who performs a thorough neurological exam. In the meantime please read up in our Health Pages (icon above right). I think many of your questions will be answered.

Let us hear how you are.

ess