I am confused about what disease because my neurologist is too

[jan0415]

I was looking on the web about oligoclonal bands because I have been having some symptoms and was told by the emergency room to go see a neurologist after I had some blurred vision in both eyes with twinkling black lines and the ct was normal,no high sugar,but the doctor said it may have been possible migraine or transient ischemia attack. So after that happened the 2nd time about a month later I did call my neurologist who I had seen 2 years before about some dizziness and tingling in my hands and feet and butt. Back then he did a 24 hour wrap on my head to check for seizures which was normal and also did a lot of blood tests for all kinds of auto immune detectors, b12 and it was all normal. I also had this tingling in my hands and feet starting in about 2003 and I had to have anterior cervical fusion to remove 2 bad discs and the 3rd disc all in my neck that was herniated- they didnt have time to remove the hernated disc which I still have pain everyday from that in the back of my head. So in March this neurologist did an evoked eye test that was normal and then he did a spinal fluid tap/blood test together which showed I had 3 oligoclonal bands in the serum and 3 oligoclonal bands in the spinal fluid. The doctor told me that since I do not have 4 bands then I do not have MS. Since I read on this website that if you have the bands in your serum and matching ones in the spinal fluid you cant count them for MS.  So when I talked to the nurse today about this she told me that the 3 bands in the spinal fluid are more prominent than the 3 bands in the serum and then she told me she didnt know what that meant. Neither do I. I asked the neurologist if I had ALS and he stated that ALS doesnt have tingling like I do. But who knows maybe my tingling in my butt ,hands and feet is due to my degenerative joint disease but a neurosurgeon who did a myleogram in 2008 stated he didnt know why I had tingling in my hands and feet because I only had a herniated disc in my neck---so the neurologist on June 20th did an EMG on both legs,my right arm and my back because I told him I wanted that test to make sure I dont have ALS. The doctor told me the test came out normal when he was done. I was so grateful for that. But I am having muscle spasms in my legs,back,arms, stomach and it is hard to hold my neck up--it feels really weak and also it is hard for me to talk sometimes because my throat gets really sore and I dont have the strength to move my muscles to talk and it feels like someone is squeezing my throat because it feels really tight. I read on the web that ALS causes muscle cramps ,twitching and weak neck which I have alot. And I do alot of sighing sometimes. And starting a few months ago when I was laying in bed my right arm just jumped up. Now my head jerks, my legs jump up and I have tremors in both my thumbs and my right index and middle fingers. My dizziness has gone down. My brain MRI has alot of white spots and I had one done 2 yrs ago which I was told was normal back then. The neurologist reviewed that earlier MRI also and told me they did not put into the report the white spots and now this new MRI has more white spots. The neurologist also told me when he first saw all the white spots on my MRI that I was too old to get MS since I am 61 yrs old now. The report stated it was probably hyperintensitives , I think that is hardening of the arteries. When the doctor said I dont have ms because I only have 3 bands and I have to have 4 bands in order for him to diagnosis me with  ms then I asked him then what is my diagnosis? And he put down a dymyleinating disease/autoimmune disease but no name for it. I think he just did that because all these symptoms I am telling him I have.  He put me on  intravenuous steriods 500mg for 3 days which stopped my symptoms except I was very agitated and had to go to hospital with chest pains but the ekg and stress tests were normal. I am also have brain fog and some slurred speech. It is hard for me to say the words that I am thinkging. I feel like an idiot in front of my sons who cant understand what is happening to me even though I have tried to explain all this. And  my mom is mad that the doctor cant figure out what is wrong with me. I hate when the nurse tells me she thinks I am having migraine headaches when I get this blurred vision and pain in my eye. Today I had a 3rd attack of blurred vision and this time it felt like part of my face was paralzyed. The nurse said that is a migraine too. I told her when I was young I had terribly painful headaches with vomiting nothing like what is happening now.
The neurologist also asked me if I wanted to start giving myself daily injections with copaxil when I saw him last on 6/20.
Has anyone done that here? I told the doctor I read there are serious side effects with ms medicine.
The doctor didnt seem to think that was true. The nurse said sometimes that medicine makes you feel weird and since I have anxiety that maybe a problem with me. Also you can get a bump at the site of the injections.
The doctor has tested me for HIV and heavy metals in my blood which the nurse told me today both came out normal.
So does anyone know if 3 bands in spinal fluid and 3 bands in serum with the bands in the spinal fluid being more prominent means I have ms? With all these disabling symptoms I know there is something VERY wrong.
thanks friends

[supermum_ms]

I have to second Ren's request, sorry you lost me about 5 lines in, my eyes just cant follow along whilst my brain is trying to make sense of it so it just became a large blurr.

Thank you!

[rendean]

Hi,

I went to  read your post but it was too long of an entry without any breaks in it. Could you please re-post with small paragraphs? A lot of us have trouble reading large blocks of print and it is hard for us to follow.

Please re-post in  smaller paragraphs and I will be happy to read your post and try to give you some answers.

Thank you!
Ren