I would tell the doctor that the injections have been of NO help. The visual things you speak of may be optic neuritis. Many people do complain of sparkley flashes of bright light. The black dots are also common in ON. You should tell your doctor about the persistent vision problems.
A new and very persuasive study out of Canada may well redefine how common we consider MS. This study done by a research group in Toronto surveyed over 130,000 people throughout Canada. They used "self-report" on whether the person had been diagnosed with MS, but verified this with comparison to the known data in (Ontario, I believe). This data showed that MS is 2 to 3 TIMES more common than previously suspected. The scientific world is really paying attention to this study and I suspect they will be repeating it in all the areas of the world with a high incidence of MS. the incidence in Canada varied from 180 to 320 per 100,000 persons. The incidence was highest in the Prairies and in the Atlantic Provinces. This means that people in New Brunswick would have about a 1 in 300 chance of having MS. The risk would be much higher with people with a first degree relative with the disease. Your chance would be more like 1 in 50.
But, with the symptoms you have had, and when you had them, I would estimate you chance of having MS is even much higher.
I hope you printed out the pages I gave you for the information on MS. Also, I would not tell your doctor that you were inproved by the chiropractor. Because, of muscle tightness and spasms, the spine often gets "stuck" in MS. Thus, relief obtained from manipulation does not indicate that there is no MS, but I'm afraid your doctor will not see that.
It is unlikely that an optometrist will see signs of optic neuritis unless he does a good dilated exam, knows a good bit about ophthalmology (many don't) and sees that the optic nerve is pale. When he does the exam, if he does not dilate your eyes, insist on a referral to an ophthalmologist. If he does dilate your eyes, ask him to check specifically for a pale, thin optic nerve. In optic neuritis the problem is NOT in the eye itself, but behind the eye in the optic nerve.
I hope this helps.
Quix
Hi...Im just letting you know that ive went to the chiropractor twice...and it helped me a little for my back and neck pain....but my hip is still the same and ive got 2 Injection this month of cortisone. My Dr told me if it dosent change with the 3th one, well he's gonna search further... I've Been waiting for this hahah And next week in going to the optometrist for my eyes...
Still see black dots...and have some episodes of blurryness....and some grey dots like sparkles. Is this common in MS ?? the sparkles.
Well Thanks for everything xoxox
Sometimes I think I have answered the right questions, but I have not. Would you ask the questions again? Thank you, Quix
Hi! Im still having problems with my hip...i have some sensation of burning, itching, pins sensation...and i just to go uptairs the phone rang and it hurt when i was running because my bum was giggling and i dont know, but it felt weird and burning and pain...pins and needles....
Have you read my other questions above///
maybe i need to start a new questions hahah
Well Take Care
Denise
Hello you guys, im getting an eye exam on Nov 1 !! i just hope they find what's going on with my vision. I decided to go this week at a Chiropractor...and he crack my back.neck and lower back.... and let me tell you , it helped me .....because i felt stuck haah and he helped me for that...and i can walk easier now , especially with my hip problem, it still numb and sore to touch,and pain but it's a little better at least. Sometimes i have some numbness going to my left foot, but the chiropractor told me because i had some nerves stuck and my numbness to my pinkys ,it's all coming from my neck. Since he did that, my pinkys are less numb...thats nice!! ahah
Well Hope to here from you guys!!!
Denise
Hello Quix, My first language is French,and i speak english also. Over here it's important to speak 2 languages, because most of the jobs , they want somebody bilingual. I develop more my english by speaking to my brother in law who only speaks english and he's from the US, but he startes to understand french!!! and can say words.
About my first Attack, you think that i never finish the first one and it is an ongoing attack?
It's been 2 months im out of the hospital and im not feeling at my 100% yet...i have good days and bad days, and my sleeping pattern is not the same as before.
Im suppose to get back to work on Nov 13, and im not sure if im ready to go. Because i never know how i'll feel in the morning...im soooo tired.
I just hope that everything we'll be alright and hope my symptoms will get better too.
Denise xoxo
IF this is MS, and we don't know that, then what you are having now would be considered part of the first attack and it is still developing. For it to be a separate attack (and this is where your doctor was TOTALLY WRONG) you have to have a minimum of one month, during which you are free of symptoms or the symptoms you have are completely stable. By definition of the International Panel that has defined the diagnosis of MS, you cannot have more than one attack in a single month's time! If you appear to have 2 attacks that close together in time, then it is considered all part of the same, one attack. Does that make sense?
An attack of MS can last several weeks to months.
An attack or relapse can be any new symptom or symptoms. Or it can be a worsening of old symptoms or a combination of the two. No one can tell you what it should feels like. But, from what you have told us, you have continously had symptoms since the hospital and emergence of new ones. Is that correct?
About the ER. If you go in with symptoms they can't see, they won't do much usually. But, if you have a sudden decrease in your vision that persists more than an hour, or a sudden severe weakness somewhere, or severe pain, or anysymptom that can be seen by an observer, you should go to the ER and have it documented.
The improvement you got from the steroids does not count as the attack resolving. The Panel also specified that a remission cannot be counted in the (I don't remember exactly) 4 to 6 weeks after high dose steroids. However, I consider that your response to steroids is an indicator that this is an inflammatory process of the central nervous system, like MS. The problem is, I don't count. :(
In the US, depending on the facility, you can get a copy of your actual MRI. But, I was hoping you could get a copy of the official report, so maybe we could figure out what machine it was done on.
By the way - do you speak both French and English, because your English is excellent? I guess I am asking which language is generally spoken in New Brunswick. I'm sorry for my ignorance.
Quix
Gee Thanks Quix ! :) Well my doctor told me yesterday that if the shot of cortison didnt help at all , he;s gonna give a third one at the last and after that...if it didn't change , he;s gonna look further. I just hope he's gonna too.
For the Copy of my MRI....can i really have a copy of my scan???????????????? i didnt know that.
I wanna ask you, probably at the hospital, it was a clinical isolated sydrome...but after the solumdrol...i was ok for a little bit and then my symptoms came back and going on and also now i have some new symptoms.
vision
-floaters,sparkles sometimes,blurry&foggy in left eye only today it did it for now at least,
Spasms or cramps- in the my 2 upper arms , my hands are shaky and feels weak, my 2 pinkys are still feeling numb, Today my right hand started tingling.
Sometimes my body feels just weak, i really have trouble to fall a sleep every night.
Im jsut wondering if im doing an ongoing attack or what else could it be?? Im really not familiar how im supposing to know how it feels an attack. How long is lasting an Attack?
Should i just wait, because if i go at the emergency,im quite sure they wont do anything, because they dont know whats going on with me.
Im really gratefull that im writing to you, you give me support and i really appreciate it!! xoxo
I wanna thank you for the information that you gave me.
Hope to hear from you :)!!
Denise
Denise, It seems that the first thing you need to do is convince your doctor that an initial negative MRI does not rule out Multiple Sclerosis. There is still a measurable chance 5% to 10% of still having MS based on the terrible neurologic attack you had in the hospital, the fact that you had 2 things happen that can precipitate the beginning of MS (the miscarriage and the severe infection), the fact that they TREATED YOU FOR INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN WITH SOLUMEDROL (STEROIDS) AND IT HELPED!!! I capitalized that because it was the doctors' best evidence! You also have a higher risk (about 5% or more) of having MS because of the location in the world where you live and because your uncle had MS.
Here is the page of the US "National MS Society" website that states that 5% of people with clinically definite MS have a normal MRI. It also states that a normal MRI DOES NOT rule out the presence of MS. Look at the section called "What the MRI is used to Measure" and then the section "Diagnosis."
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HOM_LIB_sourcebook_mri
A large prospective study by Riordan, JL in 1998 followed patients over a 10 year period. These patients, like you, had one attack of neurological problems, but a normal MRI in the beginning. Out of 27 such patients, 3 went on to develop definite MS. That is 11%. 1 in 10! The study was printed in the medical journal "Brain." The reason this is a higher percentage is that the first statement includes all people with MS and the Riordan study was just looking at the first MRI done at the very beginning.
O'Riordan JI, Thompson AJ, Kingsley DP, et al: The prognostic value of brain MRI in clinically isolated syndromes of the CNS. A 10-year follow-up. Brain 1998 Mar; 121(Pt 3): 495-503[Medline].
Here is the summary of the study (which is a little old):
http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/9549525?src=emed_ckb_ref_0
The spots you are seeing in your vision may indicate Optic Neuritis and this would place you with a very high chance of developing MS - close to a 50% chance. You should see a neuro-ophthalmologist or at least have a test called a "Visual Evoked Potential."
The weakness and heaviness in your arms with the sensation of "someone "squeezing your arm" is also very characteristic of MS.
What are your options in Canada of seeing another doctor - both a different family doctor and a different neurologist? It is so hard from here because I do not understand the Canadian health care system. Because your MRI was normal and the doctors that you have seen are not well educated about MS, it is hard to give you hard facts to convince them that MS is still possible. Are you allowed to travel to see another doctor at a larger medical center?
Here in the US we just see another neurologist who we hope would be better educated. What are your options?
In the end you may need to print out a list of the risk factors that say that you should have a better work up for a neurological disease.
I can't give you a "proof" that the doctors are wrong. Maybe the others can help with formulating a plan to show your doctor that you deserve more testing.
It is also possible in New Brunswick that the MRI machine is old and not very powerful. Can you get a copy of the official MRI report? Or could you call the hospital Radiology department and ask what the model number of the MRI machine is? Then maybe we could see if it was weak.
Quix
Hi Im quite new to the forum and truly sympathise with all youve been through lately. You have had such abad time . Re the health problems Im like many other people dont have any real diagnosis my symptoms started 3+ yrs ago and yes its scary stuff and very frustrating ! I have had problems with blurry vision but mines been diagnosed as dry eye syndrome so dont really kno what to say Im sure someone will have some helpful advice for you as soon as their online Im in the uk by the way xx chris
Hey Denise, sorry you are having a rough go. You need to go to an eye doctor and get that checked out. I too am having eye trouble and have had for 5 years. The one problem is only seen in full blown diabetics which I don't have and the other symptoms of blurred vision and eye pain,floaters and flashes of light which they say have nothing to do with the other problem, have not yet been diagnosed. I'm going to the eye specialist in Nov. for my 6 month check up and am going to ask for them to check for Optic Neuritis. I know how scary this can be when it affects your eyes. My eye specialist said if my (diabetic like eye trouble) comes back again I may eventually go blind and yet they can't tell me why it is happening. Make an appointment and get it checked out. It may not be anything too serious and if it is there may be medication for you but you won't know unless you go.
My prayers are with you
Moki
Hi., I just went yesterday for my second Cortison Injection Oct 19, after the Dr told me , i have to call him in 2 weeks to let him know if it help or not...and then we will give me another Shot and the last one. He also told me if it dosent do anything , well we are gonna have to look further. Geesss i;ve been waiting for that for 2 months now!!!! ahha.
Oct 20- I woke up around 11h am and i opened my eyes and only my left eye was BLURRY AND FOGGY..... and closed my eyes several time and didn't change. It lasted for about 20 minutes. IM GETTING A LITTLE SCARED HERE.... IS THIS NORMAL??? PLEASE I WHAT SOMEONE TO RESPOND !! :)
Denise xoxox
Hi! Quix , how are you feeling?? i was juste wondering how you were? Well me it didn't change really much, i have new symptoms that i wrote, and it still on going. Tomorow im going to see my Dr for another Cortison Injection in my left thigh, I just hope it will relief my pain. But i wanna ask for another opinion but im kinda of afraid to not to be listen seriously. I know it's been almost 2 months im out of the hospital but im not ok....there is something wrong with my body....
Well hope you can help with some of your opinions.....Take Care Dear
Denise xoxoxo
I'm sorry that your doctor thinks this is all in your head. I think that's when I would start looking for a new doctor. Also, I think you need to go to your eye doctor for the eye problems. You may have optical neuritis (ON). That does go along with MS.
Take care honey and I hope things will get better for you real soon.
I'll be praying,
Carol
Oct 9- Ok i still see those black spots in my vision, like everywhere i look, and also i have like little sparkles sometimes, it freaks me out!!! Is this ok?? or should i go see my eye Dr with this??? or just leave it like that??? Is this normal in MS to have floaters and sparkles??
October 14- at night time, it just started like that. First i had a hard time to fall asleep like usuall, but this keep me awake for a while. My 2 arms and hands started to feel very weird..i never had that sensation before. It kinda hard to explain, ummm how can i say this?....ok It felt that my muscles was cramping in my arms and hands,,,,also my 2 pinkys are like numb. I try to change position, and it just kept being there....it was really painfull my god.......and then i finally went asleep because i took a sleeping pill.
The next morning, it was still there, all day my arms felt weak and really heavy. It feels like if someone is squeezing my arms and it;s a little painful, and really annoying. My hands are also weak..and my pinkys are feeling numb.
Im just concern about this and my symptoms.... and im afraid to go see the Dr ,because they dont think it's a neurological disease...... Well all i can say... Im not makin this up...Im jsut getting frustrated with all this. I think it;s kinda normal.
Quix... Hope you feel better you too!! :) Hope you read this xo
Denise
Thanks for responding back to me!! hah i was looking every dayhaha. Ok When i went for me MRI on Sept 21 /07 , They just took images of my brain, and they didn't put an injection, because the technician told that the image was clear enough. After i was done, i asked the tech, how come you didn't chek my hip??? 'cause i thought he need to chek it out since it was numbn and stuff like that. And he said he was following the consultation, a MRI of the brain only. Me i thought that they would took everything. He said to me that the Brain control everything, so they will see if there's a problem with my hip, if they was something wrong, they would see it in my brain.
So i was kinda dissapointed when they didn't take my neck and spine, but the Dr who did the consultation , only put ''Head'' to be check on the MRI.
LIke you said in your response....could it really be MS even if they didn't find any lesions in my brain?? is it to early to detect?? or is it possible to have the lesions in the spine instead??
For the solumdrol that they gave me....it helped me for everything, but except for my left hip , today it's still numb and painfull. I still see that ''BLACK SPOT'' in my left eye...i only got that after the treatment. Is that normal that i see that spot all the time????
The reason my Dr saying that im going down to a DEPRESSION is i all a lot of S&S, but im still not at 100% that im doing a depression, but I WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPEN TO THE SYMPTOMS I HAD AT THE HOSPITAL ????? and he can't respond to me.
My Dr really dosent suspect MS because all my tests are NEGATIVE and i only had 1 ATTACK...to suspect MS , you need to have 2 ATTACKS in a month. ANd i guess i didn't have that, that's why we dosent wanna go further, His Dx is ''DEPRESSION"" and for my hip its '' TROCHANTRIC BURSITIS"... he gave me a shot of cortisone Sept 30, for 3 days i was in pain!!!! and stiff...but now it's still numb and well painfull now, but it depends sometimes.
2 nights ago, i was on my back sleeping and i felt something bizzarre, i was breathing and it was really thigh around the thoracic area and my chest to....i felt that i was stuck, my neck was stiff and had the terrible headache..... i was thinking i was having a panic attack.....but i was fine before i got to bed. It was jsut a scary feeling.
Anyways, HOw can i say to DR to chek further even if he suspect nothing about MS, before hes saying it's all in my head...im inventing my pain...and also i've at is office twice to see him. He say their's no MS and the MRI proved it. SO what to do??? i didnt; had a attack yet...and when will it be??ahh it's just unpredictable. I'ts my body and im not saying that i want MS, im just concern about the symptoms that i experience at the hospital, and the 'NUMBNESS", tingling,burning,etc...
Do you have any information on a site or something that i could bring to my DR??? or suggestions??
If they are something, i can give you my email address!
Thanks Alot Quix, you must be very busy on this forum haha, but im glad ive met you!
Denise
Hope to get some answers soon :)
Denise,
I am new here too, and you could be describing almost exactly what I am going through. I just had a hyst. in Aug. and since then my symptoms have progressively gotten worse. I have the numbness, spots in the eyes, foggy feeling and I had a drop attack this past summer. It is amazing that your drs don't listen to you. I hope you get some answers soon.
I am sorry I forgot to come back and answer your questions. I have had 9 family members from 3 other states visiting this week. I have been so busy and so tired.
I cannot diagnose anything on line, but this is a Multiple Sclerosis forum. I will talk about what you have been through in the context of MS.
Your first symptoms happened after the miscarriage and during a severe infection. It is well known that when a pregnancy ends, there is a very large change in hormone levels, especially the estrogen level. This is one of the most frequent times when the first attack of multpile sclerosis will happen. Also, when you have an infection, your immune system becomes highly activated. Infections are another frequent stimulation for an attack of MS. So you had two simultaneous reasons for MS to show up. Thus, your symptoms of dizziness, numbness, tingling, itching, and electric shock could all be part of a first MS attack. It would be a very common presentation.
The awakening and feeling paralysis might have been an episode of a phenomenon called "Sleep Paralysis." This is very common and very frightening, but it is not serious. Or it might have been a problem with the medications or with early MS.
Your symptoms since you left the hospital are very characteristic of MS. You are having the black spot in your vision, and this is common in MS. The pain and numbness in your hip and leg would also fit with an ongoing attack of MS that is slowly improving. The severe fatigue and difficulty thinking is also very common in MS.
Depression could cause the fatigue and foggy head, but would not casue the pain, numbness, tingling and the weakness and the vision problems. From your story I am very suspicious that you may have MS.
Your doctors HAVE NOT ruled out MS. The CT scan is completely worthless in visualizing lesions from MS. The normal MRI does not rule out MS very early in the disease either. The lesions may be too small to be seen by the MRI. Also the MRI machine may be older and of low power. When they did the MRI scan did they inject you by IV with a contrast solution halfway through and then take some more images? The contrast material is necessary to see very NEW lesions. If they did not use the contrast they would not have seen lesions that had developed in the 6 weeks just prior to the MRI. So likely they would have missed your problem. Did they do an MRI of your spinal cord also?
On the US National MS Society internet site they state that 5% of people with confirmed MS have a "normal" MRI. That is a very high number! 1 in 20 people with MS will have a "normal-appearing" MRI. The reason for this is: People with MS often have very tiny lesions in their brains that are "invisible" to the MRI machine. Also, the lesions may be in the spinal cord. It is harder for the older MRIs to visualize the lesions in the spinal cord.
When they gave you Solumedrol by high dose for 5 days and you improved, this was very good evidence that they were treating an attack of MS. It is not proof, but it is good evidence. What you need now, is a Dr. who is willing to understand that one normal MRI (especially if it was done without contrast) does not rule out a neurologic disease. You need a spinal tap. This is also called a lumbar punture where they take a small amount of fluid out of your spinal canal. This will often show more evidence of MS. You need an MRI of your cervical (neck) spine and an MRI of your thoracic (chest) spine. Because of your vision problems you need a test called a Visual Evoked Potential. This tests for damage to the optic nerve. This last test is very important.
I am sorry the Dr.s there do not seem willing to look further. Is there any way you can travel to a larger medical center to see an MS specialist?
An idea is for us to give you internet links to some information to take to your doctor to show him that you need more testing. Your risk of having MS is higher because of your uncle's MS and becasue of where you live.
Sometimes male doctors disregard female patients with problems they can't see. It is arrogant or ignorant to say someone is just depressed. Could you take someone with you to insist to the doctor that, although you may be upset or depressed from the miscarriage and the infection, these symptoms are VERY REAL and you need them to finish looking for MS? The MRI is only a part of the diagnostic process. More important is the patient's history and physical exam.
I hope you see this, and again I am very sorry for making you wait so long. We have several people on this forum from Canada and I hope they can help you maneuver through the medical system to get the tests and the diagnosis you need. I know how frightening your symptoms are.
I hope you respond, Quix
Hi Denise, welcome and I am sorry to hear of your miscarriage and suffering, and then having to deal with such a doctor. I can never understand it. I will tell you, that I went through a major Post Traumic Stress situation after going into labor prematurely and then a diabetic coma. What you are describing sounds nothing like being caused from stress even though you must be on overload with all you've had to deal with. (((cyber hugs))). I would strongly state at your next doctor visit, H*** yeah I'm depressed and upset, wouldn't you be! Ok, so you probably can't say it like that, but it would be nice wouldn't it.
It took me 4 1/2 years to be diagnosed with a combo of three mimics - Chronic Ebstein Barr virus, Diabetic neuropathy and stroke (thought to be caused by a hole in the heart). I have been continuously ill since my pregnancy.
Hang in there
Jazzy
I agree with you, im tired too tonight, well every single day. My Dr called me on sept 29 , to meet him at the hospital to give me an Cortison injection for my hip. The next thing he told me, that all of my sign and symptoms that i wrote to him, well it looks like im doing an depression.... '' r u serious??'' because what i've been trough. Since i've had a miscarrige on July 2 /2007. After 6 weeks of my miscarriage , i got an severe infection ''Endometritis'' and then 3 days after i had the sign and symptoms that i've told you about in my first paragraph.. and then all my CT's and my Brain MRI was all negative, well he can't find what cause my pain,numbness,tingling,really im in pain, so he thinking maybe it's a ''Mental Ilness'' or a ''physical Ilness'', and then he told me that im doing a DEPRESSION and he made me feel that my hip pain was all in my head.!!!!!
I agree that im always tired, no energy ..blah blah etc...i cant name them all. Maybe im doing a depression and i just dont realized it.
I have another thing to tell you, he wanted me to put ice on my left hip and thigh for about 10 minutes every 4 hours. That's find with me ,but everytime i put ice, it hurts alot, jsut dosen't fell comfortable and then after like 3 hours or 4 after i putted ice, well my skin is still very cold, and i still have numbness too. Maybe it;s an Circulation problem that i have now.....
Im am really confuse, i just feel that my Dr thinks im inventing this pain in my hip.....
Denise
I am too tired now, but I will speak with you tomorrow. Quix
I'm new on here to Denise and know exactly what you are going through. I have not yet been diagnosed and am so greatful that I found this forum. My neuro has been of no help to me. I am now in the process of trying to find a new one. You'll find great support and though it takes time, do read the other threads in here. There is an incredible amount of information. I'm still trying to read it all.
Hope you feel better soon
Moki
Hi, Denise. I am feeling better and I will answer your questions as well as I can tonight. I do have some ideas. This is definitely NOT all in your head! I also do not think this is merely trochanteric bursitis. That sounds ridiculous! You are suffering and I hope we can help you.
Your English is excellent. Do you speak both languages?
I will be back later. Quix
I dont' know if you can help with this question. Is it possible that my symptoms were to early do detect on a MRI and didn't show any lesions on my MRI. !!! im just not convince that i have a Trocanteric Bursitis on my left hip and thigh, and the symptoms that i experience at the hosptial for almost 2 weeks, and came back after i got out Sept 5 2007.
Thanks,
Denise