Aa
MS Symptoms??
Hi
I'm a 35 year old mother of 2 kids.
I had breast core biopsy on my left side in Nov 09. 3 wks after the biopsy I started to get numbnes on fingers (ring & little fingers) and pain in the arm.
Today's symptoms are numbnes in the left hand that comes and goes every 3 or 4 days in the left hand (same fingers) and feeling burning/muscle pain in the lower part of the arm.
My right hand has a slightly (almost not noticeable) numbness tingling feeling not that often.
I have felt as well burning/muscle pain on my right let (bottom part) about 2 weeks ago. It stayed on for 2 days maybe.
I have hypothyrodism and take daily thyroid pills
I have gone to the doctor and he's given chest xrays, hand U/S, bloor work and the only thing that came low was my iron levels which I'm staring to take supplements for.
I went to the the doctor yesterday said that the last thing he can think of is to do the MRI to discard the possiblity of MS...which sounds very scary to me.
And of course being in Canada the MRI will not be scheduled for maybe 5 or 6 months from today.
I don't know what to do. Anyone that can answer based of my symptom if you think is multiple sclerosis.
I'm a 35 year old mother of 2 kids.
I had breast core biopsy on my left side in Nov 09. 3 wks after the biopsy I started to get numbnes on fingers (ring & little fingers) and pain in the arm.
Today's symptoms are numbnes in the left hand that comes and goes every 3 or 4 days in the left hand (same fingers) and feeling burning/muscle pain in the lower part of the arm.
My right hand has a slightly (almost not noticeable) numbness tingling feeling not that often.
I have felt as well burning/muscle pain on my right let (bottom part) about 2 weeks ago. It stayed on for 2 days maybe.
I have hypothyrodism and take daily thyroid pills
I have gone to the doctor and he's given chest xrays, hand U/S, bloor work and the only thing that came low was my iron levels which I'm staring to take supplements for.
I went to the the doctor yesterday said that the last thing he can think of is to do the MRI to discard the possiblity of MS...which sounds very scary to me.
And of course being in Canada the MRI will not be scheduled for maybe 5 or 6 months from today.
I don't know what to do. Anyone that can answer based of my symptom if you think is multiple sclerosis.
Hi All,
Thanks for the great tips!
I called the doctor's office and I misunderstood the waiting time for MRI appointment is 6 weeks then usually the appointment is 1 month after that so I guess I will get in sometime in June or July..a bit better than 6 months..I don't know where I got 6 months from lol.
But anyway, I did called the hospital and asked to be put on the cancellation list however the receptionist told me that I could only request that once I get the letter in the mail wiht my appointment which will be in 5 or 6 weeks...go figures..I'll have to wait anyway.
Thanks for the great tips!
I called the doctor's office and I misunderstood the waiting time for MRI appointment is 6 weeks then usually the appointment is 1 month after that so I guess I will get in sometime in June or July..a bit better than 6 months..I don't know where I got 6 months from lol.
But anyway, I did called the hospital and asked to be put on the cancellation list however the receptionist told me that I could only request that once I get the letter in the mail wiht my appointment which will be in 5 or 6 weeks...go figures..I'll have to wait anyway.
Hi there I'm also from Canada, Vancouver area... can I suggest to you that when you get the test done..to ask for copies of all your results.. blood test, MRI.. the CD as well as the radiologist report.. it's good to have this information for your records.
you will need to complete a form when you get the procedure done .. also keep a timeline of you symptoms.. for all your different appt.
Quix gave so good information for you and check out the Health Pages..top link on this page. There is alot of information there.
take care and let us know how things go
wobbly
dx
you will need to complete a form when you get the procedure done .. also keep a timeline of you symptoms.. for all your different appt.
Quix gave so good information for you and check out the Health Pages..top link on this page. There is alot of information there.
take care and let us know how things go
wobbly
dx
Hi there,
I am also in Canada. Been having symptoms for way too long. Finally saw a Neurologist in Feb who ordered an mri and told me it would be a very long wait. I asked to be put on the cancellation list and had the mri in 3 days. I am not sure if that is possible for you but it is worth a try. I told my coworker who's daughter needed an mri to call the hospital and ask to be put on the cancellation list. She just had her mri end of may and her original appt was for may 2011! I hope this works because the waiting is the worst!
I am still waiting for my follow up appt which is April 19 to go over the Feb mri but that's our great health care system. Good luck to you in getting some answers soon - Anna
I am also in Canada. Been having symptoms for way too long. Finally saw a Neurologist in Feb who ordered an mri and told me it would be a very long wait. I asked to be put on the cancellation list and had the mri in 3 days. I am not sure if that is possible for you but it is worth a try. I told my coworker who's daughter needed an mri to call the hospital and ask to be put on the cancellation list. She just had her mri end of may and her original appt was for may 2011! I hope this works because the waiting is the worst!
I am still waiting for my follow up appt which is April 19 to go over the Feb mri but that's our great health care system. Good luck to you in getting some answers soon - Anna
Hi
Thanks so much for caring about my case.
Well to asnwer your questions,
Yes when I do get the ocassional tingling in the right arm is in the same fingers as the left one. I work in an office, desk work 8 hrs per day.
The tingling comes and goes, when I get it it normally last for 4 or 5 hours in a 1 or 2 day period each day.
All I know that my doctor run blood work to see if I have any vitamin deficiencies and he did mentioned he was testing vitamin B. And all turned out ok except for Iron levels that were low.
I live in Ontario Canada and I have been here for 17 years but I grew up in South America.
That's a very good point, I will call the doctor's office to ensure the MRI has been indicated to look for MS symptoms, the doctor did say he was sending me to get it to rule out MS as he could not think of anything else that could be causing these symptoms.
Thanks so much for caring about my case.
Well to asnwer your questions,
Yes when I do get the ocassional tingling in the right arm is in the same fingers as the left one. I work in an office, desk work 8 hrs per day.
The tingling comes and goes, when I get it it normally last for 4 or 5 hours in a 1 or 2 day period each day.
All I know that my doctor run blood work to see if I have any vitamin deficiencies and he did mentioned he was testing vitamin B. And all turned out ok except for Iron levels that were low.
I live in Ontario Canada and I have been here for 17 years but I grew up in South America.
That's a very good point, I will call the doctor's office to ensure the MRI has been indicated to look for MS symptoms, the doctor did say he was sending me to get it to rule out MS as he could not think of anything else that could be causing these symptoms.
Hi, and welcome to our forum! You have plenty of countrywomen here, too.
It's really hard for anyone online to say whether or not a person might have MS online. But, you live in a country with a high incidence of MS. Unpublished data from a huge nationwide telphone survey showed that previous numbers on how common MS is in Canada were far too low. After surveying over 135,000 people (in 2001) they showed that the incidence of MS overall in Canada was about 240 people per 100,000 or 1 in 400. Some provinces, like the Atlantic and the Prairie provinces had the highest with approximately 1 in 300 people. I don't have the figures for all of them.
Your pain in the left hand and arm seems pretty much limited to the distribution of the ulnar nerve. This is the "funny bone" nerve that screams when you knock your elbow just right. This suggests, but does not prove that the problem is in the peripheral nervous system. There are tests to check this, called the EMG/NCS (Electromyography and Nerve Conduction Studies). Occasionally Carpal Tunnel Syndrome involves the ulnar nerve. That would NOT be due to MS.
When you add in the slight tingling of the other hand we need to know, is it also in the pinky/ring fingers?
If so, I would ask if you ever work or do prolonged things with your forearms resting along the edge of a table or other surface.
Now when you add the burning muscle that you had a while ago, you begin to have too many areas of sensory nerve false signals called paresthesias. Also, when you say it "comes and goes every 3 or four days.." Do you mean it appears briefly that often? When you have it how long does it last?
In order for a symptom to be considered part of an MS attack, it needs to be felt continuously or frequently for more than 24 hours at a time, and some experts feel that 48 hours at a time is more persuasive.
Did your GP run a B12, tests for ANA, Lyme Disease and Vitamin D? Those would be some things you could do while waiting on an MRI. It is really awful that you have to wait so long for that.
If your GP is ordering the MRI, it is important that it be ordered using the MRI Protocol for MS. This is a protocol that specifies which techniques to use during the test to give the best chance at showing any MS lesions in the brain and spinal cord. A regular MRI is just NOT adequate. You should ask him to add this to the request.
My gut feeling is that you are not describing MS. However, that is not worth much. Nobody should take advice from a doctor with salad tongs through her head, lol.
Perhaps you could see a neurologist before the MRI who could investigate to see if the tingling you are getting is coming from a problem outside the brain and spine. MS ONLY involves the nerves of the Central Nervous System meaning the brain and spinal cord. Problems involving the Peripheral Nervous System (all those nerves out in the body) are NOT due to MS.
But, even having the "suggestion" that you might have MS is nerve-wracking, so I encourage you to hang around here and ask questions.
And, I will be watching for the answers to my questions.
Quix, MD
It's really hard for anyone online to say whether or not a person might have MS online. But, you live in a country with a high incidence of MS. Unpublished data from a huge nationwide telphone survey showed that previous numbers on how common MS is in Canada were far too low. After surveying over 135,000 people (in 2001) they showed that the incidence of MS overall in Canada was about 240 people per 100,000 or 1 in 400. Some provinces, like the Atlantic and the Prairie provinces had the highest with approximately 1 in 300 people. I don't have the figures for all of them.
Your pain in the left hand and arm seems pretty much limited to the distribution of the ulnar nerve. This is the "funny bone" nerve that screams when you knock your elbow just right. This suggests, but does not prove that the problem is in the peripheral nervous system. There are tests to check this, called the EMG/NCS (Electromyography and Nerve Conduction Studies). Occasionally Carpal Tunnel Syndrome involves the ulnar nerve. That would NOT be due to MS.
When you add in the slight tingling of the other hand we need to know, is it also in the pinky/ring fingers?
If so, I would ask if you ever work or do prolonged things with your forearms resting along the edge of a table or other surface.
Now when you add the burning muscle that you had a while ago, you begin to have too many areas of sensory nerve false signals called paresthesias. Also, when you say it "comes and goes every 3 or four days.." Do you mean it appears briefly that often? When you have it how long does it last?
In order for a symptom to be considered part of an MS attack, it needs to be felt continuously or frequently for more than 24 hours at a time, and some experts feel that 48 hours at a time is more persuasive.
Did your GP run a B12, tests for ANA, Lyme Disease and Vitamin D? Those would be some things you could do while waiting on an MRI. It is really awful that you have to wait so long for that.
If your GP is ordering the MRI, it is important that it be ordered using the MRI Protocol for MS. This is a protocol that specifies which techniques to use during the test to give the best chance at showing any MS lesions in the brain and spinal cord. A regular MRI is just NOT adequate. You should ask him to add this to the request.
My gut feeling is that you are not describing MS. However, that is not worth much. Nobody should take advice from a doctor with salad tongs through her head, lol.
Perhaps you could see a neurologist before the MRI who could investigate to see if the tingling you are getting is coming from a problem outside the brain and spine. MS ONLY involves the nerves of the Central Nervous System meaning the brain and spinal cord. Problems involving the Peripheral Nervous System (all those nerves out in the body) are NOT due to MS.
But, even having the "suggestion" that you might have MS is nerve-wracking, so I encourage you to hang around here and ask questions.
And, I will be watching for the answers to my questions.
Quix, MD
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