MS specialist report

[bairdy]

hi folks
hope you are all feeling ok ?
i got a copy of the report sent to my gp from the MS specialist
its a little long winded but here is what he found on my neuro exam

On examination today he had intermitent tremor of his right leg when seated,
optic discs appeared normal, full range of eye movements with horizontal diplopia to the right( the right eye contributed the false image), no facial weakness, tone normal in the upper limbs,

increased tone in the lower limbs with clonus, power normal in the upper limbs, hip flexion grade 4 bilaterally on formal but appeared satisfactory when heel/shin coordination.
hip abductors and adductors, knee flexors, knee extensors, ankle dorsiflexors,plantar flexors were all grade 5 on the bed, he steps backwards on romberg's test coordination was otherwise normal,
reflexes were 3+ and symetrical in the upper and lower limbs,plantar flexor with jaw jerk, hoffman sign was present more on the left than the right, no crssed adductor responses, joint position, vibration and pin ***** were normal.

i understand from your referal letter that he had previous MR imaging which has been normal. VEP'S were suspicious of an abnormality with aninterocular latency difference,
although both the responces could be within normal range. a lumber puncture was unsuccesfull.in getting access with a needle.

ii would agree that he does appear to have brisk reflexes and clonus,there does seem to be an element of overlay in terms of the tremor and also the apparent hip flexion weakness.

i have repeated his bloods today. i would like to reveiw his ongoing inestigations in particular to look that we have covered all of the causes of a non compressive myelopathy and i am likely to advise that we repeat the lumber puncture although i have explained that this may be non contributory.
and will see him in clinic in four months.

any thoughts guys
has he found anything that helps to confirm MS in the neuro exam
regards bairdy

[mackemuk]

Hi Bairdy I Sent You A Message A Couple Of Weeks Ago, I Don't Know If You Read It!
But I Tell You That You Defo Sound Like Me With The Symptoms Etc..
Hang In There Mate It Won't Be To Long Before You Are Diagnosed I Know It Is Very Frustrating But You Will Come Out The Other End With Peace Of Mind.
This Neuro Sounds Spot On.
Take Care Mate And Look After Yourself.
Regards Joe.

[Lulu54]

enjoy every moment of your holiday - I wish I had another one sometime soon.  It's good to hear you don't have a hesitancy about grabbing a wheelchair to keep going.

best, L

[bairdy]

hi
thanks for your comments
yes red im on baclofen 10mg 3x daily and gabapentin 300mg 3x daily been tiptrating them up and am now feeling some relief ??

it is good that he is looking for further evidence and not briushing me off he did say i can see you are suffering and its been going on for a long time .
im just a little confused to what a non commpressive myelopathy is and the coralation to MS . ???
im waiting for any further tests he wants before i see him in october
just got my wheelchair that he ordered for me as im going away next week for out and about on my hols as walking is getting very difficult after short distances.

thanks guys
kindest regards bairdy

[MissLauraI]

Bairdy- based on mine and other's experiences, I agree it is a positive sign that your neuro wants to follow up with you and keep investigating.

While you may be waiting for answers, it is a good sign that you are not waiting alone wondering where to turn to next. I hope that day never comes for you and that you can get an answer to what is going on soon.

[RedFlame]

I'm sorry your journey has bee so long, it's hard to wait until you are given a name for your illness.  

The good thing is that the specialist is really watching you, noting the clinical signs and making follow-up appointments.  

It's really tough to wait.  Are you on medications at least that will help your pain etc.

Red

[bairdy]

any more thoughts folks
regards bairdy

[bairdy]

bump

[bairdy]

hi jj
thanks for your reply
im thinking the same cos everything else has been ruled out but its just the waiting at not knowing what your dealing with.
just want some closure on this horrible journey.
im having a bad time at the moment with terrible stiffness in my legs, hips and back having to up my dose of baclofen.
regards bairdy

[supermum_ms]

I was thinking the same as Jen, it looks like the neuro is needing a bit more hard evidence before he's willing to call it. Hang tight it looks like your dx is going to take a little longer but its coming!!

Cheers........JJ

[bairdy]

hi and thanks for your response
bairdy

[jensequitur]

It sounds like he's found some stuff that looks suspicious, but at this point he doesn't have enough information to make a definite diagnosis.