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Neuropathy with a possible MS Diagnosis?

i am a 22 year old female who has gone undiagnosed for over 3 years and I now finally have an answer..sort of. My doctor highly suspects nueropathy however one under a "third umbrella" which means its just there and there is no rhyme or reason for it. According to my internist, I tested positive for the romberg test (he said it means I have a lack of balance and whatnot) and my Deep Tissue Reflexes are non existant, and unresponsive to pressure points. I am being sent to a large teaching hospital here shortly for an offical diagnosis. What I am really wondering is, while nueropathy sounded almost exactly like what I have I didnt see one of my major symptoms. The inability to move. I feel like im in mud and im very weak. Now sometimes this is probably related to the fact that my legs do go numb and I have the tingling in my feet. But I cannot walk very far because my legs are so weak. I try to go and grab something and its almost like in slow motion and my hand will just not do it without me forcing myself in a slow manner to get it done. My husband has to carry me up the stairs...did I mention I was 22 ?? I also have a brain fog that comes and goes and im unable to talk properly or write (think like a stroke victim but with no facial disturbances) I did mention to my doctor that I had looked up MS earlier and thought it seemed similar to my symptoms and thats when he brought up nueropathy and that It may be possible my upcoming nuerologist may look for both however MS is very hard to diagnosis and to not expect it. Is this symptom a nueropathy symptom that I just overlooked or could I expect a possible MS diagnosis as well? Is it really as that hard to get an MS diagnosis? I am keeping a journal of my symptoms on a daily basis and taking pictures, like when my hands and feet turn purple/red. Im just hoping to get some insight. Thanks. Inny

P.S. It would explain my nueropathy( if im offically diagnosed with it )because it normally shows up due to a chronic illness, hereditary, or exposure to toxins...
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Avatar universal
essdipity- i completely agree with you on nueropathy being a symptom and not a diagnosis...that is why I question that possibilty of MS..like I said my doctor said it was a possibilty but im wondering if it is more than that!

For a long time they wouldnt listen to me when I told them something was wrong but now they see it and now my internist is even considering getting me admitted to the hospital to just get this done and over with now that they KNOW something is wrong and since sometimes I cant even walk, its taking awhile though. thank you for your support and kind words it means alot!!! I will keep those med names in mind and mention them to the nuero when I see him!!

Lizzie- I dont really know what would be going on with you, However, I have been called a hypochondriac for over 3 years now and now Im finally getting answers and being given the medical attention I really need. I would keep persuing the doctors until you find an answer, whatever that may be. I wish you all the best and pray that you will find the answer, hopefully it wont take you three years!!!

Supermum- Thank you!!! Yes, I hope you guys didnt mind me bumping it up! I didnt realize it would be slow and Im so used to being overlooked that I get alittle fearful even when there is nothing to fear!!! thank you for your patience and your guidence and my doctor did say about the Reynolds phymenomia, i had to take pictures to make sure they believe me lol!!! I have been tested for all of those diseases ( its been 3 years of doctors lol) so MS and nueropathy I have not been tested for yet..and it just seems like a fit!

Thank you everyone! I tried to break up my posts as much as I could. It does seem pretty long though doesnt it!! All the best wishes to you guys!!! Thank you so much!
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much for responding back to me!!! I will definitely be breaking up my posts from now on so it is easier on everyone!!

I dont have those vision problems I just gets spots in my eyes but I can see, I do think i need some glasses though! I am blessed not to have that problem!

Redflame- Thank you so much for your encouragment and kind words on this! I have been so alone for over 3 years and my symptoms have gotten worse so that has helped my doctors figure out it is definitely a nuero problem and not a "mental" problem lol. They wanted to schedule my appointment in two weeks but I need to get confirmation.

They know it is nothing like lymes or arthritis or lupus or any of that because I continously test negative, which is one of the reasons why they thought I was nuts! My doctor brought up MS and Nueropathy but said itll probably be just nueropathy since MS is hard to diagnosis. I really would rather not want the diagnosis but I pray that If i do have it they find it!!! I will definitely use the health pages! Thanks for the ideas and support!
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987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi and welcome to our little corner of the web :-)

Yes it can get slow over the weekend, so please dont ever think your being over looked, everyone is wonderful here, great support, great people one and all!!

I was going to point out that neuropathy is a sx but ess already did that, the other thing is the purple hands and feet sounds like Raynaud's. This is a good place to start reading about it http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Raynauds_Phenomenon/default.asp

Interesting but my brother has neuropathy and I have Raynaud's, what we experience is completely different yet similar. lol There are a few MSers with one or the other and i'm sure there are some with both issues.

Idiopathic neuropathy at your age would be odd, it would make more sense if it is secondary to a disease like lupus, connective tissue disease, sorjens (sp) etc anyway, stick around because i'm sure others will have something to add.

Cheers.........JJ
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Avatar universal
gosh sorry every 1 - i forgot to break up paragraphs!!!! Next time i willl

Thanks!
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Avatar universal
Hi there, your def not alone.. i'm 23 and have nolticed all sorts of weird things... firstly started with twitching all over my body a year ago, and i would get severe headaches, tingling feet and above my lip seems to tingle too.. I'm quite the hyperchodriac but i am one with all these symptoms i ask my friends who are all my age "have u ever had this" they look at me like i'm MAD... and sometimes i feel mad, i've seen a neurologist so many times and had so many tests that come back negative, nothing abnormal on my scan or ECG test all normal reflxes but i do not know why i get these "tingles" its every day  now... I go to europe for 2 months in 2 weeks instead of being excited i'm extremely scared and want to see my neurologist but i know i wont get in,,, so i don't no what's worse going away not knowing, or not enjoying my holiday coz i'm worrying.. I hear some people go for years undiagnoseed with things, i've seen my neurologist so many times with NOTHING abnormal found. My doc thinnks i have an "inner ea" infection too to explain my dizzyness. All i know is it doesn't seem normal like my friends or am i just a hyperchondriac who should ignore these things.. ??
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Avatar universal
Hi Inny, and another welcome from me.

Things are often slow here on the weekend. And also, as Red Flame says, big blocks of text are hard to read. Please see the Welcome post at the top for more information.

You should know that neuropathy is not a diagnosis, it's a symptom. It can be caused by either the central nervous system or the peripheral one. Your doctors need to get to the bottom of what's going on with you, so keep at it. Also, there are medications that help a lot with neuropathy, specifically either Neurontin or Lyrica (both brand names).

Please keep us posted on all developments.

Best wishes,
ess
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1312898 tn?1314568133
Hi Inny2009,  I'm so sorry to hear all that you are going through right now, and so young!!   You have some symptoms that are certainly in line with MS.  Your severe weakness, difficulty talking, numbness and you problems with balance as shown by the  Romberg. It's very possible that you do have MS, but it's also possible that you have something else.  

The sad thing is that MS is typically a difficult diagnosis becuase there are so many 'mimics'.  MS is largely a diagnosis of exclusion.  Some of the mimics are Lyme Disease, Encephalytis, Systemic Lupus and other diseases of the central nervous system.  That being said, there are also times when a diagnosis can happen in a week---so it's different for everyone.

When in your appointment at the University?  They will order MRI's, lots of blood tests and some other tests if needed.  They will look for lesions in your brain that you may already have.  That will be a big part of your diagnosis.

On the upper right side of this screen there is a tab called Health Pages.  I strongly encourage you to click on that and read about MS.  We are fortunate to have a doctor who has MS here and she has written many of the pages.  This will help answer many of your questions.  

As far as responses, sometimes the board gets slow on the weekend.  I know it's a bummer.  I will try to remember to bump it up if it goes too low

Here's the deal.  You are not alone!  The support and guidance here is incredible.  You have found the best support form you would ever want.  So welcome and it's great to meet you.

Hang in there and ask as many questions as you need to!

Red

Also, could you break up your paragraphs like I have done.  It's hard for most of us to read a long paragraph like you wrote becuase we have problems with vision.  It looks like a black mass.  

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Avatar universal
bump.
please...does anyone have any ideas?
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