Possible MS Diagnosis

[Ander]

Five years ago, my foot began to hurt and my legs had been giving me problems for a year prior to the foot breaking. The break resulted from simply walking. Anyway, after wearing a cast boot for six weeks, the fracture healed but when the cast was removed and an x-ray done, the foot had broken in another place. This let to bone density tests and nerve conduction studies. Both showed positive results for low bone density and severe nerve damage in my legs and feet. A brain MRI was also done and it showed five brain lesions. Over the last five years, the bone density has gotten worse even with medications, the pain from the nerve damage, diagnosed as peripheral neuropathy has also gotten horrible and some days I can barely walk. The last brain scan showed three more brain lesions has formed. In the middle of all of this, I had to have an emergency heart stent implant. Needless to say, my life has been turned upside down. I went from working twelve and fifteen hour days and loving my work, enjoying my children and family, to a life in which even the most simple tasks exhaust me and cause the pain to get so severe that I cannot even sleep. I have had a wonderful physician who has sent me to several specialists. Each have suggested that I may in fact have the beginning of MS. The one thing I have not had done which I have avoided due to a previous bad experience is a spinal tap. Do any of my symptoms match others who have full blown MS or should I keep searching for answers. I hate to sound like a whiner, but I would love to have my life back as it was before all of this started. The pain in my legs, hips, and feet are far more than just uncomfortable, it creates a situation in which I don't feel like even carrying on a conversation because it is difficult to even think clearly or listen appropriatey to what others are saying. I don't want them to think I am rude, so I have started avoiding almost all social contact. I look fine on the outside but am suffering inside. Any suggestons or thoughts would be greatly appreicated. Thank you for taking the time to read this wordy letter.     ***@****

[monotreme]

Hi and welcome to the forum.  My husband, who is undiagnosed, has severe spine osteoporosis and low testosterone.  He was told by a MS neuro who called him "suspicious" for MS, that the low bone density and low hormones are all part of his MS, although he would not officially write MS on the record.  

The neuro recommended vitamin D3 to help with the bone density and hormone therapy.  You might want to get your blood levels of vitamin D3 and hormones checked.  Vitamin D3 levels need to be 30 for the minimum.

You really need a new neurologist.  You are getting more lesions and have worsening pain.  I would strongly recommend getting started with a new neuro.

Good Luck,
Elaine

[Rena705]

Hello and Welcome to the MS Forum!  I am so sorry to hear of all the problems you have been dealing with and I hope that someone here will be able to assist you to find an answer to all your symptoms.  We are not doctors here but this is a wonderful group of people that are either diagnosed, living with no diagnosis (limboland) or have almost been diagnosed with MS but have discovered that they have something different but have chosen to stick around as we are all friends here.

The nerve pain that you have been describing is very familiar around here and I wonder what you are taking for it if anything?  (By the way, you don't sound like a whiner!)  I wonder if you can expand a little on the problems you had with your previous spinal tap (lumbar puncture=LP)?  The can be rather uncomfortable and can disable a person for a while but unless there is a serious reason why you wouldn't be able to have one, it would be advisable in order to prove or discount MS.

The 5 lesions on the first MRI you had could be due to the demylination of MS and the added 3 lesions over the past five years could mean that MS is involved.  Is the neurologist you are seeing an MS Specialist?  Were your MRI's read by an MS Specialist, a Neurologist or a Radiologist?  This is important because the MS Specialist has the experience and knowledge in looking a lesions on an MRI whereas a Radiologist may not have the know how that an MS Specialist or a Neurologist may have.

We do have a huge library of information on MS in the Health pages that are located in the upper right hand corner of this page.  It is a cornucopia of MS facts that you may be able to learn some answers from and I highly recommend that you have a look at it.  A lot of the information has been gleaned by our members and as far as I am concerned there is no information better than that what is taken from the horses mouth!

I hope that I have been of some assistance to you Ander and if you could answer some of the questions that I posed myself and my cohorts here would like to opportunity to try and help you with this agonizing situation you are in.  Please know that we are here for you 24/7 and while Fridays and weekends can be a little slow right now...don't hesitate to post because someone will get back to you as soon as we can.  You can come here to rant, rave, laugh or cry and you will find some good people here that are going through some similar situations that you will more than likely be able to relate to.  Again, welcome to the MS forum and I hope we can become friends.

Lots of Hugs,

Rena

[Heather3418]

I have been diagnosed with MS for over a decade.  I was wondering if you have had a spinal MRI with and without contrast dye.  Can you tell us anything about your relapses and remissions of symptoms?  Do you ever feel "back to normal" or are your symptoms constant?

I am sorry for so many questions, but it helps to get a better idea of what you are going through.  If it hadn't of been for your lesions they found in the brain, plus more lesions on a later scan, I would have thought that alot of your symptoms were coming from the back or peripheral nerves.  Clearly you have something going on in the brain.  

Did the radiologist report suggest that this was caused from demyelinating disease?

I really feel for you.  It really seems you have been through the wringer.  This is usually the way life goes for so many of us.  When it rains, it pours.

I look forward to more information from you, so we can possibly tell you what our thoughts are.  We cannot possibly make an diagnosis, as I am sure you are already aware, but we can offer our experiences and thoughts with you and of course, offer emotional support...

Best Wishes,
Heather