HI...Im new to the forums but I am quickly understanding that yall are the ones on this site to get the right answers from. Let me tell you a little about me then give you information about what I have been going thru the last two weeks.
My name is Lisa, I am 42 years old, female, single mother of two daughters (ages 18 and 15) and overall have been fairly healthy most of my life, but looking back over the last 20 years I can also recall small incidences where I have experienced many of the symptoms of MS, but nothing like what I have experienced in the last two weeks and still experiencing. So here is what is going on!!!
Two weeks ago, on a Thursday morning, I got up and went to work as normal as every other day. Thru out that day I began noticing tingling in the back on my left thigh. Pulling my clothing up and down while going to the restroom, caused burning sensations on the skin. It was irritating but I really didn’t pay it a lot of attention until the next afternoon when I noticed it had traveled up the leg into my left buttock, hip and abdomen. That was on Friday. Saturday morning the burning sensation had traveled to the front thigh, inside calf and top of my foot, and was now affecting the back on my upper arm from the shoulder down to the elbow. It was also wrapped around the trunk of my body, my back, side, chest and breast felt something was pushing and squeezing around me. The next day it continued to spread to middle of my back at my spine. My lower back had been hurting from day one, but the middle to upper back near my neck was now very painful. The pain feels like a constant severe sunburn, with no visual redness or rash, and intensifies with touch. Clothing, bed covers, anything with a light touch intensifies the pain. Also it intensifies with cold, air conditioners blowing on me or getting goose bumps is very painful.
I have seen 4 different doctors, 3 ER doctors and a PA at the clinic. They have run several test. The CT head scan came back normal. They tested for Lupus and it was negative, all regular blood work was normal except showing a strep infection somewhere in my body. Results of the rheumatoid arthritis test were negative, Mono spot test negative. These were done on the following Thursday, one week after symptoms arrived. On that Thursday, I noticed some tenderness on the back of the right thigh and thought it was progressing to that side as well. In the ER that day they gave me a shot of Depo-Medrol. The next day there was sensitivity in the back of the thigh, buttock, hip and abdomen on the right side but was short lived and gone the next day.
The following Monday I went to see the PA at the clinic I have gone to for a few years. She did more blood work to test for Lymes Disease, Diabetes, Thyroid. She also noticed I was having difficulty breathing, wheezing and diagnosed bronchitis, also my urine test showed a urinary tract infection and she began asking me questions about my urine/bowel trouble. I explained to her that I have very frequent urination, most of the time every 30 minutes or less. I have always felt this was due to my excessive thirst and constant drinking. The frequent urination does wake me during the night several times but most of the time I fall right back to sleep. I do have trouble going to sleep the majority of the time from restless legs and cramping that includes both legs. During this last two weeks I have also started experiencing constipation which is not normal for me. Also I am experiencing extreme fatigue which is also not normal for me, and have had to take several days off work because of the fatigue and the uncontrollable pain.
As you can imagine, all 4 doctors and myself are concerned and confused as to this neuropathy that is affecting just the left side of my body, all the symptoms on the right were short lived but the left is not showing any improvement at all. The PA has put me on Neurontin, Prednisone, Ceftin and Albuterol. I have been taking these meds for just 24 hours. Early this morning I woke drenched in sweat, in a cold room, with chill bumps on my skin, got up to go to the restroom, turned on the light and stopped in my tracks when I saw my face in the mirror. From my nose and chin all the way to my ear, on the left side of my face, was bright red. No redness was on the right side, but the left looked like had a bad sunburn on my nose, chin, cheek and ear.
The only symptoms I am experiencing now from my knees down to my feet is they fall asleep easily, especially when sitting Indian style with them crossed in front of me, or if sitting with then hanging to the floor in my computer chair. The entire left side of my body feels weaker than the right, including my left hand (but no pain here, more a light weight numbness). But I have noticed in the last few days my typing with my left hand is very off, I will intend to push one letter with one finger and push something completely different. I misspell word from typing the wrong thing. Also I have noticed small things like shutting the refrigerator door with my left hand, what used to come so naturally now takes me several tries to close it, I think im putting enough strength into closing it but it remains open, causing me to trying a second and sometimes even a third time. Also a involuntary twitch in my right thigh close to my knee that you can sit and watch it pulse.
I have done an enormous amount of research in the last two weeks on neuropathies, polyneuropathies, and can not find anything that the onset is present of just one side of the body. My doctors have mentioned the possibility of Multiple Sclerosis, but I can not find where that presents on one side either.
In past history I have had DVT affecting the entire popliteal artery in my right leg, uncontrolled shaking in my hands, numbness in my feet and legs upon standing, dizziness that comes on suddenly at any given time, and my vision has deteriorated in the last two years to having to wear glasses to read, a tremor in my eyelids that comes and goes, tremors in different places thru the years that come and go, hypoglycemia sometimes dropping to 32 but is controlled by eating something or drinking something with sugar and doesn’t happen very often, numerous infections especially strep throat, and several stomach viruses, with episodes of acid reflux including nausea and vomiting when at their worst. Also a past history of TMJ neuropathy of the right side of my head. The last two weeks I have also experience bouts of fever that comes and goes almost daily.
Do you have any suggestions or ideas what could be causing these symptoms I am experiencing? I am still waiting for the results of the lymes disease, diabetes, and thyroid. But honestly the doctors don’t believe any of these could be causing this.
I'm so happy to find a place where I can talk with others who have gone thru this ordeal. Thanks for all your help!!!!