Undiagnosed issues going on for roughly 10 months

[sknapp136]

I am a 27 year old male in Pharmacy school.  I had to get the Hepatitis B and MMR vaccines for school  I got the MMR vaccine and the first Hepatits B vaccine in Janaury 2010, then on Feb 2nd, 2010 I got the 2nd Hep B vaccine.  On Feb 21st I got a bad sore throat that turned into a nasty cold.  I was coughing on and off for months.  Sometime in March or April I got a bad pain under my right rib that lasted for a day pr two.  I brushed it off.  In June, I got a pain under my armpit that lasted for about 5 days, so I went to the ER... They said it was nothing and gave me prednisone for the inflammation.  The very next day, the pain spread to my neck, right below my ear... also there was pain in my ears itself that would last for seconds to minutes and come and go.  Then I cleaned my ear after a shower and noticed blood on the q-tip.  I went to the ER to be told that I have Medical Student Syndrome (basically, they called me a hypochondriac).  While still having pain in my armpit and neck, I also got it in my groin.  This pain was probably a 6/10.  The pain in my groin spread to the tip of my penis.  I also had tingling in my hands and a sharp shocking sensation that lasted for about an hour down my left leg.  Around the 26th of June, while still in pain, though it was subsiding, I had shortness of breath and chest pains... so I went to the ER and they told me that I need to relax and it was anxiety-related.  They ran blood tests and urine tests and everything was normal.  My family doctor told me the pains were from aging (I was only 26 at the time).  I went to a doctor that my mother in law refereed me to, and he ordered an MRI and an EMG on my arms and legs. He also ordered the dreaded spinal tap.  The spinal tap was terrible for me.  It did not hurt, but immediately after I was dizzy and had visual disturbances (choppy vision when trying to focus on moving objects, especially when watching TV and the camera shifts scenes) and the vision problems still occur today.  The spinal tap came back negative.   I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel after the EMG and the MRI w/ and w/out contrast showed 3-4 faint lesions, none enhanced by the contrasting dye.

The family doctor suggested that I could have MS and referred me to a neurologist.  I  went to a neuro in the middle of July and she said that my lesions aren't typical of MS and wanted to do another MRI in 6 months.  While waiting around over the next 6 months, I had on and off very very mild pain in my legs, mainly my knee, and in my ear, which lasted for seconds.  I'd feel great for a month, and have pain for a week, feel great for a month, pain for a week.  The only constant was my vision problems that came immediately after I got out of the bed from the spinal tap.  I also started getting a strange sensation in my chest, around October 1st, and what felt like heart palpitations.  I went to a cardiologist, and he did an EKG, which came back fine.  He said my heart rate was on the upper side of normal, but I was also anxious that day.  The strange sensation in my chest varies in how much it annoys me.  It was at it's worst on Christmas and the days following.  My wife made an appointment at the Mellen Center at the Cleveland Clinic with an MS specialist, he ordered another MRI and some blood tests.  My Vitamin D levels were low.  The MRI, which I had done this week, showed no new lesions and no lesion progression.  I am now on Vitamin D 50,000 IU for 8 weeks total (3 more weeks).  

The MS specialist doesn't think it's MS.  He sent me to an eye specialist and said I have no MS-related eye issues and said my eyes and optic nerve are 100% healthy.  So now he thinks it could be from my migraines and I am going to see a dizziness-migraine specialist in a couple weeks.  I am not in constant pain, it comes and goes and seems to come less and less frequently as the months go on.  I've had shortness of breath that varies in intensity since December, after not having it from August-December.  I suggest to every doctor that I see that the my vision problems may be due to a slow spinal fluid leak, because I feel that it is too coincidental that it just happened to start right after my LP...  and they all dismiss it, except one doctor that I e-mailed who specializes in spinal leaks and dizziness.   I also had a Lyme antigen blood test done, but from what I read, it's pretty worthless.

Also, I mentioned the vaccines right from the start because I've been reading numerous stories about people getting brain lesions after the Hep B vaccine.  Has anyone here had a similar experience or know of anyone who has?  Has anyone else had a similar experience after a lumbar puncture?  It's frustrating to not know what this is and if and when it will ever go away.

[HVAC]

I am no Doctor. I had Mono and all symptoms sound like my course of Mono. It was hard to diagnose with out blood work for the titers. They checked me for everything before that. I had it for four months and then still had flairs for a year in 2008. The LP could have flaired the Mono. There is no treatment for Mono it is a virus which has to run its course. Rest is the most important thing. I first had it in Graduate school when I was up late, under stress, and eating a terrible diet. I had it again while going through my MS diagnosis which was stressful. In my case I have been diagnosed with chronic mono. Looking back I think I have had it many times.

The lesions are curious. I would keep up with a Neurologist. If one dismisses you find another. If you think it may be MS may be find an MS Specialist.

Hang in there.
Alex

[sknapp136]

I also had a C-Spine MRI with no lesions.