help ms

[jfitzy]

For about 9 week  I have been experiencing severe facial pain, pressure in the left side of my head, occasional numbness in my arms, legs and face (and very occasional tremors), occasional stabbing pains in my arms and legs, occasional stiffness in my legs (mostly ankles - so I can barely walk), hard time concentrating, dropping things, tinitus, night sweats, increased urination (both these have been written off due to my age - now 45 ) and way more.  I have been to several docs but no help (even the Mayo) or diagnosis.  They either say stress (which I have almost none except this!)   My symptoms are worse in summer when hot and everything seems to be steadily getting worse with time.    Could this still be MS..   I obviously do not want this to be MS but I NEED an answer...it is driving me crazy and my quality of life is suffering badly.  and my feet feel like ice  thanks.

[Quixotic1]

Hi, and another welcome to the forum.  It does sound like you are having a hard time of it, but we don't have enough information to help you yet.  The diagnosis of MS is made based on the pattern of the appearance of symptoms, abnormalities on the neurological exam, results of testing and the ruling out of other known causes of neurological symptoms.  

Where is your face pain?  Does it come and go in severe jolts of pain or is it fairly constant?

When you say something is "occasional" what do you mean?  Some people use that word for things that are brief but happen a few times a day, but others mean a few times a week or a month.

When your ankles are stiff, are they also painful?

What testing have you had?  Have you had an MRI or the brain or spinal cord?  Any blood work, like for ANA, B12, Sed Rate (ESR), or others?

Have you been tested for Lyme Disease?

I hate it when doctors suggest stress as a possible cause for very specific complaints.  That is a bunch of hooey.  While night sweats, urinary problems, mood disruption, difficulty concentrating "can" be part of menopause, what you are describing is so severe that it should be documented that you really are approaching menopause.  Have they checked your hormone levels to see if they are changing into a menopausal pattern?

If you could tell us more about what is going on, perhaps we could have a better idea of what to suggest to you.  From what you have said, MS would not be very high on my list of possibilities, but clearly something is amiss.

Hope to hear more from you.

Quix

[Erin0313]

  Hi! I am sorry that you have been going through so many yucky and painful things. Stress makes everything worse but it makes me angry when doctors say that is what is wrong with you. What that really means is that they don't know so blame it on stress.

You said this has been going on for 9 weeks and I know it feels like forever but that is really a very short time when it comes to diagnosing an autoimmune disease. Many people wait years or even decades to get diagnosed.

A lot of your symptoms could be caused by MS but there are so many other diseases that mimic each other without lots of tests to cross things off that list it would be really hard for anyone to give you an answer.

You mention the Mayo as part of your several doctors seen,? Do you have a primary care doctor that you see and knows your past medical history? Most difficult diseases are usually better sent to a Rheumatologist because they see it all so if you haven't seen one that would be the next place to go. They are usually relentless with searching for the cause and don't rule anything out without checking for it.

Wherever you go next be prepared with a list of all symptoms, medications and past medical history. It is so important to not forget things and it is easy to do when you are in  the exam room. Check out the Health pages in the upper right hand corner of the site for making a time line - it really helps.

Good luck!
Erin :)