think wife has MS

[jheath]

Hello, was looking for an opinion on our situation.  My wife is 33 years old and has been what showing what I think are MS signs.  In her right hand she has the pins and needs or tingling feeling also some weakness in that arm.  Her right leg starter with muscle spasms and now is weak.  It's been going on and getting worse for a week and a half.  Her finger also have become swollen at the joints making them stiff.  When I rub her leg her thigh feels very tight, like the muscle is tense.  She does also have hashimoto disease as well (doesn't take meds for it)  She says her left hand is generally fine but feels very minor tingling.

Her aunt past away about five years ago and she had MS as well.  She was paralyzed and progressed quickly (don't think she had much treatment) and had a host of other mental and physical issues as well.   we have two young daughters andrea this scares me greatly, but I also know she is not her aunt and would get better care.

[jheath]

We completed the MRI and all blood work, it all came back normal.  So we are still undiagnosed, but she was feeling better.  However in an unrelated incident she broke her ankle coming down some stairs.  He spasms have gotten better and arm weakness appears to be getting better too, but we now know its not MS, so that does help.  Her neuro thinks she might have put pressure on nerves causing the tingling, but did not seem too concerned.  We will be going back to her endocrinologist soon, even though thyriod numbers came back normal.  

[jheath]

Wife and I just went to neurologist and he scheduled through mri for tomorrow.  Our follow up is Friday so hopefully we will have some answers.  He did the EMG on her arm and it came out normal.  He also said he doesn't think its MS because he felt it was presenting weird if it was.  However the mri will be more definitive.  Thanks for listening.  Jeff

[sllowe]

Hi there,

Welcome! With the aunt's journey - I surely understand the concern and fears.
I would definitely mention these symptoms to the doctor who dx the hashimotos. Thyroid can be a super big mimic of MS symptoms.

Can you convince her to go to the doc who dx'd her initially? I sure hope so.
So nice of you to come to us and ask for guidance. Surely you just want what's best, and I admire you looking into this on her behalf :)
-shell

[Lulu54]

The first course of action should probably be to treat the known autoimmune disease and see how she reacts to that before investigating a new one unless the clinical exam raises all sorts of red flags.   Once the Hashimotos is under control then you would see what problems are still not addressed.

Of course I'm no doctor, but that seems to be the accepted course of action. Good luck and discuss this all with her doctor.

[Sumanadevii]

I would definitely call your PCP and if he/she doesn't refer you to a neuro for testing, I would find one myself.  It may be hashimoto disease but you can have more than one disease at a time.  I wouldn't be willing to put all my eggs in one basket.  I would want to be sure there wasn't something else lurking in the dark.

JMO

[Lulu54]

welcome.  It is so easy to jump to big conclusions without having all the evidence.  A diagnosis of MS takes time with a skilled neurologist who understands the disease, can do the necessary exams, and look at all the clinical signs.

We just had a person who thought they had MS come back through here to let us know the final diagnosis was really Hashimoto and that might be the case with your wife.  It is also an autoimmune disorder.  An out of whack thyroid can show up in many ways through the body.

If you have read about Hashimoto's you already know that it is common to have swelling in small joints, particularly in the hands.  MS does not cause this type of swelling.  Hashimotos can also cause weakness in the lower limbs.  

You say she is not on treatment for her thyroid, and that is probably not such a wise choice.  The thyroid can be regulated in this disease and dramatically improve her quality of life.  She needs to talk to a specialist who can talk through all the options with her.

I'm sorry to hear about her aunt - there is one very rare form of MS that progresses rapidly but for the rest of us, we will live just about as long as everyone else in the general population.

Feel free to come back and ask all the quesitons you can think of - we'll try to help.

best to you both,
Lulu

[sadie405]

Hi there--

So sorry your wife is dealing with these symptoms.  I would suggest calling her primary care doctor's office ASAP and telling them about the sudden onset of these symptoms-- she needs to be seen ASAP by her doctor, and probably a rheumatologist and/or neurologist.  

The symptoms you mention could indeed be due to MS, but they could also be due to a host of other diseases--Lupus, for example.  

Best of luck to you both!  Let us know what the doctor says.

Sadie