severe tingling and migraines for 4 years,help!!

[nicholeserena]

I was bitten by an insect in 2004. a few weeks later i started having numbness and tingling sensations al over my body. then it was loss of taste briefly. next migraines, which i never had before, on the left side of my head. then severe short term memory loss which i still have. epidsode where i stop and stare in space for no reason. eye twitches snd mudcle spasms.burning and crawling sensations up my legs. vision problems and some more that i can't think of due to my short term memory loss. i went to one of the best hospital in the country, thomas jefferson university hospital to see a neurologist and was given every test known to man. mri's, evoked nerve test, cat scans, lyme disease, lupus, etc. i had every test except a spinal tap because of my fear of needles. i was told it was all in my mind and to go see a pyschologist. i went and was told i wasn't crazy and my symptoms were in fact real and to get a second opinion. also my mri's show a "light unfocused spot on the left side of my brain". excatly where my migraines are at. what could i have? i've been suffering for years now and i can't take it any longer. i have 2 sets of twins and i can't bare to have them brush up against me because of the burning,tingling,and all the other pain i go through if i'm touched. i was told it could be ms. Help!!!

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for writing in.
Since you have already been tested for Lymes disease it is probably ok to rule that out. At this point your symptoms seem to be unrelated to the insect bite. It seems to be a coincidence that’s all.
White spots on MRI are usually seen in long term migraine sufferers and people with chronic headaches. Other causes include MS, Alzheimer’s, high BP, diabetes, encephalitis and old age.
It is important to get a repeat scan done after 6 months to make a diagnosis of MS as I patients with MS these spots increase in size and distribution.

[Jules77733]

What kind of insect were you bitten by? Do you recall what it looks like?

Lyme disease was the first thing that came to mind, and it's important that you know that it's a clinical diagnosis--i.e. you can test negative for it, yet still have the disease (this typically occurs in the very late stages of the disease, from what I understand). You might want to bring this up to your GP.

This might be way out in left field, but have you looked into 'visceral leishmaniasis'? They're caused by sand-fly bites. I'm not sure if you live in an area that has sand flies anywhere nearby, but I figured it couldn't hurt to suggest this. What kind of parasites have they tested you for? Have you looked into toxoplasmosis?

Good luck, and I hope you figure out what you have soon. It sounds like whatever you have is causing some neurological degeneration, so I hope you start to feel better soon!