Hi there,
My brother has had an issue with his back for about a year and a half to two years now. He did physical therapy and massage therapy for about a year, after being told it was a strained muscle. The pain continued so this past summer, he went to a new doctor who noticed it was not a strained muscle at all but what the doctor thought was cartilage that's grown to protect his muscles from a previous injury as well as scoliosis. My brother went back to physical and massage therapy. The mass continued to grow and become even more painful. He went to a chiropractor and had acupuncture performed. MRI's showed no obvious signs of a tumor, and doctors had no idea what it was, although they could see a growth. This past August, he went to college in Indiana and woke up one morning and couldn't feel or move his legs. He went to the ER and was sent back home to NY because the doctor said he needed far more work done then they could give him. Since then, his legs have gone numb many times and when he gets numb his eyes hurt and he gets dizzy and agitated.
Today he had scans of his brain and abdomen. Does anyone know what this could be? He has lost 15 pounds in the past 2 weeks and is already a skinny kid to begin with (but my mom has made sure to have him eat every meal everyday). He is also extremely exhausted. For background - he's a 19 year old male. Weighed 180 before the weight loss and is 6'5".
In addition - I have been diagnosed with Behcets Disease, an autoimmune condition that presents itself (for me) with extreme GI pain/inflammation/bleeding, cankersores, joint pain, and skin lesions. Don't know if it's related, but worth mentioning.
Thank you.