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Does this sound like MS?

18 F here. So a month ago I woke up with the left field of vision of my left eye very blurry, left side of my face completely numb. It hurt to move my eyes and look up. I also had weakness in my left leg and extreme fatigue. Parts of my body just started going numb randomly. Over the past month, I've had symptoms like dizziness, headaches, brain fog (can't remember things anymore), drooping eyelid (MG?) neck and back pain, frequent urination, heavy legs, grey spots in vision, spasms. I've also had an electric shock sensation(not painful, just uncomfortable) for the past 8 months(Lhermittes sign?) That I seem to be getting much more often now. I've also been 'zoning out' and staring blankly at things much more often. I was sure it couldn't be MS because my symptoms seem to come and go. I can be sick today and then tomorrow feel ok.  

My brain MRI(without contrast) came back negative. B12 levels are 220. Doctors Ive been to are no help. They think it's anxiety or migraines. I was convinced it's a b12 deficiency but yesterday I took a hot bath for an hour and I couldn't walk after that. I started having  spasms all over my body, shortness of breath and blurry vision. So now I'm scared. Can this be MS?? Please help!
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667078 tn?1316000935
How did your neurological exam come out? That is reflexes and such if it is normal it is not MS. Any doctor can do a neurological exam. That is how they found my MS. It is easy.

Alex
Helpful - 0
987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi and welcome,

I completely agree with imm, what you have mentioned honestly wouldn't be consistent with a neurological condition like MS, due to the way MS lesion damage basically works, what you have described experiencing would actually be pointing away from neurological conditions like MS and not towards...

MS just doesn't present and or develop so many different symptoms over such a short time frame of a month or so, your symptom behaviour is far too random, all over, coming and going from one day to the next etc. If both your MRI and neurological assessments (neurological clinical signs of abnormality) were also normal, neurological conditions like MS would not be on your list of 'most likely' explanations because you've got too many red flags leading away.

Both migraine and health anxiety are legitimate alternative medical explanations, though i would think mental health would be more consistent than migraine, because you've experienced a lot of symptoms that would put migraine as a less likely explanation. Keep in mind that if you haven't have full blood work up it's even possible it could be something else entirely eg mono, viral, vit deficientcy, childhood disease etc

*IF* mental health conditions like health anxiety, conversion disorder etc are a 'possible' explanation.....it's not uncommon to start experiencing 'similar' symptoms after reading about MS, the rapid development and behavioural pattern could also be suggestive with what can commonly occur with some types of mental health conditions.

*IF* you were dealing with something like health anxiety etc, you could be unconsciously experiencing the same or similar to what you believe would happen when someone does have MS. Hot baths will commonly cause someone with MS to 'temporarily' experience their previously remitted MS issues to return and or their everyday none remitting MS issues to worse......but it's not unexpected for anybody to experience heat exhaustion after an hour in a hot bath if the water is hot enough, you dehydrate, have a viral infection, anaemic etc etc etc.

What you've described experiencing after your hot bath, would not typically be consistent with what your thinking would be MS Uhthoff's phenomenon, to me it does sound like what i'd expect with heat exhaustion. I would recommend you start by seeing your doctor about getting your mental health appropriately assessed, it will help rule in or out MH causations and you should ask your doctor what else could it be that I haven't been tested for yet...

Cheers...........JJ
Helpful - 0
1831849 tn?1383228392
I agree with immie. What you describe sounds far too random to be MS. While the symptoms of MS cover a wide range, they generally do not come and go at random and very few of us have all of them.

I would try and follow the suggestions of your doctors. If it is anxiety based, googling sysmptoms will only makke things worse.

Kyle
Helpful - 0
5112396 tn?1378017983
If your doctors have made some diagnostic suggestions, they *are* helping. If you try treating anxiety and/or migraines and find no relief, then you'll know that's likely not what you're dealing with. Otherwise, you're choosing not to take their potentially correct suggestions into account. Have you been assessed by a neurologist?

"Parts of my body just started going numb randomly." This points away from something like MS.

"Over the past month, I've had..." This points away from MS. Symptoms do not usually appear this suddenly and in this many areas of the body due to the way the damage in the central nervous system occurs.

I would see what course of action is recommended for the potential anxiety or migraine issues, while perhaps finding a neurologist to double check. You certainly have a lot of issues on your plate, but it really doesn't sound to me like MS is what you're dealing with.
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