Is this MS? Or what is this?

[Mysterynerves]

Hi, I'm a 32 year old caucasian female. I have been having many neurologic symptoms since the birth of my first child. Then go into "remission" while pregnant and flare up after the birth (I have 3 kids). I saw a neurologist a few years ago who ordered blood and MRI to rule out MS. Both were negative. Here I am after my 3rd child with a laundry list of symptoms that come and go and seem to be exacerbated by stress. I have a history of temporary blindness in one eye. It only lasted a few hours after I noticed it when I woke up in the morning. My ophthalmologist has pointed out I have a thinning optic nerve but a neurophthalmologist who specializes in MS told me the duration of my temporary blindness is not consistent with optic neuritis and my nerve size is probably an anatomical variation.

My symptoms include:
Parasthesia of hands and feet- electric shock pain and numbness
Vertigo
Feeling like I am walking on a boat on choppy sea (the floor seems to move or feel like it is dropping under me)
Extreme fatigue
Trigeminal, occipital and now I believe I may be experiencing glossopharyngeal neuralgia?)
My husband often points out my eyes rapidly move side to side
Severe dry eye-my eye lids are glued to my eyeballs in the morning
I have felt like my proprioception is off- I have to focus on my arm movement to be able to follow it through
Tinnitus since age 8
Hand tremors
A bout of unilateral facial numbness and droopy eyelid
Sometimes it hurts to breathe
Burning sensation of arms but they are cold to touch
Feeling of rubberband wrapped tightly around fingers (tourniquet feeling)
Random stabbing pains of what I believe are my nerves throughout my body

My last minor URI had me in bed in extreme full body pain. Girdle pain. Extreme fatigue. Stabbing pain in heels. No signs of fever.

Is this MS? Should I keep serching for a dx ? Or is this something else?

I was bitten by a tick in Minnesota in 1990. My recent neuro checked for Lyme but negative.

I doubt anxiety is my answer. I am too busy running around 3 kids under 5 to think about much and I had sort of put this on the backburner and "lived with it" until it recently started to mess with my cranial nerves and it became more obvious.

[aspen2]

I'll add a couple of things to JJ's answer.  Were you assessed for Sjorgen's Syndrome?  Dry eyes and mouth are a hallmark of that diagnosis, and it can cause both central and peripheral nervous system symptoms.

The dry eyes may be completely unrelated to your other symptoms, of course.  But there is actual testing for Sjorgen's so potentially it could be ruled out.

The last suggestion I have; pregnancy and three kids under 5 can really deplete our nutrient levels.  Please make sure you have a full vitamin and mineral work up -- especially B12, D, magnesium.  Work to repair any deficiencies that show up.  Deficiencies in these three can cause havoc in the nervous system.  You may see some improvement by addressing this.

Hope this helps!

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

Generally because of the way MS lesion damage basically works, neurological conditions like MS wouldn't typically be on the potential causation list for the bulk of your mentioned symptoms; ie presenting in all peripheral limbs ("hands and feet- electric shock pain and numbness"), random throughout the body symptoms ("Random stabbing pains of what I believe are my nerves throughout my body"), all over symptoms ("extreme full body pain")...

...phalanges banding sensation ("rubberband wrapped tightly around fingers (tourniquet feeling) "), dry eye ("Severe dry eye-my eye lids are glued to my eyeballs in the morning"), respiratory issues ("hurts to breathe"), and whilst there are different types of Tinnitus, neurological Tinnitus in childhood is more typically developmental or caused by trauma than a disease ("Tinnitus since age 8").

People with MS can experience problems with hearing, such as tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and or sudden hearing loss, but it's definitely not a common issue, and from what i understand Tinnitus is pretty rare as an MS symptom....this is a childhood issue that is likely unrelated to what you are experiencing as an adult.

I think your more likely dealing with something other than glossopharyngeal neuralgia...

"Glossopharyngeal neuralgia, a rare disorder, usually begins after age 40 and occurs more often in men.

Often, its cause is unknown.

But sometimes glossopharyngeal neuralgia occurs when an abnormally positioned artery compresses the glossopharyngeal nerve near where the nerve exits the brain stem.

The long, pointed bone at the base of the skull (styloid process) is abnormally long and compresses the nerve.

Rarely, the cause is a tumor in the brain or neck, an abscess, a bulge (aneurysm) in an artery in the neck (carotid artery), or multiple sclerosis."
http://www.merckmanuals.com/en-pr/home/brain,-spinal-cord,-and-nerve-disorders/cranial-nerve-disorders/glossopharyngeal-neuralgia

To be totally honest i haven't a clue what type of condition this would all fit into, if you have a history of a tick bite, you might consider having a chat with the nice people in our lyme community who may be able to shed more light on if lyme would fit...

hope that helps....JJ