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Symptoms? Possible MS?

Hello! I hope everyone is doing well! A little about my past:

I'm 24 years old. History of Endometriosis/Adenomyosis and had discitis between my L3-4 at age two which resulted in some detention of that disc and some chronic low back pain in the area. Been on allergy meds and multi-vitamin for a year.

About five years ago, I began to experience waves of tingling on one side of my head or the other and seeing pin-points of bright white or blue light in my left peripheral vision which would go away as soon as they appeared but became more and more noticeable. The tingling would be in a very specific area of my scalp and would last for about 10-30 seconds and slowly subside.

I assumed these were maybe due to stress or the birth control pill I was on for my Endometriosis, but they were strange and concerning symptoms.  A week or two after first noticing these symptoms, I had what sounds to my neurologist like, a tonic clinic seizure. I would go on to have three of these in the next four-five months, none of which were witnessed. Two were just after waking up and one was in a Kroger bathroom floor.... Yuck. Ha! (Glad I laid my coat out beside me before that one happened so I didn't 'come to' directly on the nasty floor).

Went to a neurologist who did EEGs, and a brain MRI which came back clear. He said sometimes seizures just happen and they'll never happen again, and told me the tingling/lights were from silent migraine. Cardiologist told me i just was passing out from vasovagal syndrome, or something. Endocrinologist didn't have any explanation.

Fast forward a year or two and I still have the lights and tingles, thought the tingles have now traveled, at times, to my left hip area and sometimes my shoulder and last longer (one time my shoulder tingled in waves for a day).  I do go through periods of not having the tingles/lights and then periods of having it a lot. Then, I developed the shocking feeling upon bending my neck, which I can only believe was an episode of L'hermittes sign about twenty or so times in a week or two and haven't had it since.

Then, I started having muscle jerks in my left leg and arm. They were noticeable for me, and happen often enough for me to take note of, then, they disappeared for a while. I also had a period of feeling like the room would spin when I stood up.

Now, recently is when things have become a little scary. I became very depressed recently, which I unusal for me, so I got up on a low dose of Prozac, which was helping take the edge off. Then, a couple weeks ago, I noticed a strange, uneasy feeling in my left leg, then noticed my toes on it were twitching, slightly, almost constantly. I thought, maybeits the new Prozac, so I slightly lowered my dose (20mg to 15, then to 10mg/day).  

I then started having tingling down my whole left side and an on and off vibrating sensation in my left leg, thigh. Then, one night, I was almost asleep and I got a muscle cramp in my right leg (unusual, I've only had around two other muscle cramps in my life, literally, from swimming competitively, charlie horses). I felt my muscle and it was so tight and refused to relax until I finally fell asleep. Then, the next night, after tingling, buzzing, vibrating, all day, I had muscle after muscle in both my legs(but mainly left) cramp up. Then a couple in my arms and right side of my back and finally, left side of my neck. They were all hard as rocks. I was miserable all night long and so confused as to what could have caused this.

I've also noticed slight tremors in my hands, mainly left, super-sensitivity to pain and weird, 'cold' sensations on certain areas. Also, three random spots on my body that feel super painful to touch,like they've been injured, even though they haven't. AND, I have had a few days in the past week, where I have been so freakin tired that I just feel like I can't move. Literally have to take a nap in whatever position I fall into bed because I couldn't care less if it's comfortable and don't have the energy or will to move.

Finally, my newest addition to the symptoms is very sharp, prodding pains in my arms and legs. It's sharp, throbs when it comes on for 30/60 seconds and then disappates. It's the same type of pain in all these locations, and a weird type of pain that I've never felt before. Ibuprofen hasnt helped. This has been happening for four or five days without getting better.

SO, that's whats up. Feel like I'm going crazy this past Two weeks. Weened completely off the Prozac four days ago and the symptoms are persisting.  I used to think that maybe the lights/tingles were just hormones or stress induced and would eventually go away on their own, but now I'm wondering if I should go back to the Neuro for this boatload of new symptoms.

Questions:
Thoughts?
What type of pain can MS cause, like the nerve pain? How would you describe it?
Can MS make your ankle stiff? Cause my left ankle is also stiff beyond belief since all this started (especially when my toes started twitching), and Ive been having to walk down stairs funny because flexing it too much is painful in my Achilles area.

Thanks in advance if anyone read all of this! I'm very sorry for the dissertation. ;)


13 Responses
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Avatar universal
Hey, Alex!

Thank you for the response- I appreciate it! :) I hope you're doing well!

Yes, I'm hoping that'll be the next thing my PCP does, is the more specific blood work to see if DNA lupus test comes back with anything, or the S'jorgens one- both of which are things my Neuro mentioned.

Do you, ( or anyone else) know if Lupus, S'jorgens, or thyroid disease can cause the abonormalities on neurological exam?

Also- I think my B-12 was in the mid to upper 'normal' range (594). Would this rule out a B-12 issue causing symptoms?

I have a c & t spine MRI tomorrow. Haven't had one of those ever- just brain, which have both been clear.


I hope everyone's doing good!

Helpful - 0
667078 tn?1316000935
ANA just mean inflammation. They do an anti DNA to rule out Lupus. They normally check for Lupus, HIV and Neuro syphillus. Also thyroid and lyme. I do not know about the lyme.

Sounds like you have good doctors. Sometimes they do a Lumbar Puncture to look for MS.

I showed MS on my first MRI but I had tests for two years that all showed MS and were negative for everything else. My LP got me my diagnosis.

Alex
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Ana came back positive today. Guess my doctor will order more blood work to see about Lupus? Anybody know what other things could cause positive ANA?

Also- my Lyme came back as .25... I don't know what that means, though? Anyone have an idea?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Got some of my blood results back today:
Tsh: 1.8

B-12: 594
Folate: >20.00

Vitamin D, 25 Hydroxy:  44

WBC: 8.8
RBC: 4.4

Haven't gotten ANA or Lyme yet, I'm assuming they take a while longer.
Doc says everything looks fine, so far.

Anybody have any thoughts on the B-12 or TSH? As in, are the standard tests normally reliable to rule out any issues with those that could be causing my symptoms?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello again everyone! Thank you all very much for the kind responses. I really appreciate them.

I got in to see my neurologist much quicker than expected, due to a cancellation (score!) and saw him a couple weeks ago. I had a list of everything I'd experienced since seeing him last, in 2011, I believe.

He looked over the symptoms, asked questions and did an exam. I had left sided babinskis, left sided weakness and brisk reflexes on my left side.

He also spent a good amount of time all up in my right eye with a light before asking if I ever had double vision or if I just see the lights, as my only visual symptom. I told him I'd had the one, very brief incident late one night recently, with slight double vision, but it went away by the next morning and I chalked it up to fatigue and eye strain. He said that my right optic disc/nerve appeared swollen.

Then he sat me down and very slowly and carefully told me that he's not the kind of doctor to not tell a patient what he's thinking, and right now he's thinking MS is the strongest possibility. He said we'd scedule tests and then meet back and discuss findings.

I asked him, of course, what else it could be if not MS, he mentioned Lupus, Lyme (asked me about ticks- haven't been bit since I was maybe seven or so? I'm 24 now.), Thyroid disease (asked me about my levels and I told him the standard tests came back normal in January), S'jorgens, B-12, "some kind of inflammatory tissue disease".

I went and had evoked potentials done for my vision, though I don't know the results of that, yet. And, I had a brain MRI which came back clear, at least from the radiologist who initially read it- not sure if my Neuro has looked at it yet.

I'm scheduled to have a C & T spine MRI Thursday, so we'll see how that one comes back. I have a feeling, if it IS MS, that it might be more likely to show up on my spine anyway, because Ive had L'hermittes a couple of different times in the past.  I'm Also having problems with, what I guess you would call spasticity? My leg muscles, primary left, constantly spasm/cramp/twitch especially at night and my left ankle and muscles are stiff and very.... Muscular, right now. Ha! They're just tight. I had read that these are symptoms that are more associated with spinal involvement, but I could be wrong about that... We'll see!

I went to my PCP to get some blood work done, don't have those results yet either. I believ she checked for Lyme, Thyroid, B-12, Lupus (ANA?), Magnesium, and maybe a couple others I'm not remembering.  

Is there anything else you all could recommend I be checked for, specifically or any advice you would give going forward? Thanks for reading! :) Sorry I wrote a lot, again.
Helpful - 0
1831849 tn?1383228392
Reading your additional info made me think of migraines. I used to get them when I was in high school. They were aaalways marked by a series of "warningss". In my case the most prominent were visual disturbances. These were often accompanied by nausea.

I suspect that as wityh MS, migraine symptoms can vary greatly from person to person. It seems like it might be worth looking in to.

Kyle
Helpful - 0
987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
It sounds like you probably experience warnings called 'partial seizure' leading up to the tonic-clonic seizure. Babinskis reflex is actually associated with other conditions other than MS, seizures and spinal cord conditions both are but i don't know enough to give you any specifics, sorry!

It's always a good idea to remain open minded, symptoms of MS overlap many other medical conditions, and with your history of seizures which is very uncommon in MS (only around 2%), it's just more likely to be related or something else associated with epilepsy, which is 3 times more common than MS is.....

Try to keep a diary of before, during and after these episodes, so even if they are improved when you get back to your neurologist, at least you'll have some evidence of the frequency, time of day, situation specifics and exactly what you experience etc.

Try not to worry too much if you can, as you said it doesn't help. It might be helpful with getting things moving quicker to contact your neurologist clinic, as you were diagnosed with tonic-clonic seizure episodes and already have a prior history there. Let us know how you get on

Cheers.........JJ
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the response, Alex! :) yea, something is definitely up with my body the past few weeks. I'm trying not to stress out about it because I know, no matter what it is, that stress will only make it worse. Hopefully, when I get in with my neurologist, he'll be able to give me some type of answer. Thanks, again! This is a nice community you all have here! :)
Helpful - 0
667078 tn?1316000935
Something weird is going on. If you have an appointment with a MS Specialist it normally takes months to get an appointment. I have nothing more to add to JJ and Kyle.

Alex
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Whoops! I'm still getting used to this board. I responded to your question below. ;) thank you, again, for your response!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you both for taking the time to read my super long post and for your responses. I'll definitely remain open minded going forward. I made an appointment with my neurologist, but haven't received the paperwork yet.  It's so frustrating to have to wait months for an appointment when I know most of my symptoms will probably be gone or lessened by then.

I do have Babinskis reflex in my left foot which was not there when I first was evaluated all those years ago so I feel like there is something wrong. Just have to narrow down what it is.

In response to your question supermum_ms : yes, I did always feel the 'episodes' coming on. I would feel my heart racing, very nauseous (hence, the bathroom), start seeing lots of those lights, and lightheaded like I was going to pass out. So, I ran to the bathroom, in that instance, and dropped my bag and coat on the floor, then, ended up sitting down and falling over onto the coat, when I came to, I was jerking my fists and knees up towards my face and had to take a minute to collect myself and remember what had just happened and where I was.

I went to get a cold towel from the sink and was a horrible yellowy green color with beads of sweat on my face and after my mom took me home, slept for hours, very tired.
Helpful - 0
1831849 tn?1383228392
Hi Mallori -

I agree with JJ that it's unlikely that MS is causing all your symptoms. As it's entirely possible to have MS and other medical issues, it's possible that MS is cause some of your problems.

To find out you should see a neuro that specializes in MS. There are a lot of blood tests, MRIs and other tests involved. Most important is the clincal exam. An MS doc will see things that untrained eyes will not.

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

Some of what you mention can be suggestive of a neurological condition but to be honest, you just have far too much going on and in such a short time frame [it's moving around, sometimes unilateral, sometimes bilateral, 30/60 seconds etc] that i doubt MS would be at the top of your list of possible causes.

I'm totally confused by this......."I had what sounds to my neurologist like, a tonic clinic seizure.........one was in a Kroger bathroom floor.... Yuck. Ha! (Glad I laid my coat out beside me before that one happened so I didn't 'come to' directly on the nasty floor).".........are you saying your coat was already on the floor OR that you actually knew the seizure was coming and placed your coat on the floor before it hit?

MS is a disease of the central nervous system, theoretically MS can cause symptoms to develop anywhere and whilst MS is unique to the individual, there is still a pattern of symptom development and what you've described doesn't sound consistent with MS. I would definitely suggest you contact you neurologist to discuss what's been happening but try to be open minded, MS has many mimics and it really may not be MS!

Cheers.........JJ
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