ER Doctor says I may have MS or Lupus or both

[LucksGirl]

After going in circles off and on for yrs with different doctors and having two ER visits in the last 4days,I finally got a refferal to see the Nueological Team at GRU in Augusta Ga.

My symptoms consist of Headaches, pain in different parts of my body that feel like I'm being hit with electricity, jerks that have a pattern sometimes, blurred vision, excessive sweating, feeling like I'm in a fog, frequent urination and incontinence sometimes and not to mention feeling depressed from time to time.

I had blood work done a few days ago that showed my WBC and RBC as being low, the Sedimentation Rate was high and my ANA was positive with a Speckled pattern..CT Scan abnormal, MRI abnormal showing multiple foci of increased T2 and IR signal intensities involving the subcortial and deep white matter.

I was told by tbe ER doctor that I may have MS or Lupus or maybe even both, but that she was more concerned with MRI and CT then she was with the positive ANA ... I don't know what to think or how to feel about all this... Please give any advice or suggestions on what other test, questions etc.I should ask when I go to my neurology appointment...I'm desperate for your thoughts on this.    

[supermum_ms]

Unfortunately, the powers that be decided the health pages were not compatible with the new mobile system, you don't want to know the battle the CL's went through but the end result is that we lost our health pages anyway....Sorry folks!  

[immisceo]

I'm so sorry, Lucks. Those links I provided were actually to this site itself, but they seem to have removed the original paths (or the articles themselves) that I linked to. I've informed them of it, but they're not very good about addressing things like this. So, if you click on those links and keep seeing the same thing, it's NOT you, it's them!

[Jjewelz1987]

Definitely look into Lyme disease!  It can cause all the symptoms you have and it's overlooked by most doctors.  Also the testing for Lyme disease is only 50 percent accurate.  It's a big epidemic now a days that is going largely undiagnosed.  I know from personal experience.  There are also coinfections to consider too, they come along many times with Lyme disease

There's a great Lyme disease section right here on MedHelp.  Check it out and post your symptoms there, lots of helpful people on that section.

Good luck and hang in there!

[LucksGirl]

Thank you so much for your response...I will definitely look at these sites..I need as much info as I can get before seeing the neurologist.

[immisceo]

Take a deep breath. ER doctors don't diagnose. They triage and/or tackle immediate dangers. They can definitely get the ball rolling and get you in touch with the right people, though. I think going to see a neurologist is an appropriate step.

We actually have some health pages that may help you prepare for your upcoming appointment.

The importance of making a good timeline:
http://www.medhelp.org/tags/health_page/7687/Multiple-Sclerosis/The-Importance-of-the-Timeline?hp_id=765

The diagnostic criteria (this one may be a little outdated. It's changed every few years.): http://www.medhelp.org/tags/health_page/7687/Multiple-Sclerosis/Diagnosing-MS---The-McDonald-Criteria-Revised-2005-CHART?hp_id=506

Help with the lingo: http://www.medhelp.org/tags/health_page/7687/Multiple-Sclerosis/Commonly-used-MS-Acronyms?hp_id=438

The health pages are sadly hidden away, but here's a link to all of them.
http://www.medhelp.org/tags/show/7687/Multiple-Sclerosis?section=health_pages