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parkinsons disease or MS

Hi new here,
I was dxed with parkinson's 8 years ago.As of a week ago i was told it might not be parkinsons disease but MS or worse yet another neurological disorder .Dr order a MRI of my brain.Next he said one of my neck???I suffer from severe stiffness,waddling gait ,walking problems,small tremors,and going to the Dr today for cloudy vision in my left eye.I am 44 female,with other health issues too.I have heard MS a lot from a few doctors through out my life.So really not a big shock.
I was wondering if any of you have had a similar problem with a misdiagnosis...

Thanks so much !Happy to hear from ya'll!
6 Responses
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1831849 tn?1383228392
Hi cessy

I have two kinds of symptoms; major symptoms associated with my last relapse and 24/7/365 symptoms.

The first group included extreme fatigue, pronounced muscle weakness, 24/7 double vision, gait problems, balance issues. These all receded after 5 days of high dose IV steroids.

The second group is with me everyday. It includes double vision for 3-5 minutes when I wake up, neuropathic foot pain (responding well to meds), urinary hesitancy, chronic constipation, loss of leg control after about 30 minutes of walking (Used to be able to walk 26.2 miles).  My little reminders that I'm a lifetime member of the MS club :-)

Kyle
Helpful - 0
987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi Cessy and welcome to our little MS community,

Diagnosis Parkinson's in a someone in their 30's would generally be classed as early onset Parkinson's and because of the rarity of Parkinson's for that age group, misdiagnoses would definitely be a possibility. I've actually read statistics that put the misdiagnosis rate as high as 1 in 5 in general for Parkinson's.

MS would definitely be a lot more common for your age group and gender than early onset Parkinson's, but it's kind of mind boggling to me for them to of skipped over MS in favour of a rarer condition, that is probably even more difficult to dx in your age group than MS is. Hmmm Cerebellar lesions (tremor, in-coordination, spasticity, gate abnormalities etc ) could potentially mimic Parkinson's and it would likely produce quite similar clinical signs to Parkinson's too.

Honestly, i think you may benefit from looking through all your test results leading up to the diagnosis of Parkinson's, and note if there has been any recorded changes over the last 8 years. In regards to alternative causation, your neurological assessments will be clinically abnormal, these 'clinical signs' are what indicate a neurological causation eg Clonus, Nystagmus, hyper-reflexes, Babinski, Bradykinesia etc etc. and they will of all been recorded by your neurologist.

In regards to MS, your brain and or spinal MRI's would need to have shown some lesions, although the type of lesions may not of been specifically identified, their location(s) and or if there are any changes over the years are often a major clue to MS being a potential cause or not. I'd have to assume you had other tests eg nerve conductor tests, DaTSCAN, LP, blood tests etc whilst going through the diagnostic process, these results will also have either pointed towards or away from MS.  

Personally, after being physically active I can resemble someone with Parkinson's (eg MJF), the rhythmic tremor and jerky movements I generally have become more pronounced and there's just no hiding it. I suppose one of the main differences with Parkinson's though is that my speech and vision is usually also effected. Tremor is one element i've had since 09 lol even my head is doing the no no no no bobble head impersonation, though i don't actually stop moving unless at rest.

Cheers...........JJ  

Helpful - 0
667078 tn?1316000935
I was misdiagnosed for over 40 years. I had my first MS attack when I was a toddler. They always knew I had brain stem damage but not the cause.To be fair in 1965 they did not have MRIs and they did not think children got MS. I have not heard of too many people on the Forum going from Parkisons to MS. If it were me I would like to have MS over Parkinson but that is me.

I went from possible  AVM, to Chiari Malformation, to brain tumor, to Lupus, and finally MS. I was relieved when it ended up to be MS.

Alex
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Avatar universal
oops.  I didn't see this one and posted in your other one.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks so much for writing back...it means a lot...with my parkinsons disease it should have progressed more ..although i have progressed with my stiffness and gait..my dr said i should be more like MJF ..wiggling all around ..which i do not..my neuro did say he is sending me to a dr that deals with rare disorders..I HAVE been through many ,many dr and test over the years..Doctors are kinda perplexed with me..If you don't mind can i ask what are your symtoms?
Helpful - 0
1831849 tn?1383228392
Hi Cessy - Welcome to the group.

Both MS and Parkinson's are neurological diseases with notproof positive test. I would thinbk to the untrained eye they might be mistaken for each other.

One diagnostic tool used for MS is MRI. There are more often than not   visible lesions in the central nervous system on MS folks. I'm not sure the same is tru of Parkinson's. Initially MS is a relapsing - remitting disease. Symptoms flare up and then subside for extended periods of time. I'm not sure Parkinson's patients experience this kind of remission.

You mention that you have seen several docs over the years. Were any of them MS specialists? In your shoes I would find one. They will be able to determine whether or not hyou have MS.

KYLE
Helpful - 0
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