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Has anyone heard of similar cases or experienced this themselves?

Hello! I am desperate for help. I am a female, 21 years old, and have recently experienced a life-altering complication. I'm not sure if this is related to my current situation, but in October I experienced flu-like symptoms for about two weeks. I had a fever, muscle spasms, and joint pain. Eventually I got over it, but occasionally I would come down with a cold that lasted a bit, as well as two instances of tonsillitis. Fast forward to February, drastic things started occurring. First my legs and buttox became extremely freezing. The chill was so intense that it was painful. However my legs to the touch felt normal. I also felt tingling in my brain and stomach. When my boss or counselor tried to talk to me, I could not register or retain what they were saying. At one point I became disoriented, feeling as though I could fall over. At one point my hearing went, but then it came back wishin a matter of moments. The tingling went away after a few days, but I noticed lasting effects. My formal thought process was not/ is not the same. I can't think of simple things to say. I've lost my sense of humor. My personality is gone, and I've lost a lot of my sense of empathy. I also noticed physical sensations have deteriorated. For example, I used to be extremely ticklish. Just the notion of someone about to tickle me would make me laugh. But now, when someone tries to tickle me, I feel hardly anything. I'll also mention that I've been tested for every STD and came out clean. With some of the symptoms I experienced, I thought it could be possible that I contracted HIV. It might sound silly, but again I am desperate. I
also had an MRI done and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Someone please help me
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1081992 tn?1389903637
In a post viral syndrome, the initial infection creates an immune reaction that continues long after the infection is gone.

Let's take a quick look at BMJ, about INFLAMMATORY/POST-INFECTIOUS ENCEPHALOMYELITIS
https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/75/suppl_1/i22

Bad neurological effects can result. "Post-infectious encephalomyelitis is associated with an antecedent or concomitant infection, usually viral." Please note that you do NOT have what is described in that paper particularly, because they are demyelinating diseases (the white myelin sheath around nerve axons are damaged, as in MS). Your MRI would have seen that damage.

But the major point remains that a *past* infection can create current encephalomyelitis. Maybe there are some rare "non-demyelinating post-infectious encephalomyelitis syndromes". It's something to consider, as there are no obvious other paths to look into. We're grasping at straws, but that might be a good straw.
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Some snippets:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19368974
"Many important central nervous system (CNS) syndromes can develop following microbial infections... Cerebrospinal fluid analysis usually shows lymphocytic pleocytosis but, unlike viral or bacterial encephalitis, no evidence of direct CNS infection is found."

1st line Tx are anti-immune/anti-inflammatory:
"High-dose intravenous steroids are accepted as first-line therapy and beneficial effects of plasma exchanges and intravenous immunoglobulins have also been reported."
Thank you so much for the information
1081992 tn?1389903637
Hi, are you aware that there are such things as 'post viral syndromes'? I think you are correct in your suspicion that the October episode might have kicked off the eventual major problem. That seems to be the best guess at the moment, anyway.

Or, have you been checked for Lyme? Lyme disease can do many mysterious things.



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I have heard about encephalitis that begins due to Herpes simplex 1 or 2 contraction, that you can contract the disease but rather than it showing up on your skin as a rash/bump, the virus can move to your brain, causing swelling which could explain the tingling sensation and the change in personality/cognition. Should I consider getting a spinal tap? Or because the symptoms appear to have ceased (the tingling at least) would such a virus no longer be detectable. I've heard about Lyme disease and will consider testing for that too.
Have you been tested for herpes? No matter how it presents, if you have it, it would show up on a type specific IgG blood test. This is an antibody test, and once you have herpes, you always have it, so you will always test positive for antibodies.

If you had an exposure in Oct that is concerning you, your tests now would be conclusive. Make sure it's type specific, and an IgG, not an IgM. The IgM is unreliable, and is designed to look for new infections, which wouldn't apply here.
Thank you! I'm not sure if I was tested for herpes. I was tested for serveral STDs and had a lot of blood work done as well. I'll ask my doctor specifically about an IgG.
207091 tn?1337709493
This is not any STD - no STD would give you symptoms like this, including HIV.

You had an MRI done - what part of your body did they do that on?

Have you seen a neurologist? It seems like that's where you should start.
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I had an MRI done on my brain. They said that the structures in my brain looked normal. There were no tumors and no veins appeared to have burst, etc. I've been waiting to get a referral for a neurologist, because I don't know what could've possibly happened.
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