Hello,
I would first like to say thank you to all who post and answer questions on these boards. It seems as though this is a very caring community - one that makes me feel safe in posting without being judged. I know this will probably be long but will try to keep it as short as possible.
So, my husband (and probably kids) thinks I'm a hypochondriac at worst and dramatically oversensitive at the least. I'm a 43 y.o. wife, mother, and elementary school librarian with a relatively clean health history. In hindsight, I have pieced together that I have been having unusual "symptoms" since at least November, 2012.
In Nov. 12, I started having extremely itchy breasts and chest. No amount of lotion, hydrocortisone cream, or body oil gave any relief. I hadn't changed any products I used to be causing an allergy, so I made an appointment with my gp. She couldn't think of anything and referred me to my gyno. This doctor told me basically it was in my mind, or that perhaps I had "itchy winter breast syndrome." (I haven't been back since). I called my gp for my yearly mammogram refrral.
Mammo had normal results and at the end of Jan. 13/early Feb. 13 it just stopped. Fast forward to July of 2013 and while on vacation I began getting very dizzy at random times. I chalked it up to being in the mountains and spending lots of time in the car (maybe motion sickness?). As the end of summer and early fall went along the dizziness continued to get worse. It was affecting my balance and really effecting my everyday life. I couldn't stand to see the students at my school go by in a line without sitting down or nearly falling over. I continued to drive but riding in a car as a passenger was awful. By Nov./Dec of 2013, I tried to move my head as little as possible and started having numbness/tingling in my toes on my left foot. Sometimes the tingling would travel up my leg, but remained constant in my toes.
I went back to my gp in Jan. 14 and she ordered an MRI. My insurance did a "peer review" and decided the MRI was not necessary and thus it was not performed. She instead prescribed meclazine and blood tests including thyroid and b12. My b12 came back at 185 and she started me on b12 injections weekly for a month, and then monthly thereafter.
At first, I thought the b12 shots were the miracle cure. It seemed to help significantly with the tingling and the motion issues seemed to be improving. However, as the months went by, I started to notice that the symptoms were returning/worsening before it was time for another shot.
In June, 2014 I took a trip to California (5 1/2 hour flight). After returning home, I had the tingling in my left calf. I thought it was from the flight (and checked the symptoms for a blood clot). It continued for about two weeks and then disappeared.
Then one week ago today, my left forearm started tingling/numbness that sometimes extended into my hand and fingers. I had a doctor appointment for last Wednesday for a re-check on my blood pressure (recently starting taking meds for hereditary hypertension). Told gp about the tingling/numbness and she performed some minor neurological checks like reflexes, squeeze her fingers, can you feel this etc. She also ordered an MRI which is scheduled for Thursday and told me she thought it might be MS.
There are days where it feels as though weights are hanging from my arms and I don't have the strength to lift them or keep them up. I am exhausted all the time, sometimes needing a nap before I can even begin dinner. I can't seem to regulate my temperature and being in the heat or cold always brings on tingling. I've been saying for a year and a half that something is not right. Am I CRAZY??
I do not want MS. I do not want any medical condition actually. But I do not want to continue to feel like I am crazy either. I know there is something not right.
Thank you for reading. It makes me feel better just to get it out among people that have experienced similar symptoms, whether MS or not.
I would first like to say thank you to all who post and answer questions on these boards. It seems as though this is a very caring community - one that makes me feel safe in posting without being judged. I know this will probably be long but will try to keep it as short as possible.
So, my husband (and probably kids) thinks I'm a hypochondriac at worst and dramatically oversensitive at the least. I'm a 43 y.o. wife, mother, and elementary school librarian with a relatively clean health history. In hindsight, I have pieced together that I have been having unusual "symptoms" since at least November, 2012.
In Nov. 12, I started having extremely itchy breasts and chest. No amount of lotion, hydrocortisone cream, or body oil gave any relief. I hadn't changed any products I used to be causing an allergy, so I made an appointment with my gp. She couldn't think of anything and referred me to my gyno. This doctor told me basically it was in my mind, or that perhaps I had "itchy winter breast syndrome." (I haven't been back since). I called my gp for my yearly mammogram refrral.
Mammo had normal results and at the end of Jan. 13/early Feb. 13 it just stopped. Fast forward to July of 2013 and while on vacation I began getting very dizzy at random times. I chalked it up to being in the mountains and spending lots of time in the car (maybe motion sickness?). As the end of summer and early fall went along the dizziness continued to get worse. It was affecting my balance and really effecting my everyday life. I couldn't stand to see the students at my school go by in a line without sitting down or nearly falling over. I continued to drive but riding in a car as a passenger was awful. By Nov./Dec of 2013, I tried to move my head as little as possible and started having numbness/tingling in my toes on my left foot. Sometimes the tingling would travel up my leg, but remained constant in my toes.
I went back to my gp in Jan. 14 and she ordered an MRI. My insurance did a "peer review" and decided the MRI was not necessary and thus it was not performed. She instead prescribed meclazine and blood tests including thyroid and b12. My b12 came back at 185 and she started me on b12 injections weekly for a month, and then monthly thereafter.
At first, I thought the b12 shots were the miracle cure. It seemed to help significantly with the tingling and the motion issues seemed to be improving. However, as the months went by, I started to notice that the symptoms were returning/worsening before it was time for another shot.
In June, 2014 I took a trip to California (5 1/2 hour flight). After returning home, I had the tingling in my left calf. I thought it was from the flight (and checked the symptoms for a blood clot). It continued for about two weeks and then disappeared.
Then one week ago today, my left forearm started tingling/numbness that sometimes extended into my hand and fingers. I had a doctor appointment for last Wednesday for a re-check on my blood pressure (recently starting taking meds for hereditary hypertension). Told gp about the tingling/numbness and she performed some minor neurological checks like reflexes, squeeze her fingers, can you feel this etc. She also ordered an MRI which is scheduled for Thursday and told me she thought it might be MS.
There are days where it feels as though weights are hanging from my arms and I don't have the strength to lift them or keep them up. I am exhausted all the time, sometimes needing a nap before I can even begin dinner. I can't seem to regulate my temperature and being in the heat or cold always brings on tingling. I've been saying for a year and a half that something is not right. Am I CRAZY??
I do not want MS. I do not want any medical condition actually. But I do not want to continue to feel like I am crazy either. I know there is something not right.
Thank you for reading. It makes me feel better just to get it out among people that have experienced similar symptoms, whether MS or not.
). These changes continued for the next 18 months until my final diagnosis of MS in June, 2010. I was 58.5. Welcome to the golden years!
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