30 yr old mama ms? Negative LP, Abnormal MRI
I'm 30 years old and have two beautiful kiddos. I probably should mention before I begin with all of my craziness, MS does run in my family, my great uncle and aunt have it. Okay Now Bring on the craziness!
It all began in 2011 or 2012, not entirely sure which. But I kept getting the flu. Sort of... aching legs terribly, headaches, occasional vertigo and feeling extremely run down. I would be "down" for a day or two and then would bounce back and carry on. This went on for quite some time. When summer arrived I had yet another round of "sickness" but this time I didn't bounce back as quickly, which was extremely frustrating.
A new symptom also was annoying me. I had a weird numbness and tingling sensation on what felt like the left part of my spine. Self diagnosed myself with a pinch nerved and carried on my merry way. The sick days continued and felt as though they were more frequent. But chasing my kiddos and living life kept me distracted and I never worried about it.
Fast forward to 2013, was really having a lot of days where I felt awful. Run down, and my legs were aching and the muscles felt so tight. I couldn't push through or ignore it like before. On top of that my energy levels were pretty much non existent without drinking massive amounts of caffeine. At some point I did realize there was something going on with me but wouldn't go to the doctor. I just kept hoping it would go away.
Some symptoms came and went but my legs were increasingly painful. Fatigue was clearly a problem and I had numbness effecting my left leg. Occasionally it felt like it weighed 1000lbs! Was so so heavy and again just irritating.
I finally brought myself to the doctors in March of this year. Still completely unaware of what could be wrong, the first question the doctor asked was any history of ms in your family? Still didn't even consider it an option. He ran a million blood tests and called that afternoon with the results. All were normal. With the exception of my magnesium and vitamin d. Mag low but vit d, extremely low. Strange because we spend a lot time outside even in the winter.
I was sent for a MRI w/out contrast beginning of April. The doctor called and wanted to see me to discuss results. Oh boy. He told me they were not normal. Geez thanks. Referred me to a Neuro. She was brand new, and was very easy to get into, lucky me!
Waited for a couple of weeks and off I went. She took one look at me said because 2 family members have ms does not mean You do. The bright spots or whatever they were called could be anything.
Vitamin d was low because we were coming out of winter. Asked about my life had me do a couple of things and within 15 mins She decided I was just a tired mom and wanted me to take sleeping pills, return in 30 days if symptoms continued. Really? I could barely function as it was the very last thing I was going to do was take sleeping medication.
While I agreed completely that if ms ran in my family it didn't mean that was it. But sleep deprivation was not the problem. Or a problem. I was sleeping more than I ever had due to fatigue! I hated it! I I was advised to find another Neuro. Did so and had until the end if July to wait.
In the mean time it was hot and I was becoming an overheated mama! The high temps were kickin my bum. The numbness and tingling continued and sometimes effected my entire left side. Head to toe. On top of that my legs were brutal. The muscles hurt so badly. Any outside work I was doing was short lived due to either being too hot or when weeding my garden my feet and legs cramped up so badly I had to stop.
At some point I started having these very weird twitches or spasms in my legs. They felt like they were going crazy, like the muscles were jumping all around in there. Weed whacking caused my hands and arms to cramp up as well. What in the world was happening to me? I'm 30 years old!
Neuro number 2 came along. He is well respected and has been in practice for over 30 years. At the end of the appointment he said he was thinking either ms or a connective tissue disease. Eek. I knew about MS had no idea about this connective tissue disease. He ordered a spinal tap and another round of blood work. Vitamin d was still low but cpk was Normal. Spinal tap next. Waited and waited and waited.
Finally got a call saying the spinal was negative for ms and Lyme test would be back after weekend. Waited 3 weeks finally called the office. She said it was negative. Okay Now what? She wasn't sure she would have to call me back. Again. She did the next day and said the doctor said to See a rheumatologist. See your doctor for referral. Good luck with everything.
Oh good grief. Back to my Primary I went. He was not impressed at all with Neuro number 2 leaving testing after lp, he said lots of times this can be negative. And I need additional testing. He strongly believes this is ms. So I am now scheduled for a rheumatologist, an emg and a trip to boston for a Neuro/ms visit. These are within the next few months.
In the mean time Both legs bother me every day, it's just some days it's only a little, others it's just brutal, my doctor says this is spasticity. On a few occasions My left hand spasms painfully and almost looks like a claw. Hand muscles are weak and hurt afterward. Muscles in legs jump, twitch, or something crazy. Numbness tingling continue. Worse with heat or hot water exposure.
I appreciate any and everyone who had some suggestions or advice. I'm all ears.
Ms or no ms?? Is my doctor accurate or were neuros?? I'm so confused!! The whole reason I went to the doctor was to fix the problem and get better. But I feel like I'm just bouncing from one doctor to another. Thanks all for listening to a mama vent her frustrations!! Wishing all of you a happy healthy day!!
** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **
It all began in 2011 or 2012, not entirely sure which. But I kept getting the flu. Sort of... aching legs terribly, headaches, occasional vertigo and feeling extremely run down. I would be "down" for a day or two and then would bounce back and carry on. This went on for quite some time. When summer arrived I had yet another round of "sickness" but this time I didn't bounce back as quickly, which was extremely frustrating.
A new symptom also was annoying me. I had a weird numbness and tingling sensation on what felt like the left part of my spine. Self diagnosed myself with a pinch nerved and carried on my merry way. The sick days continued and felt as though they were more frequent. But chasing my kiddos and living life kept me distracted and I never worried about it.
Fast forward to 2013, was really having a lot of days where I felt awful. Run down, and my legs were aching and the muscles felt so tight. I couldn't push through or ignore it like before. On top of that my energy levels were pretty much non existent without drinking massive amounts of caffeine. At some point I did realize there was something going on with me but wouldn't go to the doctor. I just kept hoping it would go away.
Some symptoms came and went but my legs were increasingly painful. Fatigue was clearly a problem and I had numbness effecting my left leg. Occasionally it felt like it weighed 1000lbs! Was so so heavy and again just irritating.
I finally brought myself to the doctors in March of this year. Still completely unaware of what could be wrong, the first question the doctor asked was any history of ms in your family? Still didn't even consider it an option. He ran a million blood tests and called that afternoon with the results. All were normal. With the exception of my magnesium and vitamin d. Mag low but vit d, extremely low. Strange because we spend a lot time outside even in the winter.
I was sent for a MRI w/out contrast beginning of April. The doctor called and wanted to see me to discuss results. Oh boy. He told me they were not normal. Geez thanks. Referred me to a Neuro. She was brand new, and was very easy to get into, lucky me!
Waited for a couple of weeks and off I went. She took one look at me said because 2 family members have ms does not mean You do. The bright spots or whatever they were called could be anything. Vitamin d was low because we were coming out of winter. Asked about my life had me do a couple of things and within 15 mins She decided I was just a tired mom and wanted me to take sleeping pills, return in 30 days if symptoms continued. Really? I could barely function as it was the very last thing I was going to do was take sleeping medication.
While I agreed completely that if ms ran in my family it didn't mean that was it. But sleep deprivation was not the problem. Or a problem. I was sleeping more than I ever had due to fatigue! I hated it! I I was advised to find another Neuro. Did so and had until the end if July to wait.
In the mean time it was hot and I was becoming an overheated mama! The high temps were kickin my bum. The numbness and tingling continued and sometimes effected my entire left side. Head to toe. On top of that my legs were brutal. The muscles hurt so badly. Any outside work I was doing was short lived due to either being too hot or when weeding my garden my feet and legs cramped up so badly I had to stop.
At some point I started having these very weird twitches or spasms in my legs. They felt like they were going crazy, like the muscles were jumping all around in there. Weed whacking caused my hands and arms to cramp up as well. What in the world was happening to me? I'm 30 years old!
Neuro number 2 came along. He is well respected and has been in practice for over 30 years. At the end of the appointment he said he was thinking either ms or a connective tissue disease. Eek. I knew about MS had no idea about this connective tissue disease. He ordered a spinal tap and another round of blood work. Vitamin d was still low but cpk was Normal. Spinal tap next. Waited and waited and waited.
Finally got a call saying the spinal was negative for ms and Lyme test would be back after weekend. Waited 3 weeks finally called the office. She said it was negative. Okay Now what? She wasn't sure she would have to call me back. Again. She did the next day and said the doctor said to See a rheumatologist. See your doctor for referral. Good luck with everything.
Oh good grief. Back to my Primary I went. He was not impressed at all with Neuro number 2 leaving testing after lp, he said lots of times this can be negative. And I need additional testing. He strongly believes this is ms. So I am now scheduled for a rheumatologist, an emg and a trip to boston for a Neuro/ms visit. These are within the next few months.
In the mean time Both legs bother me every day, it's just some days it's only a little, others it's just brutal, my doctor says this is spasticity. On a few occasions My left hand spasms painfully and almost looks like a claw. Hand muscles are weak and hurt afterward. Muscles in legs jump, twitch, or something crazy. Numbness tingling continue. Worse with heat or hot water exposure.
I appreciate any and everyone who had some suggestions or advice. I'm all ears.
Ms or no ms?? Is my doctor accurate or were neuros?? I'm so confused!! The whole reason I went to the doctor was to fix the problem and get better. But I feel like I'm just bouncing from one doctor to another. Thanks all for listening to a mama vent her frustrations!! Wishing all of you a happy healthy day!! ** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **
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