Dealing with MS testing & symptoms

[ashleydee09]

I've been dealing with what my doctors think are Multiple Sclerosis symptom for 5 months now. I have two family members who have also been diagnosed with MS. My story began after I had my son in October. In December I noticed a darkening of my vision that would not go away. I went to an ophthalmologist than ran many tests on my eyes and he notices my right eye had a swollen optic nerve. We went ahead and did a MRI and did not come across anything.

I then went to my normal doctor who ran vasts amounts of blood work, which again turned up nothing. I began having a high heart rate averaging 140 bpm and my liver enzymes were going up. He ran all the blood work he could but couldn't figure it out. Those symptoms eventually faded yet my vision was still dimmed. I was scheduled for an appointment 4 hours away at a nuero ophthalmologist 2 months later. Waiting for that appointment I was getting more odd symptoms. My hands and feet would start tingling and go numb a lot. I also had sever fatigue which I'm still dealing with today. They did all the test on my eyes that they could and could not determine anything.

I was finally setup for a lumbar puncture in July. What advise can you give me? Are these MS symptoms? I have a gut feeling I have MS and I'm scared.

Symptoms:
-Dimmed vision for 5 months
-Extreme Fatigue
-Numb and tinging hands
-Pains in my leg muscles

**Post broken into paragraphs by Moderator for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print.**

[Redwings]

Hi ashley:
The symptoms you listed are symptoms of MS, but they're also symptoms of many other conditions. (The elevated liver enzymes, though, are NOT a sign of MS.) Tests have to be run to determine which condition is causing your symptoms. And, as frustrating as it is, sometimes our bodies don't give up enough clues to make a definite diagnosis from. Sometimes there are enough symptoms that what's wrong can be determined, but not why. (For example, you said, "They did all the test on my eyes that they could and could not determine anything." With the way eye tests work, it's doubtful that the neuro ophth "could not determine anything." It's more likely that the neuro ophth determined what is wrong, but the eye tests can't tell why those things are wrong. That's very different than "couldn't determine anything." Vague terminology like this only adds to the uncertainty.) Sometimes it takes months to years before that happens.

The one thing you haven't mentioned is being referred to a neurologist. Your "normal doctor" (by that I'm assuming you mean your GP/PCP) can run some tests, but isn't qualified to do a full MS workup. At some point, unexplained neurological signs/symptoms really have to be worked up by a neurologist. Sometimes medical insurance determines how referrals can be made.

My best advice is for you to find out how you can get a referral to a neurologist, then do your best to get referred. The neurologist will have to be the one to determine what's causing your neurological symptoms. In the meantime, patience is critical, no matter how hard it is. And if you haven't already done it, you can learn more about MS by going to the website of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/abo...sis/index.aspx. Then come back here to ask questions about what you've learned.