Looking for some answers

[ndstevens1]

Looking for some answers and opinions.

Long story but I was recently discharged from the military and 10 days prior to getting out I had an appointment with a Neurologist that said I possibly had signs of having early MS but that he just wanted me to have another MRI in a few months.

Now the VA wants me to see a neurologist, so I went to the Base hospital and pulled the actual report from the Neuro guy and he actually diagnosed me with early demyelinating disease, not possible but actual diagnosis without specifically telling me that.

I know that I have 3 or 4 lesions on my brain and an abnormality in my spine that one Dr referred to as a syrinx but another said was different than a traditional syrinx.

All of the tests started because I thought I was having complications from multiple surgeries on my left shoulder. I get complete numbness and pain down my entire arm from my bicep to my finger tips and it acts up on its own, there is no specific trigger to the pain and numbness.

The numbness last for days, and sometimes weeks.

Does this sound familiar to anyone and is there something that it could be besides MS?

[SNOOPY]

Hello ndstevens1 and welcome to MSWorld.

he actually diagnosed me with early demyelinating disease, not possible but actual diagnosis without specifically telling me that.

A Demyelinating Disease is a category in which there are different possibilities, one being MS.

Demyelinating Diseases:
http://spinwarp.ucsd.edu/neuroweb/Text/br-840.htm

It sounds like you will need more testing to determine if you have MS or some other demyelinating disease.

Take care

[MSer102]

As pointed out, demyelinating disease is a category. Here's a link to a different article about demyelinating diseases from the Journal of Clinical Pathology that I think is comprehensive and well structured. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1860500/

"Demyelinating disease" is an OK, nonspecific diagnosis to be used early on while more work is being done to differentiate which demyelinating disease it is. It's not OK to use as a diagnosis all by itself in lieu of more workup and a specific diagnosis. Different demyelinating diseases can be treated quite differently, so it's important to identify which one it is so the correct treatment (if there is a treatment for that particular condition) can be started on a timely basis.

Most of them can be ruled out just by your history, your presentation and the characteristics of your MRI. The others need more testing and sometimes more time to differentiate.

A syrinx is a physical abnormality, so it's something entirely different. But because it's a neurological condition, it can cause some of the the same symptoms as any other neurological condition, including a demyelinating disease. So it might be hard, if not impossible, to tell which condition is causing a symptom.

On top of that, add in injuries and surgeries and it might not be possible to be 100% sure of just what's causing the symptoms with your arm.

So yes it could be something besides MS. Your symptoms might all be caused by residual effects from your shoulder surgeries and whatever it was that caused you to need the surgeries, and might have absolutely nothing to do with MS (or another demyelinating disease) or the syrinx. Your symptoms might all be coming from the syrinx and have nothing to do with your shoulder surgeries or demyelinating disease. They might all be coming from the demyelinating disease. They could be coming from any combination of the three, or maybe even something else that hasn't been uncovered yet.

With so many possibilities, you may never know for sure what's causing your symptoms. But it's definitely important for your doctors to make their best determination (including being more specific than just "demyelinating disease") so you can get the most appropriate treatment for what's going on. So hang in there and stick with it until you find out.