revlcb
06-11-2005, 10:07 PM
On Christmas day I came down with a very nasty flu, which lasted 5 days. I felt better for about a week when I thought I was getting the flu again. My "flare" lasted from 01/01 to 05/23, when it started to ease up. I had all the symptoms of MS. The fatigue, pain, tremors, numbness, incontinence, odd headaches, weird visual stuff off and on, memory troubles. Looking back about 10 yrs, I remember losing my sight in my right eye, but only for about 5 hours. The next day I went to the Dr. and he just blew it off since my sight came back.
Dr. took a bazillion blood tests and brain MRI, all came back "normal". He dx Firbromyalgia. Then he thought that it may be a virus so he put me on anti-viral meds on 05/24. "Call me in 3 weeks if you're not feeling better", he says. Well, Monday is 3 weeks. I still get fatigued easily, but not like the exhaustion of the past. The pain is under control for the most part as I'm on constance Motrin 800. I still get tremors and really shaky if I get overheated and I get overheated WAY too easily (my head sweats so bad my hair gets all wet)...much more so than ever before. I'm still having little bouts of incontinence and constipation as well as some balance/dizziness.
Do you think that I should go ahead and get a referral to a neurologist for an LP and/or other testing? Or do you think I should wait longer? I just don't know what to do. Fibro and MS mimic each other to a huge extent. I've read that some people go for years looking for a dx of MS and I'm not sure if I want to go down that path since this was just my first flare. I would really appreciate the expert advice of all you whom have been in my shoes.
Dr. took a bazillion blood tests and brain MRI, all came back "normal". He dx Firbromyalgia. Then he thought that it may be a virus so he put me on anti-viral meds on 05/24. "Call me in 3 weeks if you're not feeling better", he says. Well, Monday is 3 weeks. I still get fatigued easily, but not like the exhaustion of the past. The pain is under control for the most part as I'm on constance Motrin 800. I still get tremors and really shaky if I get overheated and I get overheated WAY too easily (my head sweats so bad my hair gets all wet)...much more so than ever before. I'm still having little bouts of incontinence and constipation as well as some balance/dizziness.
Do you think that I should go ahead and get a referral to a neurologist for an LP and/or other testing? Or do you think I should wait longer? I just don't know what to do. Fibro and MS mimic each other to a huge extent. I've read that some people go for years looking for a dx of MS and I'm not sure if I want to go down that path since this was just my first flare. I would really appreciate the expert advice of all you whom have been in my shoes.
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lilc
06-11-2005, 10:39 PM
Yes, continue to go for tests. I ignored many problems for several years and am regretting it now. The bottom line is, no Dr. knows you better than you do.
KelliD
06-12-2005, 02:42 AM
Hey revlcb! Often, MS can be accompanied by secondary fibromyalgia that only flares during an MS flare. Two years ago, it seemed I was sick all the time with something like the flu. I kept telling my employer that I was sorry for missing so many days and that it was totally NOT like me to be sick so much. Turns out the MS was gearing up for a good run...and my immune system had been weakened. That in itself is worth asking the doc about..how to keep your immune system bolstered!