Hi,

I've been doing a lot of research and apparently *drumroll* streptoccocal pharyngitis(sore throat) can lead to an MS/CFS-like syndrome called Post-infectious Encephalomyelitis.

Basically, it's an acute demyelination process, in the sense that it generally occurs only once and leads to temporary damage to the peripheral nervous system (leading to numbness, coordination difficulties, cognitive problems, muscle weakness).

Unfortunately, there's a chance that it may develop into full blown MS.

Arg, I still haven't been able to get to a neurologist, as Canada has monstrously huge waitlists.

The Canadian system is freakin' ridiculous. I've had some MS-type symptoms recently and had to pay $1400 to get a brain/c-spine MRI w/contrast in Montreal. My doctor offered to give me a referral to an MRI clinic here in Toronto, but he said the wait would be at least 6 months (when I called I found out that the wait is actually 8 months). Who in the hell wants to wait 6 months to find out whether or not there's anything wrong with them??? It's not exactly easy to just ignore the symptoms you're experiencing and go on with your life. My doctor then gave me a referral to a neurologist (Dr. Morganthan), and I have an appointment with him on November 28th...in 7 months' time! I called Morganthan's secretary and said I would take any cancellation - any day, any time. This is your only chance of getting to see a neurologist in the relative near future.

Thanks for the good advice.

At the moment, I'm on large doses of oral penicillin and I'm able to function more or less normally. Interestingly, the more frightening symptoms (vertigo, extreme fatigue, insane leg weakness, numb face, cognitive changes) seem to resolve very quickly with antibiotics.

The numbness in my arms is still there.... I imagine it has sometime to do with peripheral nerve damage, however.

I suppose there is the possibility of Lyme disease (recently in Central Europe), either that or it's a neurological reaction to strep. Who knows?

I've read extensive research on CFS being caused by unresolved bacterial/viral infections. I'm curious as to whether many people with CFS would respond to antibiotics/anti-herpes drugs (for EBV, CMV, HV6). Or even if CFS is caused by undiagnosed Lyme disease?