help.... - Multiple Sclerosis Message Board

mommyboo · 02-24-2009, 12:41 PM

HI...I am not sure where to begin...so i am just going to start...My symptoms started last summer...over the summer I realized that no matter how much sleep i got, i was tired all the time. I started developing headaches and then at the end of august i got a fever for a week. Ok, so i thought it was a virus..but the fatigue has never gone away, and since then i have developed muscle weakness that i can't even blow dry my hair without taking breaks because my arms get so tired they hurt. Then starts my legs..they always feel like i have just worked out.. going up and down stairs can actually be painful. My left legis the worst. sometimes i can't putany pressure on it .It will start to shake. It is very heavy and after walking for some distance i feel i am walking funny. My eyes are always blurry. I went through a period where my memory is just well...not there. I couldn't even do simple math problems with my kids. I went to my family Dr..she sent me for an mri..where they found 3 "spots" on my brain. She sent me to a neuro. to rule out Ms. My neuro then did a lumbar puncture, which came back clean. so she says she does not think i have ms..so she sends me to a reumo. she did some test, and says i need to go find another Neuro for a second opinion to make sure it's really not ms. This has been going on for over 6 months. I am so frustrated. There are so many things going on with me that it would make sense to be MS. (not that i want) but a DX would be good. I am stuck, i don't know what to do. Please...any suggestions? Thank you ..

MSJayhawk · 02-24-2009, 12:51 PM

A clear or negative LP result does not mean you do not have MS. If the neuro is basing the diagnosis on this test alone, RUN. You definitely need a second opinion. I do not know where you live, but check with you local MS society or association for a referral. There are neurologists and there are neurologists who deal with MS.

Now, what you describe may be something other than MS. You could be dealing with CFS (Chronic Fatigue). Until you have been seen by a qualified neurologist who deals with MS and have had all the tests, I would not opine as to what you may or may not have.

Of MS patients who get LPs, only 85% are positive for indicators for MS. Statistics do not tell us how many actually get a LP. I have had 2 LPs in my life, 1982 and again in 2002. Both LPs were negative. There is not one single test to determine whether or not you have MS.

The good news, there are many neurologists available who can provide you with a diagnosis. I will keep you in my prayers.

mommyboo · 02-24-2009, 04:02 PM

Thank you for your reply...I have come across the cfs in doing my research, and it would makes sense if it weren't for the mri with the lesions they found. I guess i am on the search for a new Dr. Thanks again..

MSJayhawk · 02-24-2009, 05:24 PM

Just bear in mind that not every lesion is related to MS. Lesions can present after a viral infection too. But I think you are on the right track by searching for a new doctor.

florencem64 · 06-29-2009, 05:49 PM

I hope by now you have been dx and it turned out to be nothing but if you are still feeling the way you did don't give up It took me almost three years and three neurologist and several neuro surgens and a alot of MRI's and a CLEAR spinal tap before I was finally dx May 11th 2009. Please don't give up if you are in the NY area I can give you the name of the the MS specialist who finally gave me my dx. Believe me it is no what I wanted to hear but at least I finally knew.