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I am sitting here just freaking out. I think I'm having an anxiety attack LOL ;) I brain MRI on Wed w/contrast and I have follow up with GP at 2pm CST. I have TONS of symptoms. I'd like to post them here, but it's not really going to matter since I will know in just a short amount of time. All I'm asking for is some CALM DOWN VIBES right now LOL! I'll post when I get back this afternoon! Thanks. PS, I'm 37, married female.

Ok, I'll post my symptoms: WARNING, this is a complete history sinceI've been feeling like "crap". This is what I have made with me to take to my neurologist because however my MRI turns out, my GP says I need to see a neurologist.

2004 - 2005 - Burning, tingling and almost numb right side from middle of back down to foot, MORE when sitting.
2004 Chiro Exam:
High Occ on R
High Shoulder on R
High Pelvis on R
Left Convexity of Lumbar spine
Ankle pronation bilaterally
Fallen arch bilaterally
Hypokyphosis (Mild) thoracic spine
Hypolordosis (mild) lumbar spine
Reflexes - Patellar normal on Right and grade 1.5 sluggish on L

Lumbar orthopedic tests - Kemps test negative on L, Kemps test + on RIght with pain on left SI


Abnormal muscle contraction was noted on the hip in extension bilaterally.
Trapezius muscles revealed a myofascial trigger point tightness bilaterally
Lumbar erector muscles revealed hypertonicity on upper and lower and soreness in lower muscles
Hamstring muscles revealed tightness bilaterally
Medial joint line tender on the left
Plantar Fascia revealed soreness bilaterally
Joint fixation on T6, T7, the right SI and the left SI.
Tenderness to palpation at T6, T7, L5 and the right and left SI.


Xrays: Xrays taken of ******dated 9/29/04 are a two view lumbar series. AP Lumbar film demonstrates a levorotatory curvature of the lumbar spine of 7 degress between T12 and L4. There is also facet tropism on the right at L4 and L5. My note: Facet Tropism is also noted here - Facet Disease, this has to be what is causing most of my pain. There is a mild internal rotation of the left pelvis. There appears to be some mild degenerative changes noted at the inferior sacroiliac joints bilaterally. Lateral lumbar film demonstrates a slight hyperlordosis. There is no evidence of disc degeneration or spondylosis. There is a slight retrolithsesis of L4 on L5.



Chronic Const - have had this for many, many years. Been in to see Dr. a couple of times. Said to eat more fiber.
Chronic Joint Pain for years.
Reversal of Cervical Lordosis.
Every morning getting out of bed, is very painful for me.
Very sensitive ears. Dogs barking inside the house, hurt. I sometimes do not hear what people are saying - I ask them to repeat (I really don't know if it's THEM or ME).
Both times in my life I had to be put on Prednisone for a bad rash, I never felt better while on Prednisone!
10/07 - Burning/Tingline feet - Chiro says not consistent with sciatica - is unsure what is causing this.
Wrists are always fatigued and sore - drop things.
Neurogenic Bladder/Bowels?
Placed on one month of PT to help range of motion and flextion - no change in symptoms.
There is a noticeable limp "to me" when I walk because my left leg is shorter than the other. I notice my left foot and leg tires easily as well. I could never sit indian style all my life, never.
Walk with a bit of a limp because my left side is shorter than my right side.

Find I am tripping a lot more.
Dizziness
Ob/gyn said I have lack of estrogen. Diagnosed Vagisil to help with the dryness, pain w/sex and lack of libido.
Joint fixation (diagnosed by chiro 10/07) at cervical/thoracic/lumbar/SI Joint levels of spine.
Headaches and pain behind the eyes. Feels like it's coming from my neck. Sometimes meds do not help.
Eyelid (R) twitches sometimes. I have other twitches of muscles too, thumb, calves, shoulders, hips.
Nausea sometimes (medication?)
Extreme Fatigue. I get 8+ hours sleep every night. I wake up extremely tired and it remains all day.
Tight Muscles througout whole body. Was told I was "abnormal" in my hip abductor rotation (right side) muscle. Otherwise, tight throughout my back/upper back/neck/between shoulders/thighs.
My left hip is very tight, you can feel it snapping when I walk, every day, all day.
Neck and back pain, continous for over 26 years.
Burning and tingling in extremenities.
Arms/Hands go numb sometimes.
Feeling weak and tired.
Speech/Talking - I find myself thinking two words and saying one word, but putting them both together, for example - I was thinking "GOOD" but instead I said "GOOL" as the other word was "COOL." Saying words backwards - I recall saying outloud to someone several times when I did it in front of them because of embarressment "geese, I just be dyslexic today!". Saying sentences in the wrong order. Saying something I wasn't even thinking - I picked up my 1 yr old niece to go look at her newly remodeled BEDROOM as I knew that's what I wanted to say, instead I said, "let's go see your new HOME".
Hypokyposis and Hypolordosis of the spine.
Poor reflexes in knees and ankles. My Dr.'s, Dr. ******-Anesthesiologist, Dr. *******-Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. ******-Chiropractor all could not get reflexes in my ankles, sometimes in my knees (this was in 2004 and 2005).
Buzzing sensations in my R ear - feels like a fly is in there.
Neurogenic Pain - (diagnosed by my ob/gyn - and prescribed medication) - said I was experiencing this in my abdomen "nerves healing/neurogenic feeling" after a surgery I had in 2/06 and said I should be healed from it. I wasn't as it still hurt quite a bit. He also wanted me to go see a Pain Management Specialist, which I did not. Pain did evenually subside at approximately 1 year and 2 months.
It feels as though there are things crawling on my legs so I rush down to itch or slap it and there's nothing there.
Balance - I sometimes lose my balance. Especially in the dark.
Complete loss of libido.
Memory - I have to write everything down otherwise I will forget. If someone tells me a date for an occurrence, or something to pick up at the grocery store, I will write it down or forget it.
I was going to set the alarm system when leaving work one day. I stood looking at the thermostate for almost 2 minutes before I realized I was not looking at the correct thing on the wall.
I also have times when a word is right on the tip of my tongue and I can't think of it. I find myself saying "I can't think of the word I want to say".
Bladder and Bowel problems - For years since about 2003, I was experiencing urinary incontinence. My ob/ put me on Detrol and told me to do Kegels. Those things did not help or work. Finally, in 2006 I went to my Dr. about it. He did surgery which was "Burch Retropubic Urethropexy with enterocele and rectocele repair and A/P vaginal repairs with a bilateral salpingectomies". This helped for a while. Then in 8/07, I started leaking again. Only this time, it wasn't when I coughed or sneezed at all. It's just leaking out now. Prior to this surgery, it was both situations. My constipation did get a bit better, but still have that problem as well. Also, I totally lost my bowels one day shopping.
Post Partum/Depression since 2003 but has gotten much, much better. I do have depression in "episodes" now and it is when I seem to be going through a real rough time with my symptoms, then I feel down again. Then right back up when they go away. It's weird. I don't even take my antidepressents anymore, because I truly feel I do not need to take them.
I get sick and tired in the heat. This could either be hot/humid days or if I go into a hot tub or sauna.
Most recently over last 3 weeks - I have been having acid reflux. I never had heartburn in my life except on 2-3 occasions and while I was pregnant. This is a new one for me.
Back pain causing sciatica and radiculapathy - Confirmed 2 bulging disks and Facet aropathy in lumbar spine and 2 bulging disks, stenosis and facet aropathy in cervical spine. Deg Disk Disease in Thoracic Spine.
Constant pain in my left knee - Chiro says muscle too tight stretch it, it doesn't help. I had 7 Epidural Steroid Injections in the lumbar spine and 3 ESI's in the SI Joint (R).
10/16/07 - Eye Dr. said that the "pressure" in my eyes was on the high end of normal - watch for Glaucoma.


Tested for already:


NEGATIVE
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Carpal Tunnel
Cholesterol
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Lupus
Thyroid
Low Blood Pressure
Diabetes
Disorder of the ear - (by Chiro) on 10/11/07
Cholesterol Normal
ESR Sedimentation Rate Normal in 2004.


POSITIVE
Autoimmune Disease (adolescence)
Post Partum Depression (2002)
Vitiligo (Autoimmune) (adolescence)
Degenerative Disk Disease 10/04 (Osteoarthritis)
Fibrocystic Breasts - Lump removed from L breast 4/07 - Sclerosing Adenosis Lesion (just a bit higher risk of BC for me)
Chicken Pox in adolescense.


SURGERIES
Leep Surgery - 1993 (precancerous cells in cervix)
Exploratory Laparascopy - 2000
Burch Bladder/Urethra Retropubic Urethropexy/Enterocele & Rectocele Repair/A&P Vaginal Repairs/Bilateral Salpingectomies - 2006


QUESTIONS:
Even though I was told by my urologist that my incontinence was NOT neurogenic, I have to assume that most of the problem was functional (i.e. prolapsed bladder, urethra, etc....Is there any chance that MS played a part in the laxity of the musculature that eventually caused the prolapses? Or did I actually have a Neurogenic bladder and never needed the surgery to begin with?

have you ever been tested for LYME disease

Hi there

First of all, welcome to the site! I am sure you will find the folks here friendly, compassionate, and very knowledgable. I hope you are feeling ok and not too panicky - have you seen your GP yet? Was he going to give you the results of your MRI? When do you have an appointment with a neuro?

You have certainly had your fair share of medical problems - I am sorry that you have had to go through all that. The only comment I can make, and please note I am not a doc or anything like that, is that to my knowledge, ms usually causes brisk reflexes, not sluggish ones. Sluggish reflexes are more often caused by nerve compression (could be caused by disc prolapse or spondylosis), but this is just what I seem to recall my neuro telling me...

As for your bladder problems, ms can cause both incontinence and retention (as I am sure you know). If you needed the repair (which it seems you did, as it worked for a while), then maybe the problem was that prolapse. The more recent return of the incontinence could be because you have another prolapse (repairs aern't always a permanent fix), or because you have since developed ms...In my opinion, if it was originally caused by ms, then the repair would not have had any effect, and I don't think that ms would have caused the muscle laxity that would require a bladder repair (prolapse). In my experience, many women need this, some at a young age, mainly due to being pregnant (not the actual delivery) as carrying the weight of a developing foetus for so many months can cause weakening of the pelvic floor muscles (the bigger the baby, or the more pregnancies you have, the more at risk you are, I think), wich ultimately presents as a prolapse (uterine, bladder, or bowel, or any combination) requiring surgical repair in more extreme cases. But please keep in mind that I am not a doc, and this is just my opinion...

Have you been diagnosed with ms, or is that the diagnosis you are currently waiting for? It must be hell for you - what autoimmune disease were you diagnosed with in adolescence? It seems as if you have something that is really causing serious problems with your muscles, joints, and spine particularly, but your history is very varied, so it is difficult to comment more...Have you ever had a bone density test?

I think that you have done and are doing absolutely the right thing in seeking professional medical treatment, and I hope that the doctors you consult inspire confidence in you and you get the attention and treatment that you need in this difficult time.

I wish you all the best, and please let us know how you are doing.

first of all, I see I didn't introduct myself property because I was so anxious to get my results. My results are "well, no lesions on the brain, but I am still referring you to a neuro because lesions can be seen elsewhere that can represent MS". So that's that, I don't have lesions on the brain, and it's not been ruled out as of yet.

Thank youso much for both of your replies. No,I have not been tested for Lyme, but you can bet it's on my list of things to get tested for. Also, I truly believe that my problems are a result of my cervical spine, I truly do. Whether it's a protruding/herniated/ruptured disk or MS, but it's coming from my spine. THANKS SO MUCH!!

welcome to the group and i am also from wisconsin...i know what you are going thru..i have been with tingling and no feeling on my right side for almost 2 1/2 yrs now..still no lesions but am always hopefully that they will find them just so i can get some medication to stop everything...ya wouldnt think you would want to get news like that but its better then not knowing at all which is just as bad....but keep your head up everyone here is wonderful and help you thru the low times and high times...everyone has a wonderful sense of humor which i find is a great thing to have when dealing with this stuff..i wish you well and hope you hear something soon

chris