This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi there

I am not dx, long story short- started with severe attack of headache and neck pain, ended up at neurologist, found out I have paralysis on my left side of head only eyebrown and forehead are affected they won't move. MRI done for first time in my life... Found lesions and neurologist said he could not rule out MS, did spinal tap and blood work, all came out negative so for now he is ruling out MS. In meantime I have had cervical stenosis surgery, they repaired collapsed vertebrae, bone spurs and compressed spinal cord. 4 weeks post op, I am experiencing electrical tingling in my fingers, I had this pre-surgery and at times when I took showers/ bath the feeling in my hands were worse. How am I to feel about the wait and see attitude as neurlolgist is going to order another MRI soon? I still have the paralysis, I have more reoccuring headaches, and other symptoms that could be 1000 other things. The MRI if I can remember stated several subcortical lesions hyperintensity due to chronic ischemia.
Any thoughts?

debbied wrote:Hi there

I am not dx, long story short- started with severe attack of headache and neck pain, ended up at neurologist, found out I have paralysis on my left side of head only eyebrown and forehead are affected they won't move. MRI done for first time in my life... Found lesions and neurologist said he could not rule out MS, did spinal tap and blood work, all came out negative so for now he is ruling out MS. In meantime I have had cervical stenosis surgery, they repaired collapsed vertebrae, bone spurs and compressed spinal cord. 4 weeks post op, I am experiencing electrical tingling in my fingers, I had this pre-surgery and at times when I took showers/ bath the feeling in my hands were worse. How am I to feel about the wait and see attitude as neurlolgist is going to order another MRI soon? I still have the paralysis, I have more reoccuring headaches, and other symptoms that could be 1000 other things. The MRI if I can remember stated several subcortical lesions hyperintensity due to chronic ischemia.
Any thoughts?

Hi debbied and welcome. It looks like you have multiple issues that could explain your symptoms; I'm glad you have a neurologist working with you about it. Like they said, brain lesions are often caused by "chronic ischemia" and migraine headaches, and you have major spinal issues that can also explain many of the symptoms you've listed. I'm afraid that "wait and see" is likely the best approach to take right now.

You may continually improve once you finish healing from the surgery. Keep in mind that there's no simple treatment for MS and there's no cure for it whatsoever, so take care of yourself by living the healthiest way you can.

Good luck to you!

Can you relate your symptoms to something you did before you saw the symptoms. Did you have any dental work done. Mercury poisoning shows similiar symptoms to MS. The amalgams the dentist use are 50% mercury and this makes some people sick. If you had any vaccinations there is mercury in many of them. Did you start taking a new medication. Think about what you might have done prior to seeing these symptoms. If you could find a holistic doctor he might be able to figure it out.

Thank you so much for replying.
I have never suffered from migraines, even now. And please explain the difference between ms and chronic ischemia? He ruled out any strokes. I have not done anything different in my life prior to my episode that started March 15. I have been having neck issues since I was in auto accident about 30 years ago, this was the first time I have ever had MRI done. I know that I need to wait for recovery to help determine things but my paralysis concerns me and I am getting distortion in the vision in my left eye, same side as my paralysis, which I actually was clinically treated for ON before surgery because they could see no inflammation but I had severe pain behind it. The distortion is wavy lines and like whatever I am looking at is jumping a little, it was very sporadic but is happening more often. Plus the electric like tingling in my fingertips and my body twitches in different areas all day long. When I wake up, lately before I even move, I have been getting stomach turning vertigo.
If wait and watch is the answer, I am just very uncomfortable about what is happening

Well, debbied, I guess my point is just that your symptoms could be due to hundreds of causes - or a combination of causes, and there is just no single test for MS. It often takes years for someone to be diagnosed with it, and even then, there are no meds to cure it - just symptom treatments. You can get those even without a diagnosis of MS.

Fortunately, it sounds like your neurologist is monitoring you and has already done the most important test for MS - an MRI of your brain and C-spine. And that he/she will do it again soon. But...brain lesions can be caused by many, many, many other medical conditions that present in slightly different ways. When MS is suspected they usually confirm with a spinal tap. And yours was negative. I hope your neuro is also looking elsewhere for clues.

In my case, my MRI showed that my brain was jammed full of lesions that were VERY specific to MS, my spinal tap showed oligoclonal bands, etc., and my VEP test was positive - instant MS diagnosis. Personally, I don't have ANY of your symptoms except tingling in my fingers from movement or position, and that is due to my peripheral neuropathy and C-spine issues - not from MS.

I know it's scary to have so many unexplained issues, but the symptoms of all neurological diseases are so similar it takes time for doctors to sort through them. Since you mentioned vision problems, you might want to follow up with an ophthalmologist. Also, I suggest a physiatrist, a the type of physical medicine/rehab doctor who diagnosed me with both MS (a central nervous system disease) and a hereditary peripheral neuropathy (a peripheral nervous system disease) - even without symptoms!

There's really no way we can do much toward helping you identify a disease from a list of symptoms; you need observation in person from a medical professional. Every one of us here, whether diagnosed with MS or not, presents with an entirely unique set of symptoms, and many of ours are from issues that have nothing to do with MS.

Here's a link that I post on here often - The Whole Brain Atlas. It shows examples of the way many different types of brain lesions present themselves. Under the MS section there's even a "cine" of MS lesions coming & going quickly.

http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/home.html

I wish you well in your search for answers!

Thank you so much for your reply and I will follow up