Advise Please!! :(

[Rosieapple]

Hi guys. I'm a 24 year old female with no known family history of MS. I started noticing my symptoms about a year ago. It started with tingling and numbness in my hands, especially in the late evening or nighttime. I seem to be clumsy... Dropping things all the time, knocking into things, hot flashes and feeling tired all the time.

In the last few months they've definitely gotten worse. The tingling and numbness happens during the day when I'm in work and has started in my feet aswelll. I feel very un-coordinated and less dexterous. I find it hard to handle small finicky things. I definitely can't play the piano as well as I used to (don't tell me I need to practice!!). My upper arms seems to have an 'over reaction' to pain! Any small bump on my upper arms and the pain can reach an 8/10. In the last few months, I've noticed an ache type pain behind my right eye that can sometimes be stabbing in nature and my vision doesn't seem as good as it was two years ago. It takes me longer to focus on things that are further away and are very sensitive to light. Last week for the first time ever I experienced 'flashing lights' for a few seconds. Hasn't happened again since.

Oddly last week, I was out on a stroll, it was hot and I was wearing a dress. ,my legs got UNBELIEVABLY itchy!!!! It was torturous......scratching made it ten times worse and only went away slowly once I stopped moving!! There was no rash! I never want to experience that again!!!

Went to my doctor and he did a few tests on me. All bloods and vitamins were normal. BP normal. I had a positive Rombergs test and had a bit of trouble touching his finger then my nose again and again!!

Had a brain and C spine yesterday and my doctor got the results today and said the MRI was normal. Contrast was not used. He said to go back to him if the symptoms persist or change. I don't want to seem like a hypochondriac but I thought he would have automatically referred me to a neurologist! Should I wait a few months to see how I feel or insist on a neurology review????

[euphoniaa]

Had a brain and C spine yesterday and my doctor got the results today and said the MRI was normal. Contrast was not used.
He said to go back to him if the symptoms persist or change. I don't want to seem like a hypochondriac but I thought he would have automatically referred me to a neurologist! Should I wait a few months to see how I feel or insist on a neurology review????

Hi Rosie, and welcome!

Some of the symptoms you mention do sound a little neurological-ish, but your doctor has already recognized that and done some of the main testing, such as blood work and MRIs of the brain & C-spine. That's what a neurologist would do also.

Often, diagnosing neuro conditions like MS (especially MS...) turns out to be a long process, and if your tests come out negative the only thing to do is wait, observe, keep track of symptoms for future reviews by your doctor.

A couple of suggestions: 1. Follow up with an ophthalmologist, since MS often begins with optic neuritis (not with me, but with a large percentage of MS patients).

2. See if you can get a copy of your MRI reports so you can see what the radiologist 'actually' said. They rarely use the term "normal" but instead point out many little possible issues. My local hospital hands me copies of ALL my testing reports, plus CD's of all my scans -- free! And in the last couple of years I've had CTs, MRIs, PET scan, x-rays, hospital stays, & tons of blood work -- I give them a call and can pick them up within 24 hours.

In fact, my doctor and also my hospital/labs have new internet 'portals' that allow me to pull up every single report from the last few years within minutes. Nowadays -- at least in the U.S. -- it's all about "transparency" and giving patients free access to participate in their own care.

Good luck and keep us posted!

P.S. You don't need contrast in order to show lesions -- it just helps to highlight 'active' lesions. I was diagnosed on my first MRI with tons of old brain lesions showing, even though they didn't use contrast. My lesions look the same and none have ever lit up.