Temporary hand paralysis years ago. MS?

[NikkiWill]

Hi. I’m Nikki, a 39 yo female and I’m new here. I’ve been having a variety of neurological symptoms for a very long time. I began getting migraine with aura at 8 years old. They eased in frequency as I neared my 30’s. But the migraines aren’t the problem. Around 18 yo I started having sciatica type pains shoot down my leg so bad It caused me to fall. This is when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. They said the weight of the pregnancy was causing the pinched nerve. Well, it’s been 20 years and I still get that pain at times. Not long after I had her, I was walking in my carport and my legs just went weak for no reason, I fell and broke my left ankle. Since that time I’ve had a variety of other strange symptoms. One Fingertip or a certain spot on my back or arm will burn like fire for days and days. Numbness, tingling, electric shock type shooting pains, eyelid and facial twitching that lasts for days, etc.

2014- To PCP for burning and numbness in my right hip plus hand/arm tremors. He diagnosed me with pinched nerve and essential tremor, only tests done at that time were X-ray and bloodwork.

2015- had a strange thing happen where I felt heavy, kinda like on the gravity ride at the fair, but not as bad. It only lasted for a day though.

2017- my right hand went numb and was buzzing/tingling. It was completely paralyzed, my last 3 fingers were drawn in and my index and thumb we stuck like I was pointing a finger gun. Couldn’t open or close my fingers. Went to the ER, they did a CT scan to check for a stroke. I didn’t have one and all that showed in CT was “prominence of the ventricular system” said it was neurological, but sent me on my way because that’s all they could do in the emergency room. I didn’t have insurance at the time, so I just lived with a paralyzed hand for 6-7 weeks when suddenly my feeling came back and I regained use. It’s fine now, but I still don’t know what caused it.

In 2020 I developed the most horrible fatigue, unlike anything imaginable. My whole soul feels exhausted!

2021-My left hand started getting numbness and tingles and pain shooting down my left arm sometimes .

October 2021- went to ER for it, they did an X-ray that showed “loss of cervical lordosis, indicating severe neck spasm” gave me muscle relaxers and sent me home.

January 2022- went to primary for all of the above & then some. She thought I had lupus. Ran an entire autoimmune work up on me all negative and negative ANA test. I quit my job and got a less stressful one to see if it would help the fatigue. It didn’t!

October 2022- eyeball pain followed by double vision in my left eye. ER did a CT scan, again showed “prominence of the ventricular system for patients age” noted a bit worse than my 2017 scan. ER nurse said he thought I may have MS. I looked it up and it all makes sense.

I have an appointment with a neuro next Friday. How do I make him take me serious? I feel like I’ve been struggling for years with symptoms and no answers. And could my 6 week hand paralysis 5 1/2 yrs ago have been MS?
Thanks for reading this very long story.

[Scott1]

Hi,

With luck, he will take you seriously. He should do some very simple tests of your coordination and reflexes (nothing to do with scans) and probably send you for an MRI of your brain and spine. That will give him a very clear set of objective results to work from. The results could go in many different directions. They may not point to MS or they may.
The important thing is you have a referral and an appointment. Good luck with what comes next. Many of us have walked a similar path so there is usually someone here who can share their experiences. Please let us know how it goes.

Regards,

[NikkiWill]

Scott,

Thank you so much for reading my very long post. I tried to shorten it to just some highlights of my issues, but it still got long. Your response means a lot to me because I’ve just been overwhelmed for so long. I don’t have anyone to talk to about what I’m going through, so I really appreciate your kind words.

[jimmylegs]

hi and welcome nikki. i can definitely empathize at least a little bit, in part based on being female and having been diagnosed in my 30s. best of luck with your next steps, and we'll definitely be here to help out in whatever ways we can!

[NikkiWill]

Jimmylegs, thanks so much for the response and the wishes of luck in the future!