I am a not yet diagnosed 38 year old female. I’ll set out my long story, as after a trip to orthopaedics this week (for numbness I incorrectly assumed was bought on by a herniated disc) I have been referred to a neurologist plus brain/full spine MRIs with MS being talked about as a possible cause. Please excuse the wall of text but I’m finding it strangely cathartic getting it all out in writing.
Obviously this has shaken me up a lot, I had never even considered this as a possible diagnosis, but the more I research the more all my disparate symptoms over the past 5 years seem connected.
Back in 2013 I believe I had glandular fever (EBV) which led to extreme exhaustion. The fatigue led to a fibromyalgia diagnosis in 2014, which then changed to a vitamin D deficiency diagnosis in 2015.
Over that time and since I have been suffering from extreme fatigue, balance issues and numbness/loss of feeling in my saddle region and tops of legs, with pins and needles, itching, weak hands that turn it to what I call ‘claw hands’ patches of numbness, reoccurring double vision, forgetfulness and brain fog, sometimes I can’t find the right words to say and I am hyper emotional, I also have what I call electric shocks occasionally in my sides and chest.
I am always tripping and falling over and have spent so much time in A&E from coccyx bruising and sprained ankles, people ask me how I injure myself and I literally just fall, one minute I’m standing and the next I’m on the floor! I just thought I was unlucky and clumsy!
I have just been living with it and trying to ignore all these weird symptoms but in mid 2017 the numbness had become extreme, I couldn’t stand or sit for more than 5 minutes without everything from my bum to my knees losing all feeling and a lot of pain!
I visited my GP again and he rushed me to hospital with suspected cauda equina syndrome, I had an MRI which showed I had a herniated L4/L5 disc (but luckily no evidence of cauda equina) I thought hooray, I clearly have an orthopaedic answer to these horribly debilitating symptoms, they can decide on a treatment plan and I’ll get better!
My orthopaedic consultant sent me for another MRI and a nerve conduction study this month and on Friday I was very excited to find out what steps we would now be taking.
My orthopaedic consultant then explained that yes I have a herniated disc, but my nerve conduction study came back fine so in his opinion there was no way the disc was causing my symptoms and he wants to refer me to neuro and get brain and full spine MRIs to look at MS as a diagnosis.
So that’s that, I am throughly depressed about it all and I was hoping my story may sound familiar to some or others may be able to offer any advise on the right questions to be asking!