Hi,
Long time reader, first time poster. Basically I’ve been reading this forum for a while now whilst suspecting that I may have RRMS. This is made difficult by the fact I have partial epilepsy of the temporal lobe (mostly under control) which results in mildly-moderate focal seizures every now and again which last for seconds at a time and tend to come in batches that last for a day approx 5-6 times per year. Since being diagnosed in 2015 with epilepsy and started on medication, I noticed a couple of years after that my episodes of epilepsy (although now greatly reduced in frequency and intensity) would be accompanied by other strange sensations which at the time I attributed to the epilepsy. These would include mental fatigue, a loss of appetite, heightened sense of taste and an overactive bowel which I don’t know whether is flatulence with follow through or straight up incontinence. Over the last 3 years I’ve felt a weakness in the grip strength of my right hand which comes on intermittently (mostly first thing in the morning or at night) along with a very mild pulsing/numbness. This is gradually affecting my left hand too now although both my arms and legs have no weakness and feel fine. Add to this random and unexplained bouts of depression and anxiety that come on during these episodes and are like a fog which fills my brain with anxiety and makes me feel very agitated. This mental state can subside as easy as it can come on weirdly. Recently I feel I am very sensitive to cold and can find myself having cold chills even though it’s 13 degrees and I’m wearing a puffer jacket sometime resulting in a full body tremor. I find that when these symptoms come along, some diazepam and a good nights sleep usually takes it away until the next episode potentially weeks/months away. My posture has never been great so had an X-ray of cervical spine which showed no compression that could explain the intermittent weakness in fine motor skills. I’ve also had some eye twitching which also comes and goes but my prescription of specs and contact lenses have been way off for a while which may have caused that. Also my opticion says my optic nerves are perfectly healthy. I’m being referred to neurology and hoping to have an mri scan which might give a clearer picture of what’s going on.
Is anyone able to relate to these symptoms or have any experience with epilepsy masking a potential MS diagnosis or even an FND diagnosis that would tie in the focal seizures and some of the dissociative pangs/sensations that are not typically associated with MS? Also I’ve lost a LOT of weight over the last few months without doing anything different and diabetes has been ruled out even though my sugar is quite high.
This might seem like a bit much going on but the wait to see a specialist has all these thoughts of uncertainty racing through my mind. Coming on here definitely gives me something to chew over but with the sheer amount of differing symptoms people experience, it can confuse me even more. Sorry for the long post.