Been reading some of the threads and really glad I found you! Not sure what I’m looking for but take your pick from help/advice/reassurance
To give a brief background - I’m 38 and I suffered an ischaemic stroke 2 years ago, have recovered well but started having every kind of headache imaginable earlier this year and (worried it was a warning sign of another impending brain meltdown) went to GP who referred me to neurologist. Neurologist sent me for blood tests and requested an MRI which was done today on brain and neck. Since I saw the neurologist - about 4 weeks ago now - I feel like I’m falling apart, I’ve had all of the following since I saw him (some of which I had following the stroke but had been clear of for about 18 months) :-
Night time muscle spasms in right leg/hip (had following stroke) pulling knee up towards chest, only at night when I go to bed
Tightness in right shoulder (had post-stroke spasms here too but just feels tight at the minute without developing into spasm)
Drop foot (right foot) and general clumsiness
Fatigue and concentration problems
Burning pain in right hip (had on and off since stroke)
Wild extremes of emotion and easily moved to tears
A lot of these seem to be present in cases of MS? Is it worth asking the neurologist to investigate the possibility of MS when I see him again, or is it better to say nothing rather than focussing his attention on something that may be a wild goose chase? I’m so so tired and devastated that after final starting to feel like my old self post-stroke I all of a sudden feel like I’ve slipped back 18 months
The MRI you had today will be very similar to the kind of scans that someone being investigated for MS would have so, if you have MS, there is a very very good chance of it being quite obvious from these images.
So, try and be patient: wait and see what the MRI results are and take it from there.
There are literally hundreds of conditions that can cause the kind of symptoms that you describe - MS is just one of them. Your neuro will be well aware of the options, so try and have faith for now.
Thank you for your replies, after agonising over it all night I am trying to take your advice and just wait & see. Apparently I should hear from neuro within 2 to 3 weeks so hopefully it won’t be too long until I have some answers xx
Have a little bit of an update - I rang the hospital this morning to see if they could tell me anything and apparently neuro has been on holiday but reviewed my results yesterday. They said there is a letter coming out to me with the MRI results and he’s asked to see me in about a month apparently. If the MRI did show signs of MS would he want to see me sooner or is that standard do you know? I told his secretary that I had had some problems since seeing him that I felt might be relevant and she said I’d have to go via the GP, is it worth doing that or am I just as well to keep a diary of any symptoms or other issues in the meantime to give to him in a months time? I can’t seem to make any decisions for myself at the mo :-S feeling rubbish again today after feeling really really good yesterday which is a bit dis-heartening xx
