Hello, in July 2022 the left side of my face went numb, and the numbness quickly spread down the left side of my body. The numbness was always the worst in my face, but was also in my left leg and left arm (never really an issue in the torso). Over time, I developed pain in my lower back and a heaviness in my left leg which meant I couldn’t walk far. I also had fatigue and dizziness, which is something I have struggled with at times for a long time.
I had a CT of my brain and all was clear. I had an MRI of my brain and cervical spine (without contrast) and all was clear. I have since had an MRI on my thoracic spine which was also clear, but this was over a year after symptoms started as I had a baby in between.
Over a month after the symptoms started, my GP found that I had very low vitamin B12 levels (78 ng/L). I know that this can cause nerve damage which can be permanent, although it’s not very common for this to only be on one side of the body. I had B12 injections every other day for almost a year, and most the symptoms went away. I still had numbness on my face but only occasionally and it seemed to happen when I was stressed/flustered, but didn’t really affect my life. I stopped the B12 injections.
In the past couple of weeks, the numbness on the left side of my face, left arm and left leg has returned, just as suddenly as the first time. I also had some other symptoms before this happened. Both of my feet are stiff and aching, this started as just when I’d got out of bed on a morning, but is gradually getting worse and is just whenever I am on my feet now. My upper left arm has been stiff and painful for weeks now. I assumed I had pulled a muscle somehow or the muscle was sore, but it has gone on for too long now. It’s painful to lift my arm above a certain level. I am very fatigued, and I go dizzy often, like a woozy feeling but not like the room is spinning, and I also feel quite forgetful like I can think of something but can’t think of the word or the name of a song or how the song goes etc.
I have spoken with my neurologist and they think it is possible the B12 levels have dropped again and caused these symptoms, I had bloods done this morning so just need to wait for the results. I would love for it to come back and just be B12, but I just can’t get MS out of my head and the thought of going through all the investigations and scans again is scaring me.
Has anyone had similar symptoms to these and then been diagnosed with MS?
Has anyone ever had a clear MRI but later been diagnosed with MS? I know it is not impossible but also have read it’s very uncommon.
Thank you.