Hi,
This is my first post on this Forum (or any MS forum for that matter) please be gentle!
I’m 25 years old and recently been diagnosed with RRMS after suffering numbness/tingling in all 4 limbs and across my torso. I have had 2 separate MRI’s which have shown a development of scarring from one to the other.
Something that has been niggling away at me since my diagnosis concerns my past medical history.
After suffering gastroenteritis when i was 4-5 years old, I began to get very weak, unable to move my limbs walk or talk. I was hospitalised where they done numerous tests and scans to rule out things like brain tumours, meningitis, cancer, a lot of terrible things!
Many doctors couldn’t come up with a reason for my paralysis, and i was apparently quite an interesting subject in the hospital with alot of student doctors interested in my case. i can’t remember any of what i went through but my parents have a good account - I was then seen by another doctor, who at that point diagnosed me with Gylian-Barre Syndrome “A rare disorder in which your body’s immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your extremities are usually the first symptoms. These sensations can quickly spread, eventually paralyzing your whole body. In its most severe form Guillain-Barre syndrome is a medical emergency”
Sound familiar?
They actually did an MRI back then to check for tumours etc., and it was clear of scaring too. (they still have this scan on my file which my neurologist has looked at recently out of interest) I eventually made a full recovery, with no treatment given, I was in a wheelchair for a few months and had to have physiotherapy to help me walk again.
Fast forward 20 years and I have received a diagnosis of RRMS in July this year.
I have questioned my neurologist and MS nurse about this, my neurologist as I said has look at my scan from when I was younger and it was clear of any scarring that would likely be related to my MS diagnosis - my thinking was that I was possibly mis-diagnosed when I was younger - and it could have been a CIS… but my neurologist thinks this is unlikely.
i have done a bit of my own reading on both illnesses - although they can present the same symptoms of tingling/numbness/fatigue/motor problem, Gyllian-Barre Syndrome is an attack on the peripheral nervous system where as MS is an attack on the Central Nervous System.
I wondered if it is just completely coincidental that I have suffered two illness in my 25 years both of which are similar in symptoms and the way they work or if there was some sort of connection!
I’d love to hear if anyone else has suffered another auto immune disease as well as having MS.
