Hello, living in Hell with consuion

New diagnosis and before diagnosis
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So I just joined this website and here’s my story.

I’m a male 34 years from North Africa, I’m studying in Malaysia

in 2017 July I started to have pain in my back, and numbness, so i went tot the Dr, and i was diagnosed with a bulging disc in my back, got an MRI for it, but i was so stressed back then and terrified because I didn’t know what it was.

so duing this time i starting having some other symptoms mostly " sensory", burning sensations, in my legs, thighs, arms, hands, tummy, and chest sometimes, with other weird sensations, like my skin is vibrating, water drops feeling, itchiness etc, i thought it’s all related to the bulgding disc , or i though i might be having some bulgin disc in my neck

so next time i went to the Dr, i told her, she said it might be stress, it might be bulging disc in the neck, so i let it go, and on October 2017, i went to see another Dr, and he told me we need to MRI to the whole spine to rule out MS, and that was the first time I hear about it, so i googled it and i was terrified, i didn’t have money to do the MRI, so i got panicked and stressed and my symptoms got even worse. after i got the money it was still on October, i did the MRI for my spine and it was clear !

so he gave me anti depressants, and told me to come back to see him after 3 months, but i didn’t, because i felt he was taking advantage of the situation just to make more money !

on 2018, I decided to visit another Dr, neurologist because my burning sensation continued for a year, it didn’t go away. and some twitches all over my body, i told her about my story, she said this can’t be MS, because it’s not following the pattern of the symptoms,and i don’t have any muscles weakness, but i can’t tell what’s causing you this she said, but whatever it is , it’s not going to kill you since you had it already for a year. she adviced me to ignore it. and see a psychiatrist if i’m stress.

now we are in 2020, I still have the burning sensation, some stingging sensation in head, feets, hands, , it didn’t go away, some twitching, i had also neck stiffness since 2017, it all started with my back disc diagnosis, which is got healed now.

The neck stiffness apparently affected the muscles in my throat because I’ve had this lump in the throat feeling for 2 years now. but i can swallow and drink normally. i went to INT drs and everything was fine. they can’t to find anything that’s abnormal.

now i’m in this vicious cycle of going back to check online the symptoms

i don’t know what i have, THE MRI was clear, 2 Dr told me i’m okay, but i still have those weird sensory symptoms,

what can i do ? PLEASE HELP . is this MS or not ? Can MS cause burning sensation for 3 years continous ? without getting better or getting worse, or have any of the typical symptoms ? and again my Spine MRI was clear.

sorry it’s too long i know, but this is my life story.

1 Like
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Hello Bahaa, welcome to the group.

I`m sorry you find yourself stuck in this vicious cycle, with no concrete help from the medical professionals.

MS can take a long while to diagnose…in my own case 22 years!

It has to show a certain set of criteria for a diagnosis.

Certainly, your symptoms could be MS…also the bulging disc…or something else.

There are so many neurological conditions for neurologists to sift through.

We sometimes get a feeling of a lump in the throat when we are anxious or upset…so that could explain your`s.

I guess the only thing to do is keep a diary of symptoms and see your doctor again who referred you. Tell him/her you are still having the problems.

Keep safe.

Boudsx

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that’s what i wanna do after the lockdown,

see MS specialist.

So you’re saying that although I had only sensory symptoms, for 3 years, no numbness, no weakness, no blurred vision, no trouble walking, no cognition problems, no slurred speach or memory loss, and MRI for spine was clear in 2017, but you still think it could be MS ?

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Hi again, no Bahaa…I`m not saying anything directly…just that MS is one of many possibilities.

The spinal problem could be the reason. Try not to get too focussed on MS.

Boudsx

1 Like
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Hello Bahaa

So sorry you’ve had these troubles for so long and with so little information.

To my mind, it’s very unlikely that you’d be given a diagnosis of MS with your only MRI being of your spine, and that be8ng clear of lesions. Mostly neurologists do a brain MRI first if they suspect MS. So the fact you’ve not been referred for one leads me to think the doctors you’ve seen don’t think it’s MS.

However, we can’t say, ‘yes it looks/sounds like MS’, or ‘no it doesn’t seem like it’. The problem with MS is that there are so many symptoms associated with it, and many of these are shared with other diagnoses.

Its not easy being in a country where your only option is to pay for doctors and tests. It does lead you to google diseases and symptoms. Also to ask complete strangers, who aren’t doctors and haven’t seen you or examined you, to tell you what they think; ie us!! We can only go by our own experience, which is likely to be different from everyone else’s.

MS is a contrary beast of a disease. It can be hard to either diagnose or to rule out.

All I can suggest is that you keep a diary or your symptoms, as Boudica suggested. Think back as far as you can, note when symptoms began and how they’ve altered over time, if indeed they have.

Try to keep your mind off your symptoms, I’m not going to attempt to suggest any diagnosis to you, but sensory symptoms alone may well not be MS, it could be Functional Neurological Disorder (see https://fndhope.org/fnd-guide/ ) or something completely different. Or indeed it could be MS. We can’t tell you.

When you see a neurologist next time, aim to get the most from your expensive appointment, briefly detail your symptoms and what other doctors have said. Ask for a brain MRI if you can afford it. You could ask for a prescription for something to help your sensory symptoms (Amitriptyline maybe?).

Best of luck.

Sue

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Hi Thanks for your reply,

that’s what i wanna do , i will meet an MS specialist actually to tell her my story and see what she thinks, and if i have enough cash, i will do the MRI for brain,

just one note, i met dozens of people online, who had similar symtpoms, and when they do the MRI for brain and spine and all kind of tests, it all came back normal ! so what’s the explaination for this ? I’m hoping I could be one of those people who have minor symtpoms but without a physical cause, because my symptoms so far now fo 3 years haven’t really gotten worse, or showed any other new syptoms, or something that disabled me. mostly sensory.