Hi Recently diagnosed rather quickly with MS. I’m a 56 yo male. About a year ago i lost use of my dominant hand after receiving an IV at hospital in my elbow on outer edge. My symptoms are poor function of hand no grip strength or dexterity to do things with it. It is constantly cold to the touch and a different color skin blueish purple. I told Family Dr she sent me to a physiatrist. They told me IV couldn’t have caused problem and sent me for MRI which showed a couple small plaque deposits on my spinal cord. She then refered me to a neurologist who one first meeting told me he suspects I have MS. I have not had any improvements in more than a year. I started Ocrevus treatment in March and have next one in September. I am concerned that this is very rapid diagnosis and this is an expensive procedure and is it the right diagnosis and plan. I noticed nothing from first treatment. The only change i have noticed is my gait has become wobbly but also taking medication that i just found out that they interact and can cause unstable motor control. Does anyone have any thoughts? Or similar experiences. Thanks in advance.
Hi,
So I got diagnosed within a year as well and I felt it was the right diagnosis for me (it totally was). If you really aren’t sure ask for a second opinion, pretty sure they can’t refuse you for asking for a second opinion in the UK. I would say having rapidly evolving MS or even problems with drugs doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t MS either. It’s important to remember that this disease is (insert expletive here) and doesn’t have a cure so a lot of the time treatment just means trying to stop disease progression and won’t necessarily give you anything back - it might be worth asking your neurologist if they think the treatment is working and if it is stopping any relapses on the MRI.
Hand symptoms starting after an IV and showing coldness, discoloration, and poor grip may point more toward localized nerve or circulation problems than MS. Surprising that this angle wasn’t explored more thoroughly before starting a long-term treatment like Ocrevus.