Hi everyone,
I am currently being tested for MS. I had an appointment with a consultant earlier this week and have been referred for MRI scan on brain to rule out/confirm diagnosis.
I am very nervous - I am a 30 year old woman, not married although in a long term relationship. I hope to have a baby in the next few years. Now I know that MS is a possibility, I have found myself googling the implications and impact on pregnancy and motherhood.
I guess I am interested to hear if any others with an MS diagnosis can identify with any/all of my symptoms.
This all started 4 months ago when I began suffering an earrache. I am not one for going to the doctors - I never take sick days form work. I have a very demanding job that I love and I have always been blessed with good health, barr the occasional cold.
My earache began in my right ear - a sharp, intermittent pain deep within my ear. it came and went and I felt it most days. I tried to ignore it in the hope it would go away, but after around a month of great pain I went to my GP. The GP told me my ear looked normal (no signs of infection) but prescribed me antibiotics. The pain continued as I took them and a month later, when still the pain had not lessened, I returned to GP. This time she referred me to an ear, nose and throat specialist at the hospital.
This week I have had a hearing test (results perfect and 100% - phew). The consultant felt all around my face - asked me to do a number of things like scrunch up my eyes, look up, look down, scrunch up face some more - etc. He asked a lot of questions, including about MS in my family (of which there is none)
However, the questions he then asked of me at the hospital uncovered symptoms I wasn’t even aware of. I have experienced all of the following recently and in some cases for a number of years:
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restless legs. this has been ongoing for years but I thought nothing of it.
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twitchy legs - my muscles in my calves twitch terribly and this has been escalating lately. again, i thought nothing of this.
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numbness in one single toe. the big toe on my left foot has felt numb for years. i remember telling my mum this several years ago but us both shrugging it off as something peculiar.
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numbness/tingling in face. i had a very frightening experience on a plane last month. i woke up mid flight with an excruciating pain down one side of my face. one eye was weeping and one side of nose running. face felt paralysed on one side and very painful to touch, all on the same side as my sore ear. the pain passed after 20 minutes or so, but i was very scared and when i went to the hospital, I knew I was going to tell the doctor about it as it was so odd. it has only happened that one single time.
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twitchy toe - the same toe that is numb on my left foot, often twitches very visibly from side to side. there is nothing i can do to stop it. it doesn’t hurt, just feels odd. this has happened on and off for a few years, however again I never thought this could be a symptom of anyting serious - just a weird quirk.
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weak hand. all summer I have noticed my right hand feeling weaker and somewhat thicker-feeling than my left, like it takes more effort to make a fist. it’s only a slight difference, but I have definitely noticed it and actually thought it was a repetetive strain injury, from overuse of texting/tweeting on iphone!
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sore jaw. on the same side as my earrache, I have hd a lot of pain in my jaw. other than the earrache for which i was being referred, and the odd headache on the plane, the pain in the jaw was the only other symptom i went in to actively tell the doctor about.
The consultant told me that there is no sign of infection or damage in my ears, and the type of pain I describe sounds more like a problem with my nerve endings. he has prescribed me something for this - a tablet I take before bed at night, he wants me to have an MRI to rule out MS, and I will have this within a month.
I have read a little about MS and the main symptom i see mentioned again and again is fatige. i do not feel overly tired. i also feel as though the earrache is not as constant as it was a few months ago, and wonder if this was MS, if the nerve pain in the ear would fluctuate or if it would be constant?
Sorry for the long post. I wondered if anyone had heard of MS being diagnosed following an earrache? and if anyone here with a diagnosis of MS can identify with the above symptoms?
I am nervous and scared about the future.
