I posted recently on the other thread page but thought it best to move to here as I haven’t actually got MS and quite probably won’t have. I’ve had some nerve pain in my arms coming up to three years. It’s a faint nerve pain that runs from the elbow to the little finger. Sometimes there is numbness in that finger and the one next to it, but then it’s also affecting the thumb. On the day that it started, I also had a day of vertigo but the GP put that down to just ? an event and the arms were put down to an old whiplash/shoulder tension. It never fully went, but calmed down, and I didn’t have faith in my doctor doing anything other than Physio or take ibuprofen which hadn’t worked previously, A year ago, I woke up and my back had seized. I couldn’t even lift a plate as the pain was too much. This eventually affected my leg with sciatica. With medication this did start to ease but got to a stage where it wasn’t getting any better with Physio or acupuncture - it’s still there. Orthopaedic on exam said my reflexes and sensations are fine and it doesn’t appear to be a ruptured disc, maybe slightly protruding but only thing for that is to continue with exercises and have pain treatment if needed to cope with it! No scan as this can give a false positive and will end in same treatment. It it normal for them to keep trying your ankle reflex? It was as if she wasn’t getting anything. She tried the back, the sides, then started talking to me while trying the back again, then again, then eventually had me on the edge of the bed, did my knees then my ankles again! 5 weeks ago, even though the arms and legs had their own niggles, they suddenly flared up together causing a lot more discomfort that usual. It increased not just from the elbow but also intermittent cramps or pains elsewhere in the arm or hand. I’d noticed that I was getting increasingly more tired as the days went on, although this had been happening for a while, longer than the 5 weeks. Before that, I’d wake in the morning with a weird feeling in the arms as if they’d been dead but were now awake, a weird sensation - I seemed to lack strength in my hands and this continues even now. Yet, by the time I’m up and moving, it’s a lot better. Headaches started about 3 years ago and increased in intensity with some lasting up to 6 weeks, albeit sometimes barely noticeable but felt as if they were there non stop. On top or the urge incontinence and facial/sinus pain that had been checked by ENT as all clear… decided to get it checked. The GP checked my fine touch and I appeared to have some fingers that couldn’t feel his light touch from a tissue. Suggested it might be MS but Bloods were taken and I have low iron stores and Vit d, the rest are normal and he’s not concerned, During that time, my skin was getting numb in other parts of the body, but mainly noticeable in the evenings. By the time that week was up, my left leg had two bouts of numbness lasting 3 hours at a time, and mild numbness in between the flares over three days. I’d lost a lot of surface sensation in other parts of my body, such as the shoulders, the other leg, pressure on my throat as if someone was pushing in with their finger, and a tingling tongue. This all subsided and back to normal again for a week although I think the numbing is starting to return a little on he surface of the skin. Of course, this could all be a mixture of trapped nerves from my injuries, which apparently weren’t that bad as well as anxiety for fear of the possibility it is MS, causing the rest of the symptoms. I’ve now been referred to Neurology to see if the want to test further, which is in June. That’s it really. Hi 
I’m just waiting, partially thinking its nothing to do with MS as it doesn’t appear to fit the MS pattern of consistency, yet a part of me is wondering what if, and what if the don’t offer an MRI to rule it out. I know it highly unlikely for it to be MS, unless others have had similar patterns. To be honest, if it is, then it is and I’ll live with it, but at the same time, I now want peace of mind now the words have been spoken. Sorry for ramble - I think I just need other ears/eyes as I can’t keep telling my friend - at the moment it’s only her and my husband aware of the issues.
Hi,
I really can’t understand how a scan for a ruptured disc could lead to a false positive! MRI images are photographic quality, and you can see clearly whether there’s a protruding disc (they aren’t really “ruptured”) - I don’t know how on earth it would be possible to see one that wasn’t there - I don’t understand what’s meant by “false positive”, in this context.
Often, the treatment would be just the same anyway, but in about 1 in 10 cases, surgery might be indicated. So I don’t see how they can rule out the need for surgery, without taking a look to see what’s the matter.
Spinal cord inflammation due to MS on the other hand, IS tough to see. I was shown mine, and it was really not very distinct - just a faint, misty area on the scan. If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I wouldn’t have believed such a nebulous-looking thing could have caused complete numbness of both feet and pelvic area, and problems walking!
All credit to him, it was a neurosurgeon, looking for a slipped disc, NOT a neurologist who first spotted it. At first, he said there was nothing wrong, to account for all my symptoms. Then, peering closer: “Wait: I want to know what that is!” (indicating almost invisible non-thing). “If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to refer you to a colleague.” Colleague was an MS specialist. And the rest, as they say, is history.
I think it’s great news you’ve been referred to a neuro, and every chance he’ll order an MRI anyway, and none of this “false positive” piffle. It doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily find MS, but at least they’ll be able to check if there’s some mechanical impingement of your spinal cord, and not just say they don’t want to look, because “the treatment would be the same anyway”. What rot! How can they say what the treatment would be, if nobody has checked what the actual problem is? Grrrrr.
I’m sorry it’s so slow, but hopefully you will get answers, and with a bit of luck, it’ll turn out not to be MS.
Tina
x
Hiya,
I think your most relevant symptom is your headaches. Do you get blotchy skin on your arms; legs? Have you had any problems with pregnancy? If so it could be Sticky Blood or Hughes Syndrome; see http://www.hughes-syndrome.org/ otherwise symptoms mimic MS.
Get your GP to have a blood test for antiphospholipid antibodies.
Good luck
G
Thanks. The false-positive explaination was: A scan can show trauma which we know is there due to symptoms, a scan could show nothing, yet there are symptoms, on another a scan could show trauma and yet there are no symptoms. So there’s no point as it will produce the same treatment of exercises and/or pain control injections! Re the last post - no blotchy skin or pregnancy issues. Also not the kind of person to demand tests based on information I’ve read on the internet. But thanks for the info Just feeling a bit low and lost and need to vent without dumping on friends.