I was admitted into hospital with numbness down left side of back, chest, stomach and thigh. Also have lost strength in my left arm, slightly in my leg and my left hand is stiff with pins and needles. I cannot even do buttons up at the moment! Ive had these symptoms for 3 weeks. Ive had a lumbar puncture, blood tests and a mri which showed two leisons in my brain and one on my spine. Just waiting for the results. Neurologist seems to think its MS - im very worried at the moment as i was told to rest and not drive until my results come back (theyve sent the tests to oxford). Do you think i have MS?
Hi Twinkle,
I know it doesn’t help much, but it’s impossible to say.
Yes, it does sound very “MS-like” - however, some people have just a single “MS-like” attack, but never go on to have another one, so it’s not usually diagnosed after just one attack, however suspicious the evidence, as it may never happen again.
Unfortunately, that means many people are left just trying to put it out of their minds, and hoping it was a one-off - which for some will be true! I’m just trying to prepare you that even if they think it is MS, you may not be about to get a diagnosis if this is your one and only attack. “Once” isn’t multiple, so can’t be diagnosed as multiple sclerosis.
Also, not everything that looks like MS actually is. Other conditions can cause brain lesions. Part of the reason for the blood tests is to rule out other things, that may have a similar effect, so more will be known when the results come back. Unfortunately, there is no 100% conclusive test for MS, so it has to be diagnosed by process of elimination - ruling out everything else it may possibly be.
Advising you to rest and not drive seems entirely sensible, in the circumstances, as you have neurological problems of unknown origin.
However, most people who have MS or a single MS-like attack do recover substantially from the attacks, and most are still permitted to drive - but usually on a three-year licence.
So the fact you are being advised not to drive for the time being doesn’t mean you can’t ever - they just need to sort out what’s wrong with you.
So for the moment, try to focus on it’s only happened once (I’m assuming that’s true), it might never happen again, and prospects for recovery are rather good, even though it might be slow, and might not be 100%. Most MS episodes (if it was that) last at least four or five weeks, and some a lot longer, so three weeks is still early days yet. Don’t assume how you are now is permanent, as there’s still plenty of time for improvement. Recovery can continue for up to a year, and I’m not even positive some people haven’t had improvements after that, so it’s not one of those things that if it’s not better in three weeks, it’s permanent. The repairs can be very slow, and hardly noticeable at first.
I hope you will be feeling better soon, but don’t give up if it seems to take a long time.
Tina
x
Thanks very much, you’ve given me alot of info to think about. Hopefully it will be a one off and will lead to nothing - its the waiting that makes the situation worse! x
I am sorry that you are having such a worrying time. Nothing for it but to wait and see, I’m afraid. I hope that the weakness and other troubles start clearing up soon - it is good for morale when things start going in the right direction again, whatever the underlying problem.
Hang on in there. It is a horrible time, the waiting and wondering, and I hope that you get some clarity soon, so that you know what you are dealing with.
Good luck.
Alison
Thanks very much for your kind words alison100 I appreciate it.