Welcome, DeliaC!

You've certainly been through a lot of tests and I hate to suggest more but agree with glenntaj that MS can't be ruled out without a brain MRI. Your symptoms don't sound much like MS but you never know because it's such an odd disorder and can show up in so many different ways.

When you say it's trendy now to hear that everyone has wear and tear in their spine, I don't know if this is such a recent trend. I heard that very thing back in 1978, and in 1980 I learned that my symptoms were due to MS. It is generally known that wear and tear on the spine is almost universal as we get older, though, and doctors often treat spine problems conservatively--avoiding surgery and recommending physical therapy and other measures instead.