Hi all,

Would appreciate any insight any of you may have to what I'm experiencing.

I'm 27, female, no other health issues prior to this other than prescription contacts/glasses and the occasional headaches with visual aura.

Quick summary: What would cause these symptoms: 1 week of lightheadedness and visual symptoms which later disappeared, but were followed by increasing (but constantly fluctuating) numbness in the entire body starting in the neck and then the feet. No real fatigue or loss of coordination/balance, although today I sometimes feel as if the ground is not quite "even."

I have had an MRI of the brain, ultrasound of the arteries in my neck and X-Ray. Everything has come back normal, except the X-Ray did note a loss of cervical lordosis (the curve of the spine in my neck). I've read that this can cause dizziness/visual symptoms and later on, some numbness, but would it cause symptoms this severe??

Detailed description:

This all began 2 weeks ago. I had one full week of non-stop lightheadedness with visual symptoms coming/going (light sensitivity, decrease in peripheral vision, etc.) The lightheadedness would significantly improve when I laid down -- I could feel the blood rushing back into my head.

At the end of the week, the lightheadedness suddenly disappeared, although the visual symptoms remained. 3 days later I began feeling numbness in my neck and the lower section of my face. That evening, a numbness and a "blood fullness" feeling in my feet came, which would improve upon elevating but not completely go away. The next day, I felt the numbness going to my shoulders, chest, and parts of my upper back.

The following morning (yesterday morning) I woke up and almost my entire body felt numb (inc'l full face, fingers, legs, stomach/torso, butt, etc). Late that evening before sleeping, I noticed that when I urinated, I couldn't feel the urine passing out.

This morning I initially felt no different, but upon eating my usual breakfast and tasting little flavor, and then burning my lower throat with tea because I didn't feel the full capacity of the heat, I realized my tongue/mouth was numb. I'm also noticing today that the hardwood floors in my house feel different to my feet, as if they weren't evenly placed and I'm feeling the unevenness in my feet. I don't really feel unbalanced and there is no real fatigue. My fingers are also trembling even when I hold my wrist still.

Important note: the numbness is not usually severe (mostly a loss in sensation) nor is it consistently there -- it seems to fluctuate constantly in severity but in a totally random way, with no real connection to what I'm doing. Occasionally in my feet and hands it has gone away entirely for a 10-15 minutes only to return later.

I had an MRI of the brain done in the ER after the initial neck numbness, and everything came back normal. In the first week of dizziness, my doctor ran a bunch of blood tests including thyroid as I have a history of slightly elevated antibodies (but not consider to have hypothyroidism, my TSH is 3.8 which according to their scale is considered normal). An X-Ray of my neck done after the foot numbness appeared has shown a "loss of cervical lordosis," which is the curve in your spine at the neck. My aunt (a doctor in China who doesn't speak English) is convinced this is the cause of my dizziness/numbness, and says it is a common thing with office workers, but I'm concerned whether symptoms would get as severe as this).

Any input you might have would be appreciated. I'm desperately afraid of what this could be. I have an appointment with a neurologist but it us not until Dec 17, and as this seems to be progressing every day, I'm afraid of what I'll be experiencing by then. PLEASE HELP.

I should also mention I saw an ophthalmologist who told me my vision/eyes were healthy/normal. Also, the numbness comes suddenly, with no real tingling preceding it.

I think if you had any nerve involvement from the loss of lordosis, it would show up on the imaging/x rays.

The loss of curve is quite normal with long term desk or repetitive work.
You could try expert PT or expert chiropractic care to see if that improves any symptoms..

If you ever had a head, neck or shoulder bump or hit, the c1c2 could be misaligned.
and it could cause some of the visual and balance issues.
General x rays won't confirm this, it's special training that chiropractors may have.
www.upcspine.com
signs/symptoms-
http://www.upcspine.com/self.htm

Welcome nadias1987.