[SallyC]

Welcome Maura, happy to have you here.
Please, join right in..

[tkw 1130]

Glad to have stumbled onto this sight. I am undiagnosed at this point. My symptom is muscle weakness in both arms and legs. I was hospitalized at Thanksgiving, given if steroids for 3 days which got me back on my feet but never back to 'normal' then after a tooth was pulled and I had an infection, the oral prednisone was not enough, so back to hospital in March for 5 day plasmapheresis. That worked great! Downfall was it only made me strong for about 6 weeks, now I am back to being weak.. Chairs and stairs are my biggest issue but walking any distance can be a challenge as well.

When all this started I did get referred to neurosurgeon for cervical spinal stenosis but was told I was not a surgical candidate. Now still undiagnosed my Neuro has called me an enigma. He is sending me for 2 nd surgical opinion. My PCP selected another neurologist through Rush University Chicago, trouble is 1st avail appointment is taking one month to see any dr in the group. I am holding out hope for possible different diagnosis, if treatable.

MRI done twice shows legions but they are non-descript and do not light up with contrast. Lab messed up spinal tap test, only tested for 2 of 3 tests for ms. Had the spinal headache even when following instruction to avoid.
Anyone else have muscle weakness as only symptom?

[SallyC]

Hello tkw, nice to meet you. I presume you suspect that MS may be the culprit,
in your case? Muscle weakness can be a symptom of MS, as well as many other
causes. It sometimes can take many tests and months for a MS DX. There is
no "one" definitive test for MS, so the tests are usually to eliminate other
diseases as the cause.

Much luck in your DX journey. Keep a symptom journal, to help your Neuro
in his search, as well. We are here for you.

[Starznight]

I'm new to this site, my mom's been after me to find a support group for a while, I can get a wee bit (psychotically, suicidally, homicidally) depressed on occasion, generally when the doctors are scratching their heads telling me "hmmm, that ain't right...uhh...dunno." Or when the body goes into civil war mode with muscle fight muscle while I'm stuck begging it "can't we all just get along" it's tempting to just drop the bomb on them sometimes. Or when I'm asked for the umpteenth time "how are you feeling today?" And "is there anything I can do?" I don't have a definite diagnosis of ms but greatly suspected, reading through some of the posts I can really see why, I'm noticing a quirky humor very similar to my own here. One of the reasons why I resisted any kind of "chat" was I just can't deal with nothing but depressing posts without a shred of a sense of humor, like many of the other support groups for different disorders. So I guess if you get your doctor laughing with you through an exam it must be ms but I'll have an answer hopefully in august

[msbluis]

Originally Posted by Starznight

I'm new to this site, my mom's been after me to find a support group for a while, I can get a wee bit (psychotically, suicidally, homicidally) depressed on occasion, generally when the doctors are scratching their heads telling me "hmmm, that ain't right...uhh...dunno."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Starz! Welcome. I'm sort of new to this group but I've had MS for 20 years, since I was 40. Yep, you're right I'm 60.

Everything you write about is so true. It does seem docs must take a required course in common, generic greetings to patients.

I remember several years ago my regular annual neuro appointment was coming up and I thought I'd try to come up with a descriptive, original answer - ahead of time - to my doc's routine inquiry as to how I was doing.

So when he asked, I told him that I felt like my entire body was like a sieve (colander) and it was constantly losing its physical abilities through the holes. I was pretty pleased with myself for such a creative and visual expression of how I felt about my many physical losses.

What I meant was the my loss of all bladder control, my loss of balance, of intimacy, of privacy, strength, the complete use of both legs, the use of both arms, the loss of use of 1 1/2 hands, all loss of dexterity - basically everything below my neck.

His response to me was, "Can you just tell me without the use of the
imaginative description?"

Even though he'd been my neuro for years, I realized that day I was just a source of paycheck for him and I'd wasted my time trying to describe how I felt. Lesson learned. Good neuro, not a great people-person.

MsBluIs

[msbluis]

TKX, you asked:
"Anyone else have muscle weakness as only symptom?"

Just like Sally said, muscle weakness can be caused by SO many illnesses, you can't really determine anything until you've gone through weeks, months, sometimes even years of watching, waiting and testing.

In the beginning and for about a year my first symptoms were what you might describe as weakness, but I thought of it more as leg tiredness and heaviness. In the beginning my legs would feel like I'd run a marathon even though I'd only walked a block, or when I had gone grocery shopping.

I'd soon have to manually lift one leg, than after a few months, both legs to sit in my car or climb a stair.

Luckily after a few minutes' rest I'd be able to go again without the foot-drop or my legs feeling so heavy. I'd say I would have to sit and rest after at most, 20 minutes of leg use.

But a doctor must order many tests to rule out other possible causes since there's no one test that can confirm MS.

You didn't say if your MRI reflecting lesions was that of the brain, cervical column or thoractic spine, but it can take all three to help diagnose or rule out MS. And unfortunately, lesions can be evident but have no effect on your abilty to function. That's why blood tests, LP's and tests like Evoked Potentials are done, to rule out other diseases.

We wish you luck and we're here for you to talk to and ask questions.

[M&M Angel]

My name is Monica.
Hi everyone I've been following some of these post and find that this might be good for me. For years I have not made any of my medical issues a point to come before anything else. There for I never made time to talk or think much of them... Last year I pushed myself and since January I haven't worked been in the hospital 4 times already. Seems that I get so cold and my legs lock in pain that in unbareable. I have always thought there could be a nerve issue like MS. I feel numbness in my head, lips, touge, finger tips and hands. depression meds help with that. But my legs is not something I can igonre. I've had test done and so far PN mix of senory motor peria something.... In the end I think that I will be living with a life time of MS. I'm on pain meds and gabpentin... I'm thinking there is got to be some other way to deal with my self, I thinking that after awhile nothing will help but a wheel chair....

[Snoopy]

Hello M&M Angel and welcome to NeuroTalk.

I've had test done and so far PN mix of senory motor peria something.

Do you mean you are diagnosed with Sensorimotor polyneuropathy?

Neuropathy means a disease of, or damage to nerves. When it occurs outside of the brain or spinal cord, it is called a peripheral neuropathy.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000750.htm

If this is the case this would not mean MS. MS is a disease of the Central Nervous System (Brain, spinal cord, optic nerves). PN happens outside the Central Nervous System(CNS).

Information about Peripheral Neuropathy
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/p...neuropathy.htm

You may want to talk to those in the PN forum
The PN forum:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum20.html

There is a diagnostic criteria for Multiple Sclerosis -- The McDonald Criteria:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/articl...up#aw2aab6b5b2

Best wishes.

[SallyC]

Welcome to NeuroTalk, M&M Angel.

And thank you Snoopy..

[amberlenee]

I am 39 and recently diagnosed with ms. All the mri's, blood work, and spinal tap are done. My next neurologist appointment is next Wednesday, but I was called today by her telling me it is ms, and the dye test done during my mri shows it's not active. I don't understand this because each day I seem to be getting worse with pain and mobility. I haven't been truly educated on the subject as I refused to think it was ms until my diagnosis. Right now I'm mad and don't know what to do or say. I feel like I'm in life's solitary confinement. Oh, and the icing on my cake was being asked if I needed a wheelchair at a store yesterday.