Hello, this is my first post on this site and I am just desperate.

Let me start by saying that I am 30 years old and had my first child 8 weeks ago. I had a normal pregnancy, until the last trimester when I developed high blood pressure and swelling. I was induced with an epidural, and gave birth vaginally.

3 days after birth my problems started. I had started getting heart palpitations, chills, really high blood pressure and a sense of doom. I went to the hospital, they gave me antibiotics and said I had an infection. After that my problems only got worse. I started having irregular heartbeats, my heart felt like it was flip flopping, for 2 days straight. Went to the ER, nothing found on the EKG, blood work was fine.

Irregular heartbeats lessened at this point. I then started to get really hot internally, but no fever. My hands would tremble and I just felt jittery. I've developed so many problems, it's just easier if I list them.
-Trembling hands
-Ice pick headaches(rarely)
-Tingling on legs, feet, arms, head
-Back and muscle pain( sore like I've worked out)
-Joints hurt
-Heavy feeling in chest
-Black floater in right eye
-Urge to have a bowel movement as soon as I wake up
-Frequent urination
-Ringing/clogged feeling in ears
-Heaviness feeling in right arm
-Feeling disconnected from my body
-General unwell feeling
-Twitching muscles on different parts of my body
-Fatigue
-Feeling out of it and like I'm getting less sharp.
-Feeling of wanting to jump out of my own skin.
-Cold and Hot spots on skin, not to the touch though.


There are probably a few others that I can't think of right now. I've seen many doctors who say it is Anxiety. While yes, a small part can be anxiety because I am so scared of what it happening to my body, I feel like I am slowly dying, or that I will drop dead because that is how bad I feel.

I have had 5 CBC, all normal. A CT scan of the head and abdomen, normal. ANA test, Cortisol, Thyroid, Hormone levels checked, normal.
Clinical assessment by Neurologist ( strength tests, reflexes, etc.) normal. I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow, and am so scared. I just know something is off and I keep getting worse.

I was perfectly healthy before pregnancy, and generally healthy during. The only thing that happened was I received a Pertussis and Rubella Vaccine before leaving the hospital, the day before all this occurred. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with my problems or what, I'm just scared I'm dying.

I know MS symptoms vary greatly from person to person, but does this sound remotely similar to MS?

Sorry for the long post, I feel so helpless and scared, any input is welcome. Thank You

There is growing concern with respect to adverse outcomes with postpartum rubella immunizations on both mother and the breast fed children of those mothers.
You might find the sort of information you are looking for by searching the internet for "Postpartum rubella immunization adverse reactions".

If your platelet count has not been checked that should be done.

Hope that you feel better soon.

With love, Erika

Hi Little Pea. What Erica says is true. All of your symptoms could be the result of an adverse reaction to the Pertussis/Rubella immun. shot. I would look into that first.

Thank you Erica and Sally for your replies.

I will bring that up to the doctor during my next visit. Meanwhile, I am on my way to get an MRI, hopefully that will provide some insight into what is happening to my crazy brain and body.

Thanks again!

Just curious if you ever got any results?

Hi lilpea

I hope your MRI is over and you got to go home and nap. They wont give you answers at the machine, but perhaps your MD will call.

Now let me tell you what I tell everyone who steps in the door. Breathe! Just breathe! MS is normally a long haul disease to get tagged with BUT there are more than 100 diseases that can mimic MS including Lyme, lupus, sjoghrens, porrphyria, drug reactions, vitamin def, MG, MS, ALS, migraines, and so on. the list goes on and on and yes, includes reactions to vaccines and medications.

Your MD will start with things that are easy to prove like vitamin levels being low after giving birth. iron levels being low and lyme, lupus and other stuff that will show up on blood tests. After that, they slide you into an MRI and look for lesions. MANY things can cause lesions, and not everyone who has lesions has or ends up with MS. Its frustrating, and maddening to not feel well and have to jump from MD to MD to get answers. Its the placement of those lesions that make a MS statement or denial. There are blood vessels that connect the brain to your blood supply, and typically the lesions tend to be circled around those vessels. New thinking is that they are iron deposits and old thinking is that its the body attacking itself. The news changes from month to month on what they are thinking now.

its common for post partem women to have a flair. The progesterone and the estrogen seem to be protective, and when they plummet we do see flairs in women. Some go into issues at 3 weeks and some wait a full year.

I hope you get answers soon. Till then we are all here waiting on hearing from you. Tell us how you are, where you are in the process and what can we do for you.

Hello again! Well I had my MRI done on Friday, it wasn't bad at all. I was just freaking myself out at the end, trying to read the technician's mannerisms. I don't have an appointment till this coming Thursday, this is when I will have more information. I am very scared but also want answers.

So I received my MRI results today and to make a long story short, everything was completely normal. I know I'm not out of the woods yet, as my MRI was without contrast...but it was the first step for me trying to figure this out.

Would you guys suggest I wait and see how my symptoms go, or should I push for more testing.

Thank you all again.

Great news!


A normal MRI would still come up normal even with contrast. If a MRI shows an abnormalty the contrast would allow that area or areas to 'light up' if the abnormalty is currently active (inflammation).

If you want answers to your symptoms then, yes, talk to your doctor about what possibilities there maybe.

Erika:
If you have not discussed this with your doctor then you might follow the advice given above

I agree. A clean MRI meaning NO lesions is a wonderful gift! This can rule out so many things. There are many other diseases that can mimic MS like lyme, lupus, EB, MG, and the like. Go back to your primary care MD and bring your report. If you are still feeling bad ask him to help you chase the culprit. if you are feeling better (as happens in diseases that relapse and remit) than hang in there. If it is MS some folks can go years before the next attack. Some will never have that next attack. continuing to feel badly means there is something going on, whether that is mental, physical or emotional will have to be uncovered.

If there were NO lesions then having dye injected into you (which carries risks of its own) would not have helped one tiny bit. The GAD dye only lights up lesions that are in an ACTIVE phase. So, no lesions means nothing to light up, no reason to stress your kidneys with this stuff. folks have been known to have big kidney issues after this stuff. Be glad you dont need it. I always feel like I am gambling when they give me this stuff.

I hope you feel better quick.