I am new to the board but have been reading a lot of posts here. Everyone seems quite helpful and I am hoping to get your opinions.
Two years ago I had started having problems with dropping things. Not all the time, but just bouts here and there, and with that also muscle weakness in my arms. Which has never improved. I had complained about having a balance problem back then as well along with left arm tingling.
I had a MRI of brain WWO Contrast/ accession in 2011.

This is the There is a single small focus of subcortical t2/Flair white matter hyperintensity in the left subinsular region, measuring about 4x7 mm, without enhancement and is nonspecific.
IMPRESSION: no acute intracranial process, Single nonspecific nonenhancing subcortical white matter signal abnormality left insula , no suspicious enhancement.

Now, to 9/1/2013 I had some sort of attack after going outside on a humid day. I had not planned on going out if it were humid because my body can't take the humidity. It will stiffen up and the pain become unbearable.

My symptoms were:
both legs went numb/felt very heavy and they didn't feel like mine, kind of detached
tingling in both legs and arms.
Dropping things like crazy.
Didn't seem to have good control over arms when I went to reach for things, I would knock them over accidentally.
Head bobbled
speech became slurred like I was drunk
No short term memory
couldn't put sentences together right
pronunciation and spelling of words were bad
confusion
I have had this tight feeling around my chest area where the bra goes for quite a while now, so much so I have complained to my husband that it feels like a vice grip on me and my shoulder muscles in the back along with the muscles going down my spine on either side are very painful.
I have also gotten this weird all over body vibrations when I am laying down in bed. It happens only like maybe a half dozen times a year. Kind of like the vibration a cat makes when purring. The vibrating is strong enough it wakes me up if i am sleeping. It happened again the other night while I was laying on my left side and it seemed to only happen on that side.
sensory sensitivity to light, sound ( couldn't tell where my kids were when they called me cause I couldn't tell what direction the sound came from)
Walked like I was drunk
very weak, more than the normal
I went to my pcp dr and she order another mri of brain.
MRI without contrast:
solitary hyperintensity noted within the subinsular white matter on the left.
This is seen both on sagittal and axial Flair weighted images. Differential dignostic possibilities include demyelinating process such as multiple sclerosis, microvascular ischemic change and less likely infectious or neoplastic entities.

This lasted about 3 weeks and the last week of september it felt like I was doing much better, except the speech thing hung around but not as bad, and I'm still off balance.

Oct 2013
First time in my life ever, I experienced vertigo and fell over. I couldn't walk to save my life for about 24 hours.
Dizziness
Still walking like I'm a little drunk. Can't walk straight path, but find myself weaving back and forth from one side of the side walk to the other when walking my kids.
Here's the thing I can't seem to understand. I can't walk more than a block without my limbs going numb and my walk becomes all shaky.
Last weekend my husband and I took a walk one evening because it was so beautiful and I walked more than I probably should have cause my left leg just stopped working. I had to really focus on getting my leg to move forward cause it didn't feel attached and I really struggled to finish the rest of the way home.
I went and had a second opinion because the neuro doctor I saw in september seemed to fluff me off and sent me on my way. I still have balance problems and for no apparent reason I can just be standing there,( swaying, as my husband says) and I will loose my balance and go backwards, but have been able to regain myself. Also when I am walking and stop, my feet stop but sometimes the rest of my body can't stop and I end up leaning forward beyond my feet.
Anyway,,, The second neuro dr who is a ms specialist looked at this last recent mri and said that because my lesion isn't in the normal area of the brain, she is ruling out ms. I mean, just like that. She isn't doing a mri of my whole spine or a LP or anything. Now, because I have told her that I have chronic headaches and chronic neck stiffness x 8 years with no relief she ordered a cervical mri WWO contrast. I want so badly to find answers so I can get back to work, but why do doctors seem to not care to find the help for us.
Does anyone have any words of advice?

Hello weetagirly,
I feel your frustration and would just say to continue your hunt for the right doctor. I remember back in 2001 I had many weried things going on with me that know one had answers for. Doctors thought MS,SHINGLES and many others things were the problem. They refused to do an MRI in the location I thought was the problem because they said my symptoms would not be coming from that area. After 7 months of diffrent things that doctors tryed on me I came down with phenomia and when my temp. Got 104 I started to shake terrible. So I saw this new doctor and told him other symptoms I have had over the last 7 months. He had me stand up close my eyes and I fell over into his arms. He ordered me an MRI in the area I had asked my primary 7 months ago to do. It came back that I had a tumor growing inside my spinal cord at c6 to t4 and was getting ready to burst the cord wide open because of the size it was. 7 hrs into my 12 hr sergery I was parilized from the chest down. Doctors said this is probly as good as its going to be, but God had diffrent plans for me. Even though I have many nerve conditions and other limitations,, walking,working out,golf etc are not part of those conditions like the doctors said I would never do again. Who knows what I would be like if my doctor would have listened to me and done the MRI when I wanted ( 7 months less growth on that tumor )
Keep your head up and keep looking for that one doctor that will have the answer.
MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU
Paul

weetagirlywirly,

It is great to have you come and be with us. You will fine a great number of dear friends to listen when you are in need of ears. Please, just let us know how we can help you out. You will find out we are supportive and relaxing place.

Please keep us up to date on your situation. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Darlene

ALIVEANDWALKING,

I am so sorry to hear that happened to you, and reading your story also makes me feel so angry that the doctor didn't seem to want to hear you when you told him where you thought the problem was located. All of that could have been prevented with you and you never would have had to go through all that had he of set his pride aside and just looked at the fact that there was something wrong with you and it was his job to find out what it was.
We know our bodies better than anyone and we know when something isn't right.
Thank you for your reply and I will continue to keep searching. God Bless.

Hi Darlene,
I commented on your post but for some reason it isn't showing up. So, I will start again. Thank you for your warm welcome. Nice to know there is a place to go where there are people that understand. This hanging in limbo thing is just so frustrating.
My cervical spine mri came back saying I have no lesions in the neck but my spine has some straightening going on, and some herniated discs due to a injury a long time ago. Well at least that explains all the neck pain and stiffness over the last 10 years. My PCP doctor says she isn't convinced yet that there isn't a ms issue, so she ordered a LP.
I go this thursday for a neuropyschological eval.
My symptoms seem to come and go and seem to flare up when I overheat.
Just looking for answers like so many others. Thanks again.