Nobody knows...
 

Trying to self-diagnose. No luck with doctors yet. All of them just tell me my symptoms are stress related but I don't believe it. Symptoms: headaches, confusion, blurred vision, ringing in ears, twitches in R eye, L hand and L foot, nausea, dizziness, speech difficulties (i.e. forgetting words, mumbling, stuttering), fatigue, difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking too early. I also have joint pain, cramps in abdomin, back, feet and hands, and my newest symption - bowel incontinence. Has anyone had similar symptoms? Could these be symptoms of MS?

Hi Rossy..Welcome. So sorry as to why you are here, but glad you found us.:)

To answer your question, Yes, but it could be other things too. Do You have a Neuro? Has he/she done any tests, such as MRI, LP...etc?

An MS Diagnosis can sometimes come as a process of elimination of other possible illnesses.

Glad you are here..:hug:

Saw neuro last Tues. Sched for MRI & EEG 8/11, but he told me it was most likely stress.

GRRRRRR!!! I hate it when they assume, before testing..It's enough to cause a person stress..:rolleyes:

Good luck with the tests..

I hope the tests give you some answers, Rossy. Good luck!

hi rossy,

welcome to NT.
good luck with your tests. i hope they give you some answers.
don't give up looking. why do drs assume "stress" when they deal with females?

if you need to consider getting a 2nd opinion. and, get copies of your test results and start a medical file on yourself.

Hi Rossy,

I'm new here too, and have MS-like symptoms, but without a diagnosis.
It is a process of elimination, which i'm going through too.

You''ll need lots of tests to rule out or affirm many other conditions and diseases.
The MRI may or may not show anything, but you're on the right track.

Blurred vison is not stress!
I think some Dr's use the excuse of 'stress' to fall back on when they don't know what's wrong.
It's very poor that your neuro blamed it on stress even before tests have been done.
Depending on what it is you may not get a quick diagnosis. You need to be patient in the world of neurological problems!

Best wishes with it all.

hello, and welcome.

While stress can cause such symptoms, you normally just know it when something is wrong with you. you can feel it! That being said, there are more than 100 diseases that can mimic MS. Lyme, Lupus, Sjoghrens, and so on. The list could go on and on.

What I found helpful was to get to an MS clinic. there are usually at least one in every state. Sometimes its a branch of a main hospital, but most states have at least one. Those folks will do the leg work. They will test for Vit b12 def. Check your Vit D level (commonly low in MS) check your Lyme titers, and your inflammtory markers. They will do hands on exam, and if all of those things lead them to believe they need to be searching for MS, they most commonly do a spinal tap, and an MRI with Gadolinium dye. If you have lesions in your brain, the dye will light up the active ones. not all brain lesions are MS. They commonly lay in a pattern around the ventricle, but can be found in other locations. The spinal tap will measure inflammatory markers and O bands. Most folks wont have O bands unless they are IN a flair, so dont be discouraged if its a zero count.

PLEASE see an eye surgeon. They will take a look at the front edge of that optic nerve in your eyes, and maybe able to tell if you have a disease called optic neuritis. its a hallmark sign of MS and quite frequently is the presenting symptom of MS. They can only see the front tip of this thing, and the MRI would be able to see the rest.

Please know that being tested for and being diagnosed with MS is a long process for most folks. Many go through several MDs before finding one that will listen to them. In 99% of all MS cases, they are not an emergency. While it feels like your life is falling apart, and you cant get a grip, its RARE, extremely rare to have a lesion on your brain stem, and that would be the only time you will see those who diagnose you panic.

Please go to NMSS.org. They have amazing resources, and can help you find an MD in your area that treats and can help diagnose or rule out MS. Its a process of elimination. They take this basket of 100 things and start to pull them out. She doesnt have B12 cause her blood test was great, ok, next, she doesnt have Lyme cause her blood test was good, ok, next, she doesnt have high inflammatory markers her CRP was good...get the idea? Then they will narrow it down to a hand ful of 10 and out of those ten, they tend to take their best educated guess based on your history, and your work up. it can be quite frustrating and aggrevating, but dont allow yourself to be dismissed if you feel something is wrong. Go get those answers. I wish there was a blood test that could make it easy.

I have always said I want a color coded system of eyebrows. This girl has a red eyebrow so she has heart disease. This one pink, she has breast cancer, this one is orange so she has MS. wouldnt that be great?! Hang in there, and come on back to sit and chat, and learn, and get hugs. :hug:

Run away if a doctor tells you it's stress. He is full of himself and lacks knowledge and imagination. Be sure you have your life insurance and long term disability insurance lined up bfore you start looking for a diagnosis.

BBS1951 is correct. Pre-diagnosis is time to get life insurance and Long term Disability. After diagnosis is TOOOOO late. SSDI is not much if you're used to more. I was DXed within 5 years of my last job, My SSDI a nice addition to DH's income, but Iwould find it hard to live on just it. My diagnosis made us think hard how bad things just happen in this world, it costs and life is very costly, we got STD and Life Insurance ASAP for DH as he is the real wage earner in our house and we have 2 kids about to start college In 5 years when we can cancel LTM, that extra money monthly will be nice, as it is "found" (not used to having it), should save it if we don't keep policy. DX can be a long process. Best of luck.

agreed! get long term disability insurance, and life insurance and whatever other insurances you can get and qualify for. The very moment you step through the doors of an MS clinic its too late. They will consider that a pre existing condition. I have insurance, and after dx we called to update our policies and maybe bump them to a higher level, and was locked out. I was assured that the policies I have in place still stand, but NO changes can be made unless I wish to cancel them. I have paid these policies for 25 years! they have gotten more money from me than I will ever get from them, but they consider ME the risk?

I love the advice to RUN AWAY from MDs that insist its stress. It truly does mean they dont have the knowledge, or desire to dig deeper to find out what the real issue is. They simply want to move on to the next sore throat, or diaper rash and not rock their own world with work, research, tests, and explanations to insurance companies about why they are digging.

Hang in there. :hug:

Rossy - Welcome!

Good advice from the others. I have kept all my MRI films and test results. Came in handy transferring from one doc to the other.

Keep changing docs until one listens, believes and helps you. They need to treat your symptoms if they can, and rule out things to narrow down what is wrong, as Dej says. All these neuro things are pretty similar and elusive. Some of them I've been tested for several times, jjust to be sure.






My insurance company keeps sending me questionaires about who I'm suing over my injury - when did it happen? Did it happen at work? Am I getting worker's comp? Was it auto related? Hmmmm... I just kinda AM this way.

Last time, I was in a mood and wrote back that if I knew what truck had hit me, I'd have taken care of him myself. It wouldn't have made it to court.

Messes with your head when even the ins thinks you're so messed up that surely, something ran you over....:(

I should show that questionaire to my docs, huh?

Yeah, let them fill it out..:mad: :D

Rossy, your predicament mirrors my experience.

I ended up going through an ENT (ear, nose, throat doc) for my MRI, which lead to my eventual diagnosis.

Welcome to NT, but I'm sorry you've found your way here due to your health. You'll find great support here :hug:

At least they've scheduled the MRI!

Ugh. I wish the neuro would have 'held back' the stress comment.

Even if that's what the neuro thinks, it isn't something they should say - it sets a funky tone for your relationship from the git-go. Expressing any frustration over the fact they said though could result in them taking you even less seriously. Unfair as it is, ditching a doc at the first sign of disagreement doesn't look good either. Your medical history travels with you to some degree.
I'd chalk it up to bad 'bedside' manner and (if you can) leave it that for now. Get a second opinion after this one has given it a fair shot.