Looking for some ideas/help - Paresthesia
 

I'm writing this on behalf of my mom - I'm trying to be a proactive daughter and advocate for my mom to find out some answers.

My mom is a relitviely healthy 52 year old woman. She teaches health and wellness classes to seniors and teaches her own fitness (Zumba) classes 3x a week.

On Saturday (12/08/19) my mom was traveling aroudn the city in San Francisco. She said that she got back on the bullet train and started to feel a pain/ache right under her shoulder blade. She said very shorlty after, she started to feel pins and needles go down her side/stomach area and then down into her right hip and thigh. Throughout the night the pins and needles moved down all the way to her toes. And by Sunday morning (12/09/19) it was starting in her left side. She traveled home to Florida on Sunday and by the time I picked her up from the airport she was having difficulty walking and was numb in both legs.

She describes the numbness as the same sensation if your foot falls asleep from sitting on it. But she's experiacing that pins and neededs sensesion constantly - and it goes from right under her breasts down to her toes. Her entire lower abdomen, butt, and both legs - all pins and needles 24/7.

She's admitted to the hospital right now - but every test that keeps coming back is "normal". They've already done an upper and lower spinal MRI, a brain MRI, and a lumbar puncture.

Lumbar puncture didn't reviel any eleovated protein levels or anyting that was out of the ordinary. The MRI's that have been done do not show and disc hernications, bulges...just some minor arthirius and slight decompression. The doctors are saying nothing that they see to date would be significant enough to result in this type/amount of numbness.

I'm racking my brain and reading everything I can to come up with ideas on what else we can test for. What else should we be looking for? I want to be proactive and bring ideas to the table to try and find the source of this.

If anyone has had anything similar in the past, or even just has some ideas for things I could research more - I'd appreciate it so much.

- a concerned daughter

Hi stephaniemarie

Welcome to NeuroTalk :).

I am sorry to read about your mother.

I can't think of anything useful to suggest but hope that other members will be able to.

All the best.

Does she recall anything happening on the trip, that might have triggered some of this?
Maybe a trip or misstep, or using a heavy shoulder bag the whole time?
If a possible factor maybe expert chiropractic care?

Sounds like the general medical testing & MDs are not showing anything so far..

Maybe some slightly alternative care could be explored also??
Naturopathy
Acupuncture
Seek out skilled expert practitioners.

Final Diagnosis is: transverse myelitis.

She was in the hospital receiving high dose steroid treatment from December 11th - December 19th. It was the neurologist at this hospital that ruled out MS, and Guillain-Barre Syndrom and came to the conclusion that this was transverse myelitis - and related it to her flu shot that she got on 11/27. She had a brain MRI, Upper and Lower Lumbar MRI (with and without contrast) and a lumbar puncture while in the hospital.

After discharge on the 19th, she was told to continue with PT and working on being active and utilizing a plant-based diet. However, since coming home and following that plan of action, the pins and needles have started to come back in her feet. Her legs get very stiff if she walks too much OR sits too much. She's extremely uncomfortable and still isn't able to drive due to the numbness in her feet. She has another follow up with a neurologist next week.

Still hoping we can find a solution!