What is going on?!?

   It started two days before Halloween of 2005 with a horrible attack that landed me in the emergency room with what the doctors called a TIA (transient ischemic attack) and had no idea why.  The first off my syptoms was that I noticed I couldnt read the news ticker at the bottom of CNN before dinner even though I could see there was a picture there. I then accused my boyfriend of moving my hamburger from in front of me... but it was there, I just couldnt see it!  I could see the counter, but it was like pieces of my vision were gone (not spotty like looking into a bright light), just gone! 

    After that, I drove to work (I was a server at a local bar/pub) and by the time I got there 10 min. later, I could barely walk.  Then the numbness in my right arm started, from the shoulder down. Not tingly, just absolutely no feeling.  Then my voice went, it was like getting a novicain shot from the dentist, just under my jaw and my tongue.  I managed to get my b/f down there to take me to the hospital.  By then my vision was returning, the numbness was going away, but then the pain in my eyes started.  Horrible horrible pain.  I suffered a few migraines back when I was 16 from too strong of birth control pills, but this one was different... they shot me up with who knows what to knock me out (I recieved very little info from the docs). 

     While I was there at the hospital, I underwent CAT scans, MRI, MRA, TEE, numerous EKG's, and lots of blood work.  The only adnormalities were several lesions, spots on my CAT scan.      From there, I had three more similar attacks in that one week, only one being as severe as the first, landing me in the emergency room again, yet this time, the pain wasnt quite as bad.  In a course of a month, I had a total of 8 attacks, the symptoms gradually lessening.  I changed jobs to get out of the smoky air and less stress. I have been eating better and more regularly, sleeping more, trying to stay as active as I can, yet I still dont feel as good as I did before the attacks.  I get very lightheaded easily and I feel SO tired all the time no matter how much sleep I get.  I talked to my family and friends about it, yet they look at me like I am just trying to find something wrong.  I have seen a total of five different specialists and none of them seemed interested in finding out what was wrong with me.  The only thing they ruled out was that it wasnt a patent formen ovale (hole in heart).  They just turned me away to "find another specialist". Please if anyone has any advice as to how to proceed, let me know!  I cant deal with this everyday wondering when another attack is going to happen and whats causing it.  And to everyone that has gone through this, my heart goes out to you.  Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Nikki B.

Thank you for responding.  I am just searching for any information I can get.  Part of solving a puzzle is by eliminating pieces. And I am very confused on all this.  I went through this without insurance and I wonder if it had something to do with the mess I am about to tell you about.

     One of the most confusing things I have ever been through started basically, with the emergency doctors sending me to a neurologist, who then sent me to one cardiologist, who referred me to another cardiologist who evalutated all the info that the other doctors had collected (this took almost 7 weeks for all the requested documents to arrive in one place).  The last doctor I talked to was very (and I mean very!) eager to evalute the PFO that was seen in my heart, due to the new procedures on closing techniques.  Once he determined that the PFO was not the offending condition due to size and did not require closing, he literally didnt speak with us for more than five minutes and just nonchalantly told me to take Plavix "just in cause". When my father asked for how long, he said "oh, I dont know, try it for a year."  The only other abnormalities was the fact that two different nurses at two different hospitals looked at my EKG and said almost the same exact thing as, "hmm, they need to look at this, that doesnt seem right."  The other were several lesions in my CAT scan.

   And that was the last of my health care.  I wish i could tell you more, but I had to pry to get any information out of my own doctors.  I dont even remember the first two doctors from the ER, they shot me up with who knows what then just sent me home with nasuea medicine.  I had to call the next day to find out what they had told me the night before. None of the specialists could tell me anything about what happened or where to turn to.  I dont know who to go see, if I should bother, ect..... I have been left wondering why I have suffered apparent TIA's at the age of 24 and when I research myself the lesions bring me back to a possible attack brought on by MS.   Thats why I found this site.  I hope to find at least something in the way of guidance.

who will go over all your various records, including emergency visits, and see if there is one underlying cause to your situation.

Generally the lesions showing up on a CAT scan may not be the same sort of lesions that are related to having MS. And there are lots of reasons for lesions that show up in the body ("lesion" is another word for spot, scar, unusual spot, whatever...not a specific word to describe MS).  You don't mention whether you've had an MRI -- which might determine whether indeed there are lesions on your brain, and whether they occur in areas generally related to having MS, or in areas more indicative of a vascular disease.

Again, re-reading this thread, your symptoms and attacks don't sound a lot like MS.  While 24 is young for heart problems, it certainly can happen.  You really need to get to a doctor and have all this evaluated.  And don't hesitate to take a family member or friend with you, who can help you keep track of the doctor's advice and recommendations.  If you are indeed having TIA's, that can be a life-threatening situation, and ought not go untreated.