Hi, I'm a woman in my 20's. I started having pretty symmetric numbness in all my limbs a few months ago that lasted about
4 days. Then a month later it came back with a headache and bladder pain. The headache went away. The numbness and bladder pain lasted about
10 days. I wnet to the doctor and had my thyroid tested. It was normal. I would've left it at that but later in the week I had trouble writing (and remembering the letter shapes) at one point and went to the ER.
There, my liver enzymes were high and there was blood and mucus in my urine, but they didn't think those findings were related. They told me they thought my symptoms were stress related, though I didn't feel stressed. I have a light course load, and awesome grades. If anything I felt like this has been a very low stress period in my life, but I was abused as a young child did have PTSD in the past. I felt like that was why they immediately went to a nonorganic cause, but when I had bad PTSD was ten years ago. I haven't felt like I've had trouble with it since then. I really just feel like it was a normal response to my situation at that time ten years ago, as a young teen first confronting that issue.
Anyway, a few days later all my symptoms went away again. I saw a neurologist, but by this time was asymptomatic. The exam was normal and so was the mri and the other slew of tests that was ordered (for sarcoidosis, sjogrens, lyme, a whole blood count, I think that's it) . I was fine for about
another month (there was still some bladder pain in the interim) and then more numbness, worse bladder pain again.
I've had this feeling sometimes also like hot water is being poured down my back. The numb feeling is an actual loss of sensation that is accompanied by a cool tingly feeling like camphor. It's not like the pins and needles of a limb being "asleep." Sometimes this also feels like cold liquid on my forearms. So much I've had to check that I hadn't really spilled something on myself. During this latest "episode" of whatever the heck this is I also had nausea for a few days, and was vomiting one morning a few days ago. I was on my way to the college, but because I threw up in the car, my mom took me home. When I got out of the car and went in the house, I went to the bathroom, thinking I might vomit again. I didn't but I did inadvertently touch the back of my pants and they were wet. This is really embarrassing but it was soaked through my underpants and smelled like urine. I think I peed on myself while I was throwing up, but I hadn't realized at all til I got inside. I had already scheduled a follow up about
the numbness for that day so I went in. They found some blood in my urine again. An ANA test was ordered and I don't know the result yet. They tested liver and kidney function, but they also told me blood and mucus in urine are normal (really?). The doctor said some women always pass some blood, and I thought maybe this is true of some percent of the female population when studied, but doesn't it matter that I actually had the test done for a reason? This wasn't just random blood in urine, it was while I was already having issues with bladder pain and incontinence.
I don't know what's wrong. After the second time this happened I thought it could be ms, but now I think my attacks have been too frequent- only a month between for the last several months. Plus the mri came back normal (there was mucosal thickening on one side of my head). After four appointments for the same issue already and the doctors all reacting with an apparent lack of concern, I'm starting to feel like I might just be a little crazy. I've looked things up after the ER and started to wonder about
ms, lupus, congenital connective tissue diseases (this one because I did have soft trachea, GERD, and folded over ears in my infancy). All this worry and googling does seem kinda like a hypochondriac. But my symptoms do have some consistency and I think the fear is a result and not a cause of all the other junk. I'm just really feeling like I'm nuts (these sensory things are so bizarre) and I'm getting to the end of my patience for this run around with the doctors. I guess I'm just looking for advice. Does this sound like ms? Could I be over reacting? Did you ever have a negative mri, before you were diagnosed?
Post Edited (mickey firan) : 4/16/2013 1:38:11 PM (GMT-6)