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Was this a flare?

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Posted 9/13/2006 11:43 PM (GMT 0)
Yesterday I was standing in the garage helping the other half with a few chores and all of a sudden I went really dizzy. Wasn't sure what was happening, then I got a shooting pain in the front right side of my head. I sat down for a while and when I stood up I had more dizziness but my right leg was tingling and felt numb. Could feel the tingling in both the bottoms of my feet. My left leg and right arm also tingling. What do you guys think? I still haven't received results from the LP so I will be back on the phone today.
Posted 9/14/2006 12:42 AM (GMT 0)

I use this book as a primary source of general information about MS:  "Multiple Sclerosis: The Questions, The Answers", edited by Rosalind C. Kalb, Ph.D., published by Demos Medical Publishing, now in a third edition.

She describes an MS flare (exacerbation is the formal term for flare, or attack) this way:

"An exacerbation or "attack" of MS is caused by a new plaque (lesion) of demyelination or the reactivation of an old plaque.  For a symptom to qualify as an exacerbation it must, by devinition, last for at least twenty-four hours and be separated from the previous attack by one month."

It's hard to say what caused the senations you describe, but it also sounds like it passed, upon rest?  I'd probably ask the doctor about it - -it could simply have been caused by over-exertion, or it could be a form of migraine headache, but it doesn't sound much like an exacerbation of MS.

Posted 9/14/2006 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the explanation Uppity,
I wonder then was it a small TIA? I really felt terrible, sharp pain in my head but it didn't turn into a migraine. I have had them before.
On the MRI they found a "12mm lesion in the right frontal cortex, adjacent to the midline, which signals as a small area of intermediate hetergeneous signal with some small dots of enhancement, and a low signal periphery suggesting the presence of blood products. Interestingly a large cortical vein is seen passing immediately adjacentto this lesion, to a small bunch of tiny parenchymal veins and this complex has the appearnace suggestive of a developmental venous anomaly. The mass adjacent has characteristics favouring a capillary haemangioma, and these two vascular anomalies are presumably associated together in this site."
I asked the Neuro about this and he said it was nothing to worry about.
Posted 9/14/2006 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hmmm.......while I'm not a doc, that sounds concerning. Was there anything on the MRI that suggested something else like MS could possibly be going on? I apologize if you've posted this elsewhere. I don't get on here too much. If that's all they found, I'd get another opinion on it.
Posted 9/14/2006 11:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Mez, and thanks for your input. Nothing else has been suggested and the 12mm lesion didn't seem to concern the Neuro however it does concern me. My mother had a stroke and died at the age of 62. Admittedly she didn't look after herself very well, smoked like a chimney. My Dad died from a heart attack at 71 and he smoked also. I have been to a Cardiologist, had a stress test and the usual tests. He says my heart is in good shape but my blood pressure and heart rate are very high. I am taking medication for this. I will just have to keep on going back to my GP until we get to the bottom of my illness.
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