Would like some feedback

[BryanK519]

Good morning all! I'll try to make this brief. Over the past year I have been experiencing a group of symptoms that have gradually increased in severity and frequency over time. I have had neuropathy in my feet for just under ten years and I have had a slight tremors in my right hand that were not that severe or frequent. Last year I started to have involuntary muscle movements. My fingers would tap on my desk that I couldn't control. My tremors in my hand became much more severe. Eventually I started feeling my legs buckle underneath me. I've fallen a couple of times. Driving started to become difficult because I had a hard time shifting from brake to accelerator. Then I started have whole body tremors. Now I am having a difficult time swallowing. There are other symptoms but these are the symptoms that are giving me the most trouble. I've had an MRI which was normal. I had an emg which was also normal. I've quit certain medication at my Drs request trying to see if they could be a side effects. No change. I'm getting pretty frustrated because I don't feel my neurologist is really giving my symptoms the priority that I would like him to. He told me he was stumped. I'm not asking you guys for a diagnosis, just wondering if any of you have had the same challenges getting a diagnosis and if so, how did you overcome those challenges. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[agate]

Welcome, BryanK!

You've been having some very troublesome symptoms, and it's understandable that you're getting frustrated. I've been on this board for 23 years and have noticed how many people have had to wait and wait for a diagnosis of their neurological problems. Neurology is a comparatively new field, and you have to wonder just how much is really known about it when you see how hard it is for the experts to figure out the cause of a person's symptoms.

Yours are getting worse, too, and of course you want some helpful answers soon. I can say only that often something that a person is taking--a medicine or even a supplement--turns out to be causing symptoms. You mention stopping some medications. I wonder if you've tried stopping each and every one of them, one at a time, and allowing enough time to pass after each change?

This kind of problem is very common, and if you're going to try to find out which med is causing your problems (or it may be more than one med), you have to go through a fairly slow and methodical process of taking away first one, then another, etc.

If you're only taking one med, then you've already done this and can move on to some other possible solution. I hope that the neurologist has been testing you for possible neurological disorders.

Some neurologists can be very dismissive. You might want to think about changing neurologists if you think the current one isn't taking you seriously.

Hope you'll let BrainTalk people know how things are going for you.

[flatcap]

Hi, BryanK! Welcome to BrainTalk.

I am sorry to hear about your troubles, and I agree with Agate about your getting a second opinion if possible. She is right about the neuros being somewhat dismissive at times.

If you decide to hang around here a while, come visit us in the MS forum. It is the most active and you would be most welcome.

[weirdone]

Agree do not for a second hesitate to get a second or even third opinion. They want to stick you in a neat little box and give you meds or order procedures. You HAVE to advocate for yourself now a days.