Virginia

[Sunshine]

I saw on the IVIG thread you're having trouble. What's going on girl?

[agate]

Bumping this up for Virginia

[SalpalSally]

Answer please Virgiia. Hugggggs!

[Virginia]

Thanks for asking BBS! I really don't know what is going on. After overdoing for dinner I helped prepare when my friend died, I just can't seem to come back. I am having much more numbness that goes all the way to groin area on inside of left leg, a lot of stretching on left leg, a lot of itching where there is no rash and it just goes on and on. I got better a few days after I overdid, but then everything came back with a vengeance and the fatigue has been unrelenting. I finally got out to the grocery store yesterday, but could not get everything at the first one. I needed to go to a second, but just said the heck with it, I will make do with whatever I can.

Also, the depression started, due to everything that was going on in my body. I have not felt like even being on the computer.

I already had an appointment with my Neurologist on Wednesday so I am just waiting to see him. I don't really feel like going, but of course I will. I dread telling him all that is happening because I am afraid he will order MRIs and I just do not feel like having them done at this point. Besides they never really tell anything.

By the way, symptoms are even on the left side of my face.

I am going to ask about IVIg, however I did read about some very possible side effects, and I am on the Rebif. I don't know about taking the two together. I know Copaxone is alright, but the interferons are different and I am not sure.

Another thing - right before my friend died I had either a cold or sinus. You could not hear it in my voice, but I had a lot of congestion every morning which somewhat cleared up in the afternoon. Since then I have had a lot of heaviness and pain, sometimes across my forehead and sometime more in the left side between my eye and nose. So, yesterday I started thinking about the possibility of a sinus infection that may be causing a worsening of all my symptoms.

That's about it. I am just kind of waiting until Wednesday to see what Doctor has to say. But you know something - what can he say I have MS and there is no changing it. I guess that is the bottom line.

Thanks for caring.

[Sunshine]

I bet you have an infection. Get your infection treated first to see if then all your MS symptoms go back to where they were before infection, if that doesn't work, I guess plan B is to talk to neuro about it being a new attack.

Sinus infections alone will cause unrelenting fatigue. And that's for people who DONT have MS!

[Virginia]

BBS, my Wednesday appointment was made 6 months ago and I see him every six months, so now there is no time to try and work in a visit to a PCP regarding any infection. I am going to tell my Neurologist and of course he will tell me to get it checked out.

I only realized this could possibly be the problem a couple of days ago. I do not have a PCP, as mine left to go into research many months ago, actually I think it was last year. I will get one through the same office. I might not like them as much, but it is take what you can get when you are dealing with Medicare. I don't know if I have an infection or not, but I remembered the week my friend died was the week that something was going on.

[agate]

It's too bad you've been having this setback. You seem to expect to accomplish far more than I would in a typical day but younger folks like you can do that. I wouldn't dream of trying to hit two stores in one day, for instance. Not unless it was very very easy to get to both of them and navigate around in them.

Sinus infections can be very tiring as BBS said. It sounds as if your ethmoid sinuses may be the ones acting up. When my sinuses act up nowadays, it's often those ethmoid ones, between the eye and the nose. Sometimes warm gelpacks help me.

For an infection though I couldn't get by with just gelpacks. I'd need an antibiotic from a doctor.

I hope you can find a doctor who will at least write the rx. The doc will probably want a culture to make sure the right antibiotic is prescribed,but some doctors will prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic and figure that will probably knock out whatever type of bacteria is causing your infection.

If the neurologist tells you to get it checked out, you might try asking for a referral to a doctor who takes Medicare.

I know how stranded a person can feel when in between doctors. I'm going through that now as well. My regular doctor (for the last 7 years) announced she was moving out of the area and gave patients the option of choosing from a list of about 8 doctors in the same location as her office was. Many of them aren't accepting new patients, a couple of them specialize in areas that wouldn't help me, and that left about 3 to choose from. I settled on one. I haven't really met her yet though she treated me years ago as a substitute for my regular doctor. Unfortunately I can't remember if I liked her or not.

She got fairly good ratings on the Websites where people rate doctors.

--I didn't mean to turn this post into something that is all about me! Let me just add, and I think I've said this before somewhere here, that a number of really severe sinus flareups I've had have cleared up by magic as soon as I had some needed dental work done--a filling I'd lost was replaced, a cracked tooth repaired, etc.

The dentist told me that only the upper teeth can affect the sinuses but it does happen.

--As for the neuro who might want an MRI, you could just say you don't feel up to an MRI just now and could you postpone it for a while? You could put the whole thing on a back burner and hope it won't get mentioned again soon.

[Virginia]

Thanks Agate! I think if he mentions the MRIs I will do just what you said. I had them done so often for so long and they always showed the same leisons, and so what if they have changed this time. There really isn't much he can do as far as I know. We are doing all we can.

[Sunshine]

Good luck and let us know what happens. My vote is for sinus infex since its treatable and reversible.

[Virginia]

BBS, Yep if it is between the MS and a sinus infection, I'll take the latter.