Hi Paradox....I agree with you...as I"m not diagnosed either!
Hi Paradox,
I'm a speech-language patholgoist that has had neurological symptoms for the last 2 years. My previous workup of MRI of brain and spine, EEG, EPs and EMGs were negative for anything.
I'm a traveling SLP so mainly see one neurologist, but have seen 2 others. Last year my neuro thought I possibly had a vasculitis because of a elevated ANA and sent me to a rheumatologist. That neuro's findings on my exam was hyper-reflexia on the left side and he felt I had upper motor neuron involvment.
Since then, I have had an increase in LE and UE weakness, have tremors in my arms when I try to push myself out of bed, I have notice fasiculations in my tongue, but not all the time. I've also had incidents of hyper gag reflex to the point of not being able to brush my back molars w/o severe gagging to the extent that I then vomit and retch so severely I get petechiae. This quit, but everynow and then I still get it.
My recent exam was a MRI of the brain - normal results, MRA with hypoplasticiy of my posterior commuicating artery and my MRI of the spine is what troubles me.
Two years ago it was normal. Now I show "thinning of the spinal cord" which I guess is another way of saying "atrophy"? I also have some bulging disk in my lumbar spine, but my spine is normal? I haven't had any trauma to cause the bulging, so I'm unsure of how that came about.
Anyhow, now that I am having more spasticity in my back, more weakness in my UE and LE with the tremors in my arms combined with my MRI of my spine, I am starting to think I might have ALS.
I suppose my neuro will be doing EPs and EMG again and who knows what. I liked it better when I was thinking I had MS when everything else had been ruled out, including some awful things like Churg-Strauss and Wegener's granulomatosis, of course things like Lyme's, lupus, sarcoidosis, etc.
Now it's more of the waiting game. I'm trying not to self-diagnose, but it's hard, when I work with neurogenics and know my results and symptoms, not to...as I"m sure you know. I guess I'll wait and see.
Anyhow, my prayers are with you and all on this board.
God bless,
Linda