Hi I am a 27 year old female. I have a 3 month history of numbness the numbness started in my right calf it felt like a tight band around it it wasnt always there but i would never go 24 hours without it coming back this continued for a month then went away but then i had pins and needles/numbness in the whole of my right leg worse at night felt like its constantly falling asleep. During this time a kept having episodes of fast heartbeat..130bpm i did feel very anxious and jittery i dont have the fast heartbeat and anxiousness anymore it seems to have gone away. My PCP tested my thyroid and routine bloods which were all normal. I also had really bad muscle jerks they lasted for about a week they got so bad they would jerk me awake at night constantly they were not painful and have subsided now but i still have a few. I dont feel quite right my attention span is poor. also a cold sensation across my back at times and now left leg too.. the numbness it intermittent throughout the day but each day i will have numbness somewhwere. I dont really feel ill and i dont have pain anywhere. Other problems which im not sure are related but may help are.. I get really bad acid reflux pain heartburn releaved by milk and my stools are loose. I have seen 3 different PCPs. One said she thought it was nothing or it could be a nerve thing the other said it was sciatica and anxiety the third who i saw today said it was atypical migraines(i was slightly off balance during examination) I am not convinced by any of them and i am wondering what your thoughts would be for the next step in getting a proper diagnosis. My boyfriend think i may have B12 deficiency can you have a normal HB and still have B12 with neuro symptoms. Im convinced i need to see a neuro to look at things like MS. Your help would be very much appreciated. Thanks
2015-02-05 11:21:58
Hi! I can appreciate your worries regarding your symptoms. Numbness tingling muscle spasms in a person suffering from acid reflux and loose stools could be due to neuropathy secondary to IBS or Crohn’s. So you need a doctor who can rule this out for you and also look into the possibility of H pylori infection of the stomach through appropriate blood tests carbon urea breath test or through endoscopy. If you have gut symptoms then yes your boyfriend could be right. You may have low vitamin B12 and this may be responsible for your symptoms. Yes you can have normal hemoglobin and yet have low vitamin B12 especially in the initial stages of vitamin B12 deficiency. Pinched nerve in lower back is another possibility which should be ruled out through MRI EMG and nerve conduction studies. It can also be peripheral neuropathy secondary to diabetes hypothyroidism Lyme’s lupus or due to other autoimmune disorders (of these thyroid and diabetes may have been ruled out but check other tests to see if autoimmune conditions have been ruled out). Yes MS is another possibility which should be investigated. If the symptoms are aggravated while sleeping then it can also be restless leg syndrome. These are the various possibilities. Please discuss them with your doctor and try and consult a neurologist and a gastroenterologist. Some preliminary tests like vitamin B12 etc can be carried out by your PCP. Hope you get well soon! Good Luck and take care!
2015-02-05 11:22:40
