Nervous
Hello, I'm so nervous staring this conversation but have so many questions right now. My undiagnosed daughter who is 31yrs old has had a numb arm for nearly three months and in the end the neurology dept in our local hospital agreed to an MRI scan which showed an inflammation on the top of her spinal chord. She has now had a lumbar puncture and we are awaiting the results but in the meantime she was given steroids for five days. She ended up very unwell last week as her course of steroids was not tapered off, she was told to just take for five days and stop with no follow up, it was very scary. Anyway the steroids did bring about 75 % of feeling back in her arm, but she is still recovering from the terrible cold turkey effect of the steroids. Today Both her legs have gone completely numb. I am feeling a rising panic inside, she has two young daughters and I just need someone to share with. Is it normal a few days after a steroid course for other numbness to occur? She gets her results of her Lumber puncture very soon but she will be transferring from our local neuro dept asap as they have been abysmal. We live in a London , many thanks in advance
Hi @abikops and welcome. It's good of you to join us on behalf of your daughter. Obviously, you are already suspecting MS. That should become clear shortly, if the Lumber Puncture provides conclusive results. Now, MS is no longer the condition it once was. There are now many treatments available, which now makes MS a manageable condition. The Steroids have done their job, even though they caused some uncomfortable effects. They are used to quickly reduce inflammation on the Central Nervous System (CNS), which is causing the symptoms. What you both need to do is take a deep breath and try and relax. Worry and stress are major agitators to neurological conditions. Please keep us up to date on your daughter's diagnosis, so that we can provide support as needed.
Well, the good thing to hear is that you are in London, so you are in the best place for specialist treatment. If it is MS, you have the pick of the UK's MS centres, with neurologists who just do MS, are involved in clinical trials and are at the top of their game. As @stumbler, says, MS is now a manageable condition and treatment is moving ahead all the time. If you want info on what's on offer, PM me. xx