Don't know what to do . . .

[Lori123]

If that's my only option, then I need to wait until they are worse, because right now it's hard to see them. They happen all over, and you'd have to know just where to look. You could be looking at my arm, and one would happen at my ankle -- see where I'm going? I guess a neurologist would be patient enough to wait to see, I don't know. My experience with doctors has always been that things need to get BAD before they'll do anything.

What I really was hoping for here was that, if I listed all my symptoms, I might get a list of all possible causes/diagnoses.

They are:
-Sudden, jerky (but small) muscle movements in arms, hands, legs, torso, face
-Clouded thinking/inability to understand and process new information at times (I'm noticing this at work -- getting hit with lots of new information daily, and I used to be really intelligent, but now I can't follow it)
-Slurred speech (not constant, but occasional -- let's say at least once daily)
-Light tingling down the underside of my arms and into my hands, as well as along my jawline and extending to my ears
-Shaky hands -- not constant, sometimes very slight, sometimes it affects my typing
-Difficulty typing (hitting the right keys, even when my hands aren't shaky)
-Difficulty remembering commonly used words and names (common for me, not just the public at large)
-Arm muscles sometimes feel tired/burn for no reason
-Severe depression that has lasted for well over a year; prior to that, mid-level depression that began in 2008 when I changed medications
-Change in personality (I can't describe it)
-I also can't stop moving. I have ALWAYS been someone who can sit perfectly still for long periods of time, without fidgeting. Not anymore. I notice that I am moving constantly. I keep wondering if it's my way of keeping the uncontrolled movements from bothering me so much -- like if I'm already moving under my own control, maybe I won't notice all of the unintended movements.

This week, I noticed strange behavior -- it sounds weird to say it that way, but I was in meetings, and would react to things and say things that were just odd for me. Even people I had just met were asking me if I was okay. This is all very troubling. I've only had this job since April, and I don't want to lose it because people think I'm a psycho.

Other things going on with me that I wouldn't expect to be related, but I don't want to be leaving out a crucial detail:
-Racing heart (resting pulse of 104; normal is in the 60 range)
-Ovarian cysts (discovered this a year ago when one ruptured)
-Sudden development of allergy to fire ant bites that caused angioedema (this past summer)

I'm providing all this information because I am really hoping for an answer! Can you please offer me a list of possibilities? There are just so many out there, and I'd at least like something to start with. Thank you. I am getting impatient, and my husband is completely annoyed with me right now. If I can't tell him there's a possibility of a medical explanation for what's happening with me . . . I need to be able to point to something.

[MG (Admin)]

What I really was hoping for here was that, if I listed all my symptoms, I might get a list of all possible causes/diagnoses.

This isn't usually possible without examining you...the list would be endless and includes anything from autoimmune diseases and infections to purely psychological causes.

-Sudden, jerky (but small) muscle movements in arms, hands, legs, torso, face

Do they actually cause your limbs to move?

[Lori123]

Yes.

[Lori123]

The doctor did bloodwork to rule out autoimmune diseases.

The movements are visible, but they aren't big, so someone looking at me probably would not know that they are unintentional. They might just think I'm fidgety. But I've always been someone who sits or lays perfectly still, so I notice every movement. As I mentioned in the beginning, the movements are also sometimes intentional movements that get out of control -- they are bigger than I intended them to be.

My jaw has started trembling as well. This started over the weekend. Friday evening and Saturday, my teeth were chattering. By Sunday, it reduced to where it is now, which is something I can definitely feel, but it is not visible, and my teeth are no longer chattering.

I think I have figured out that when I'm slurring my words, it's due to problems with my upper lip not moving the way it normally does. It feels strange to me, like it's just more difficult to move. But again, it's slight. It's not like I look like I had Botox or something -- it moves, just takes more effort.

[MG (Admin)]

The doctor did bloodwork to rule out autoimmune diseases.
What tests?
ASLO?
ceruloplasmin?
ANA?

please let us know

[Lori123]

Comprehensive metabolic panel
Vitamin D, 25 Hydroxy
Ceruloplasm
Vitamin B-12
Folic Acid
CBC
Sedimentation Rate
ANA
Reflexed ANA Titer
Rheumatoid factor
Copper
RPR

They said everything was normal except that the B-12 was low, so they told me to start taking that. I don't know what all they checked for. I have read about Copper, so I get that. And I'm familiar with ANA. But I don't know what all of the tests are meant to rule out.

With every, "That test was normal" that I hear, my heart sinks a little more. I'm afraid that they're going to tell me that this is just the way I am, and there's nothing to be done about it, nothing to call it, no way to explain it. Or, worse yet, that I'm just crazy.

[MG (Admin)]

They said everything was normal except that the B-12 was low

How low?
do you have the exact level?

[Lori123]

I don't know how low. Just a little, they said.

I didn't know you had ever replied. That's why I'm only now getting back to you.

Obviously, this has gotten frustrating. I went ahead and spent several thousand on the 3-day EEG. Will have results in a few weeks. I will have a neuropsych test before then. The dr. also wanted me to do a sleep study, but it was scheduled just days after the EEG, and my head was sore all over. I was pretty pissed about that. No more.

Is there any way you can offer me some information at this point, without just asking me another question?

[MG (Admin)]

Well I don't think there is much to be done until you get these results.
The main possibilities are:-
1) A movement disorder (seems unlikely if the Dr. did not see any movements)
2) Focal seizures (would almost certainly be picked up on the EEG)
3) Symptoms related to stress etc.

let us know what the tests show

all the best