Sudden loss of feeling on left side

Thank you very much for your reply, Les. I have been to my doctor many many times for this but have only recently convinced them that something is wrong. So they have refered me to a Neurologist but it's been about 4 months since the referal. My attacks are only getting worse and more severe. Thanks again for your you time and reply. 

All the best,

Matthew. G

You're most welcome Matthew,

I would not stand for a doctor that refused to refer me to any Consult Neurologist. A doctor does not know every disorder in a medical journal, they only know what they are taught, hence why disorders can easily mis-diagnosed.

When I got similar symptoms to yourself my own Doctor asked me if I been injecting my arms with recreational drugs, you can imagine my reply when he said that. After that, he took an interest in what the actual prognosis was from Neurologists. This was not easy, bear in mind this was back in the 80's.

Back then it was difficult, to diagnose certain conditions if they were rare, at the time. It took a Professor in Neurology and his team from New York, to diagnose me with Focal Segmental Dystonia.

It was a type of Dystonia that affected numerous limbs, but Dystonia is a progressive disorder, it can cause side-effects like Epilepsy or Functional Episodes or even both. A standard Doctor would not know all this or the medication to control it properly.

In the 80's I was only the 7th reported or known case in the UK, which is why it took so long to diagnose. I am now under the British President of Neurology Dr G. Fuller, there is no one higher than him, it takes me 3-4 months to get an appointment to see him!

You can always ask at your doctors if you can have a second opinion from another Doctor, if you are not pleased with your own doctor's advice.

Your other option of Consultant would be a Consultant Rheumatologist, which is a specialist in musculoskeletal disorders, but they would normally refer you a Consultant Neurologist. It's just getting your case in the circle, so you become an outpatient and seen every 3-4 months.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

Les.

Thanks, Les! I really hope I can get in to see the Neurologist soon. I think that will really get the ball rolling with all of this. For now, it's just a waiting game.

Hey, Les  I have an update. I found a site online with real doctors and he said the same thing as you. But now, my head and everything is starting to twitch more. continually getting worse and more frequent. I just wanted to give an update and thank you again for your help

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for the updates! With respect to your head, is it pulling to the left or right and downwards into your shoulder? If this is what is happening - it does sound more like Cervical Dystonia. The muscles in the neck pull your head down, and become very tort, there are a few ways for treatment to be administered but these can only be stated by a Neurologist, your doctor may be able to prescribe some form of medication, to bide you over until you see your Neurologist.

There is a number of medications that can be prescribed to control the movements to an extent, but all take 1 to 2 weeks before having any noticeable effect.

Regards,

Les.

It is pulling more to the right from what I notice. Since I live in Canada, all the doctors offices are closed for the Thanksgiving long weekend. I have to wait until Tuesday to make a doctors appointment. 

HI Mathew,

That's the problem, we have that here in the UK, so many Bank Holidays in our years is ridiculous - but thats our stupid gov't's for you!

I'm in a lot of pain at the moment, one of the muscle relaxing medications has been removed from being made, because there was not much call for it. It was discontinued in December 2015!

I did not know, and I ran out, only to find that I should have been weaned off them. Instead another medication was given in its place which my body seems to be rejecting. So, now I'm in pain with muscles in my arm and right thigh.

I was going to ask you but forgot, so I'll ask you now.

Do you suffer from "Writer's-Cramp"?, severe pains after writing anything?

Many people will say they do, and it is one of the mis-diagnosed conditions around. If you look up the medical term for "Writer's-Cramp" you will find it is actually "focal hand dystonia", it is a dystonic condition that many people do not even know they have.

Unless you have read up on Nerve disorders, you wouldn't know anyway. Being's I suffered for decades with it, I have done university courses on it, read books, and gone in to depth with nerve conditions as well as Oncology.

I had cancer about 8 years ago now, I actually self-diagnosed myself, because my own doctor was treating me for an infection for 6 weeks. So, the one day I made an appointment and said look this as gone on long enough and by my calculations if it was an infection then it would have cleared up by now. So, my doctor asked me what I thought it was and what I wanted her to do. I said firstly, I need an Oncology referral, with Ultra-sound scans done, including blood tests for markers for cancer. She was shocked, but did not hesitate to refer me straight to A&E that morning. It was confirmed by the afternoon. If it had spreaded further than it did, I could of died, instead was operated on within 3 days and then in 7 year remission period. But since then I have been rushed in to hospital twice with life-threatening problems, and pulled through them all.

Many people say you cannot say you got cancer, it is not a painful disease - it is a pain, but not one that many people would notice, we are all different, - even though they say we have 6 or 7 doppelgängers each on this planet, there is a mathematical formula to give you the precise figure, roughly there is 7.4 Billion people on the planet at any one time.

Many people say don't read things on the web, because you can easily mis-diagnose yourself in to thinking you got something, which you have not got - this is true!

I do not tell people what is wrong with them, I just take a look at the symptoms they are stating, in their messages. I just say it sounds similar symptoms to other disorders. Many doctors these days get Dystonia mixed up with MS, that's happened many times to me!

Oh Matthew, before I end this post - a quick question! Nearly forgot again! This may confuse you, I do not know how old you are, can you recollect at anytime in your life, until now of any traumatic experiences at all? Some people have them but their brain blocks them out, because they do not want to go through it all again.

I know that last question can be a little concerning to some people, and they would prefer not to say, which I can respect their wishes - A neurologist may ask you, as well - to try and find a 'trigger' point.

Anyway, all the best,

Les.

Hi, Les. I am 17, and yes I can recall some traumatic experiences. I was in a horrific car crash in 2012 in which I still get weird, creepy feelings at night, esspecially during the winter, which is when the car crash took place. Also, I have been bullied Straight for about 5 years. From Grade 5 to grade 10. with death threats, assaults, and so on. It eventually stopped and We moved to a different school,  which, I am being bullied again by a different person. This includes Demanding me pay for his stuff in stores then leave me on the side of the road somewheres for me to find my own way home. And no, I don't suffer from writers cramp. My muscles get really restless and tired when I write. I guess this could be another form of writers cramp?

Hi Matthew,

Wow, you are very young to experience 'traumatic' experiences, do/did you have any counselling at the time? That is only 6 years ago, and can cause neumatic problems later in life.

Bullying is one thing I really hate - I have never been bullied myself, not as far as I can remember, but school was decades ago! lol

My wife and I, do have three children, 2 boys (25 & 21) and 1 daughter (16). Our eldest boy was bullied in the junior school, but I know we shouldn't have told him what to do, but we did. His classmates even backed him up, saying the other kid threw the first punch. It was always the same kid that picked on him, so he taught him a lesson, after which he never touched our son again.

Our middle son is a different matter, he didn't care if anyone picked on him, he just took them out when they were alone, one at a time. They soon realised not to mess with him. Not, the ideal way of dealing with bullying.

Now, our daughter was a different matter, she never got bullied by her friends. But she still got picked on at the age of 14 by a Teacher's helper, whom kept putting nasty comments on her behaviour which she had not even done. So, to catch her my daughters Tutor put our daughter on report, this meant if anything was going on we could cross-reference it with the report and her work books. Then after just 2 weeks there was a clear pattern, she was being bullied by the Teacher's Helper. I emailed my daughters Tutor pointing out the classes, times and days - everyone which the so-called helper was supposedly helping. The Helper was given a verbal warning on picking on a single student, and our daughter never had anymore warnings or reports. The helper never spoke to her since that day.

Can you not talk to your parents or a teacher about the bullying, since that will not help matters? I do not know the laws of Canada, if it was the UK, then it would be another matter. I have studied the UK regarding Law & Politics, over the years - but basically, I continue to learn every week, in numerous subjects. I do all online free Open University courses, which are worldwide, and Cyber Security, which is another area I know very well.

Regards,

Les.

Sadly, since none of the current bullying is happening in school, there is nothing the teachers or principal can do. And yes I have told my parents about all of this and I am currently getting councelling on to try and cope with the past and present. Some times I am very tempted to get the police involved but not sure if any thing is "big enough" of a problem to get the police involved. Sometimes everything has to be a malicious crime in order for the police to care.