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Suggest Treatment For Intermittent Blurry Vision, Floaters And Right Hand Numbness
Posted on
Wed, 4 Feb 2015
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 4 Feb 2015
Answered on
Wed, 4 Mar 2015
Last reviewed on
Question : I'm a 56 year old female. I have been experiencing vision problems for about the last 5 or 6 years---blurry vision that comes and goes, 'lots of "floaters" in my vision field, and horrible night driving vision. In addition, I've just begun experiencing numbness and tingling that started in my fingers of my right hand, and have spread up my right arm past the elbow. This began 5 months ago. These occur intermittently all the time and can be disruptive during sleep. I have dealt with chronic fatigue syndrom for the past 21 years, but have it in remission as long as I don't overdue or compensate with extra rest when I do. I always have UTI's!! Are these symptoms related? My daughter was just informed that she has the lesions for MS from an MRT that she had a year ago,but she is symptom free. She is the one that suggested maybe my seemingly unrelated symptoms perhaps indicate MS. The tingling and numbness are driving me crazy, and I'm tired all the time. Thoughts?
Brief Answer:
MS unlikely, UTI not related
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I'm sorry about the symptoms you're suffering.
Let me start by addressing your last worry, MS. That is very unlikely at your age. There have been rare cases of late MS, but in the overwhelming majority it manifests before 45 years old. Also it is not generally inherited, less than 5% of cases are familial. So that possibility is highly unlikely.
I don't think there is a relation with your urinary tract infections either.
Since the tingling and numbness seem to be persisting I believe they should be investigated after. It's a good thing to have had nerve conduction studies as a peripheral nerve issue or nerve root compression in the neck would have been among the top possibilities.
Since those peripheral causes weren't found on nerve conduction studies, I think it should be investigated after central causes, meaning brain or cervical spinal cord issues by a head and neck MRI. Also an EEG could be considered for the possibility of these episodes being partial epileptic seizures.
Also I assume you have had some routine blood tests like blood count, blood sugar, electrolytes, thyroid function, vitamin B12 level etc.
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
MS unlikely, UTI not related
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I'm sorry about the symptoms you're suffering.
Let me start by addressing your last worry, MS. That is very unlikely at your age. There have been rare cases of late MS, but in the overwhelming majority it manifests before 45 years old. Also it is not generally inherited, less than 5% of cases are familial. So that possibility is highly unlikely.
I don't think there is a relation with your urinary tract infections either.
Since the tingling and numbness seem to be persisting I believe they should be investigated after. It's a good thing to have had nerve conduction studies as a peripheral nerve issue or nerve root compression in the neck would have been among the top possibilities.
Since those peripheral causes weren't found on nerve conduction studies, I think it should be investigated after central causes, meaning brain or cervical spinal cord issues by a head and neck MRI. Also an EEG could be considered for the possibility of these episodes being partial epileptic seizures.
Also I assume you have had some routine blood tests like blood count, blood sugar, electrolytes, thyroid function, vitamin B12 level etc.
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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