Head Pressure, Numbness+Muscle Movement, Memory/CognitiveImpairment

Posted by underpressure20 @underpressure20, Jun 2, 2019

I've had an undiagnosed condition for the past 8+ years. I sought medical help, but no one could help me. I just let my body heal on its own, and in all that time, I've not been able to fully recover, but the symptoms are getting worse again after years of slow improvement.

It all started in 2011 when a large amount of water mixed with laundry detergent spilled on the carpet in my bedroom. I cleaned it up as best I could and let the carpet dry. Over the course of a week I noticed I was feeling lightheaded. I moved out of that room because the smell of the drying carpet must have been making me feel lightheaded. In the new room I became very sick with flu-like symptoms, fatigue and fever that kept me in bed. After the fever and fatigue had gone, I noticed there was a pressure in my head that steadily increased over several weeks. It just kept getting worse. A whole host of symptoms followed:

Pressure in Head:
A pressure in my head that made everything feel surreal. It's a constant pressure, like someone pumped fluid into my head.

Sleep:
-At the early stages of my illness, when I woke up it was as if I had just closed my eyes.

Memory Loss (short and long term):
-I couldn't remember a TV commercial as soon as it had gone off the TV
-I knew who my parents were, but they didn't seem familiar, and many memories and associated feelings were gone

Numbness:
-Numbness all over my body, but especially on the left side. I could sit in front of a fire and feel it on the right side of my face, but nothing on the left. I could pick up large branches in the yard and not notice my forearms were cut.

Impaired Muscle Movement:
Difficulty speaking (facial muscle movement), hand and foot movement and coordination impaired

Language Impairment:
It became difficult to form sentences in my mind. I remember not being able to figure out how to ask a grammatically correct question. I didn't know how to put the words together in my head.

Other Cognitive Impairment:
Difficulty processing information. I remember I couldn't perceive the changes in the level of the ground when doing some yard work.

After a slow improvement over 8+ years, I am once again getting worse. The window screens in my home were changed and I believe that is the cause. The fumes of the vinyl of fiberglass are causing my symptoms to worsen much faster than they were improving.
I had felt fatigue/sleepiness and the lymph nodes under my jaw were enlarged. I can feel stiffness and numbness increasing, especially in the left side of my body, including my neck and face. The other night I again had some difficulty with language. The pressure in my head is increasing. I remember when I was getting better I could hear a clicking in my temples when I moved my facial muscles, and it had gone away in the right side of my head and I felt like the numbness and impaired muscles movement had alleviated more, but now I can hear the clicking in both sides of my head again. The pressure is increasing and my symptoms are getting worse.

I had blood work and an MRI done years ago. I had also seen a neurologist too, but they could make no diagnosis.
I don't want to be set back 8 more years! I don't want to go through this again. What is wrong with me?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Brain & Nervous System Support Group.

Hi @underpressure20 and welcome to Connect. That must be so frightening to have improvement and now see yourself getting worse. Have you gone back to the doctor yet? Have you considered getting a second opinion?

REPLY
@ethanmcconkey

Hi @underpressure20 and welcome to Connect. That must be so frightening to have improvement and now see yourself getting worse. Have you gone back to the doctor yet? Have you considered getting a second opinion?

Jump to this post

Yes. It is frightening and depressing.
I have not gone back to the doctor. The neurologist I saw never gave me a first opinion. She had nothing to tell me.
That is why I'm on this forum trying to find answers.

REPLY

@underpressure20
Hello,
Is a trip to one of the Mayo Clinic’s possible?
It sounds like your best option.
If not find another Neurologist. I’ve been to about a dozen in the last 50+ years.
Good luck,
Jake

REPLY
@jakedduck1

@underpressure20
Hello,
Is a trip to one of the Mayo Clinic’s possible?
It sounds like your best option.
If not find another Neurologist. I’ve been to about a dozen in the last 50+ years.
Good luck,
Jake

Jump to this post

The Mayo Clinics are too far away and I don't have much money. My illness has impaired my life.
I was hoping there would be medical professions on this forum who can give opinions or advice.

REPLY

@underpressure20
I can relate to financial issues.
There is a website where you can talk to doctors. Last time I used it I believe it cost $35.00.
Here is the link,
https://www.justanswer.com/sip/neurology?r=ppc|ga|26|Health-Medical-Search-BMM|Health-Neurology|&JPKW=%2Bneurologist%20in&JPDC=S&JPST=&JPAD=317068045415&JPMT=b&JPNW=g&JPAF=txt&JPRC=1&JPCD=&JPOP=&cmpid=1600271250&agid=65172098387&fiid=&tgtid=kwd-305947673494&ntw=g&dvc=m&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-8WwmfHO4gIVDsRkCh3JPQy_EAAYAiAAEgJ2HvD_BwE
Good luck,
Jake

REPLY
@underpressure20

The Mayo Clinics are too far away and I don't have much money. My illness has impaired my life.
I was hoping there would be medical professions on this forum who can give opinions or advice.

Jump to this post

Hi, @underpressure20 - I'm sorry about these symptoms that have been troubling you. Sounds like you really need some answers.

We are not medical professionals on Connect and don't offer medical advice. We do, however, have members who support one another during illness and share what they have learned from their own medical journeys.

REPLY
@lisalucier

Hi, @underpressure20 - I'm sorry about these symptoms that have been troubling you. Sounds like you really need some answers.

We are not medical professionals on Connect and don't offer medical advice. We do, however, have members who support one another during illness and share what they have learned from their own medical journeys.

Jump to this post

what state are you

REPLY
@cathy514

what state are you

Jump to this post

New Jersey

REPLY
@underpressure20

Yes. It is frightening and depressing.
I have not gone back to the doctor. The neurologist I saw never gave me a first opinion. She had nothing to tell me.
That is why I'm on this forum trying to find answers.

Jump to this post

hi Leonard this happened to me too, 2 neurologist said it was anxiety and told me I needed to call the number on insurance card for psychiatric care and I did and ssri drugs made me worse I got tremors and insomnia I went to u of m for a pinched nerve and my left arm was going numb he immeaditly said you have a movement disorder and sent me to a movement dr at the geriatrtic center did a MRI without contrast EEG and then pet scan and one was diagnosed with postrior cortical attropy please see a new dr it took me over a year to find a dr that didn't dismiss me as psychiatric

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.