MRI shows no signs of anything

Hi I had an MRI scan of my spine and brain to check for MS but it all came back clear which to most people would be great news but not to me. I'm frustrated I suffer from a big range of unexplained symptoms to list a few urinary incontinence, constipation, numb fingers, unexplained twitches, burning sensation on my skin, severe hip and joint pain in my lower leg, morning sickness, reduced weight I weigh 65kg and have done for the last 5 years , dizziness and light headedness I'm sure I could go on. I presented all of this to my doctor and nothing, I'm just fed up and don't know what to do next.

Have you seen a specialist about this that deals with the brain and spine? I have hydrocephalus (water on the brain) treated with a drainage device and I trust specialists more than general practice doctors in diagnosing any problems I'm having with it.

Even though the MRI didn't show anything, it sounds like it's connected to the nerves in the spinal column. Yes, it might be time to see a specialist if you haven't already. It does sound frustrating and I'm sorry.

This is a familiar story OP, as I read a number of people having the same experience going through test after test, then I experienced the same thing myself. Can't find any reason for the symptoms. It's frustrating for sure, I feel it. As everyone has mentioned, the #1 thing you should do is schedule with a specialist.

In the mean time, try cutting out any artificial sweeteners in your diet, and any caffeine. A friend of mine had symptoms similar to yours, severe nerve pain, numbness, etc in the legs, shoulders, and arms, but he worked outdoors and would drink diet coke instead of water to rehydrate. Got so bad he could barely get out of the truck and had to drive from jobsite to jobsite and give instructions from the cab. Doctors couldn't find anything wrong. As soon as he cut out the artificial sweeteners, everything came back. Nobody knew why, but he was just glad to have them gone. As for me, I used to overdo it on caffeine and had numb/tingling fingers (and toes), constipation, twitches, constipation, etc. All of this went away when I cut out caffeine.

So, #1 make an appointment with a specialist first. Then, try what I said on the side. It's anecdotal evidence, but it won't hurt to try.

I am by no means a medical expert but I’ve heard similar symptoms from a friend who has the following conditions you may attempt to rule out at your next appointment if you haven’t already.. diabetes, hypoglycemia or fibromyalgia. Hope you feel better soooon!

Diabetes might be the only thing left to test for, I generally don't eat unhealthily I usually have a diet of a lot of fruit and veg but that can also mean a lot of sugar. My mum's diabetic and there's a possibility I could be, I'm seeing a urologist next week but to be honest I'm at my whits end when it comes to doctors because all I hear is those same words over and over "we have found nothing". It makes me feel stupid and like I'm lying about everything but it's a daily battle what I go through both physically and mentally and I'd just like it to go away so I can live life normally

Pongoandperdi, You are not alone in having incontinence that doctors cannot explain. The start of my urge urinary incontinence coincided with problems following abdominal surgery when I was 14 years old. I bled excessively during and after the surgery, required several blood transfusions, and the developed an infection that kept me in hospital for about three months. I fully recovered from that situation except that my bladder control has been greatly reduced. I’ve never been reliably dry at night and also have daytime issues that have required me to wear a diaper 24/7 for approximately the last 30 years. Both my doctors and I are convinced that my incontinece is somehow the result of the aftereffects of that surgery. But despite having had just about every test in the book, the doctors have not been able to specify what the cause is on an ongoing basis. MRIs have shown that everything looks normal, cystoscope exams of my bladder have shown no problem, and tests of my urine show that everything is normal. Yet I have frequent urge incontinence and need to wear a diaper. (I could also use an external catheter, but I prefer diapers.)

Far from alone in that. I went more than 15 years and dozens of urologists not even believing I had any problems. Only when it got so bad it was life threatening did my urologist belive me. After that it has been 12 surgeries to try and stabalize me and without constant pain (the jurry is still out on that too even).

have you had checks for hsp

Pongoandperdi15 said:

Hi I had an MRI scan of my spine and brain to check for MS but it all came back clear which to most people would be great news but not to me. I'm frustrated I suffer from a big range of unexplained symptoms to list a few urinary incontinence, constipation, numb fingers, unexplained twitches, burning sensation on my skin, severe hip and joint pain in my lower leg, morning sickness, reduced weight I weigh 65kg and have done for the last 5 years , dizziness and light headedness I'm sure I could go on. I presented all of this to my doctor and nothing, I'm just fed up and don't know what to do next.

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Hi have you been checked for hereditary spastic paraparises/ parapalegia this causes urinary problems numbness incontinence hip lower leg joint pain and host of other problems Google up to check I've had it past 9 years it isn't life threatening thank God but is debilitating

Welcome to the club. My MRI didn’t show a reason for my neurogenic bladder. There are other tests that can be done. I did a muscle response test with a neurologist, where she took readings in my legs. I’m sure they can be done for other areas as well.

I'm in the same situation. I have a neurogenic bladder and I've had all the tests from diabetes to cancer and MS, all of them negative. my doctor's best guess is that it's related to a spinal injury I had 25 years ago; it seemed like I recovered fully from it at the time but various related neurological symptoms have shown up over the years and he thinks they're all related to that. Unfortunately it was so long ago they can't be sure, but as theories go it seems the best one.

Ok so quick update, I saw the urologist yesterday and got those famous words again, "we can see that from the urodynamics test your bladder is not responding we filled it to 1.2 ltrs and there was nothing, however we can't offer an explanation for this and we are unsure why it's stopped responding" well that was just great for me so now I've been let out of the care of urology and left to face this issue on my own

It often takes a long time to figure out neurological problems. One doctor told me a percentage are never fully diagnosed. Ive been through the ringer on this too including MRIs and MS assessment and been very frustrated. Eventually you learn to live with your symptoms although its a big issue if it affects your quality of life or self image and Ive had both those circumstances. Wishing you the best in trying to cope. But don't give up. Keep pressing the docs and asking for new referrals if they cant figure anything out.

Unfortunately some times with incontinence issues doctors can not tell us why we are having issues, they will just say as in my case OAB and then try a bunch of different meds or just let us manage with wearing diapers. as long as they rule out any life threatening issues I am fine with wearing diapers 24/7 vrs taking meds and hope they work and have no bad side effects.

Keep seeing your doctor and urologist and hopefully they will find out the issue.

Seconded. I "had" neurogenic dyssynergia, coupled with urge incontinence. For the first 15 years, not a single urologist even believed I had any problems, let alone what was causing them.

I kept pressing the matter, and sought out many different opinions before finally getting a proper diagnosis at the Mayo Clinic. It also helped that I dove in and spent days (cumulatively) researching my symptoms online. I was then able to bring those possibilites to my urologist and have them rule it out of confirm it as a possibility. Doing that really sped up things and is what got me the proper diagnosis.