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Increased Plasma Viscosity In Blood, Coldness And Tingling In Right Arm. What Is The Disease Called?

Posted on Mon, 6 May 2013

Question: jerks which come from my head, Increased plasma viscosity in blood, coldness and tingling in right arm (lasted for 2 days) and pins and needles when in the bath

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (4 hours later)

You may have to be examined by a Neurologist, the symptoms yo have are typically seen in Multiple sclerosis.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (48 minutes later)

Thank you! I'm in the middle of neurological tests at the moment (mri, eeg). These jerks happen randomly, some are stronger than others. It feels like it pulses from my head and down my arms and that they are paralysed for a split second. Feels like an electric shock like sensation. Some days i'll have as many as 15, others i'll go for like 3 days without any or 1 a day. What do you make of the raised plasma viscosity aswell? Last week I had a day where my right arm went week, and I had another day when my arm went completely cold and tingly. Sometimes (not always) i'll get pins and needles in my feet and fingertips whilst in a hot bath. My symptoms haven't been so severe this week, barely noticeable at all actually.

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (20 minutes later)

Hi
Thanks for the query

The jerk and tingling sensation is a neurological symptoms with the description provided is more probable of multiple sclerosis but other causes can be Alzheimer disease, anoxia and can also occur due to alcohal withdrawal. The jerks and tingling sensations along with numbness you feel is due to the pathology occurring within the nerve distribution.

As you are going through neurological test like EEG and MRI which are radiological evidences and may help in diagnosis however a lumber puncture is also very helpful.

The raised plasma viscosity as such is not diagnostic of any condition. It is similar but superior to ESR. It is raised in conditions like infections and inflammations and improvement of its value signifies the prognosis and worsening signifies the disease progression.

The raised value you are having is due to the underlying condition you are having which is suspected to be multiple sclerosis.

If you still have some query, feel free to ask

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (3 hours later)

Crikey...thank you so much for this, this is so helpful! These jerks started ever so suddenly and they can be so strong that they stop me from speaking. I haven't had much of the tingling, weakness (only last week) but I do experience alot of coldness in my right arm and fingers whilst my other arm and rest of body is warm. These jerks have only started about 5/6 weeks ago. One day last week, my feet were completely cold and numb, and i lost heat sensitivity in them for a few hours. (This hasn't happened again). I sometimes get slight leg jerks aswell

I had my MRI scan tonight, do you have any ideas as to what it might show? I'm a little bit nervous about the results.

I'm sorry to keep bombarding you with all this, i'm ever so young (20 years old) and to be told of possible multiple sclerosis is absolutely terrifying! .

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (7 hours later)

Thanks for reply

You can bombard as much as you can. We are here to help out your health issues.

It is terrifying for everyone to be told of such disease. As i told you there some other conditions also responsible for such conditions so it is not a definite diagnosis for you but the most probable one as the definite diagnosis can be reached only detailed investigations.

The MRI changes found in multiple sclerosis are demyelinating of the CNS content known as plaque. which appears to be white opaque type shadows on MRI mainly in the area of the white matter of brain and cerebral hemisphere.

feel free to ask if you still have some query

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (37 minutes later)

When you said about plasma viscosity improving...what do you mean by that? Because I had one test which showed high, i had another one which showed that it was still raised but had lowered in comparison to the last test. I had 3 of these jerks this morning, they physically shook my arms, and i got a strange sensation down my right arm afterwards (like a tingle that travels down to and ends at my wrist). I also felt a strange 'build up' sensation on my chest. The neurologist who my GP spoke to a while back said that i might be suffering from partial seizures, but now his opinion has changed and he's not sure they're seizures at all. These episodes are barely visible to others aswell. Thank you for all your advice!

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (6 minutes later)

Thanks for reply

These are not seizures as seizures have a total different presentation and they are not so frequent.

The plasma viscosity have a certain normal range. when your plasma levels are raising than the normal it means you are having some active inflammation process going on inside your body and when the level starts declining it shows the inflammation process have either slowed or stopped. It is a type of indicator of the inflammatory process,

If you still have some query, feel free to ask

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (2 hours later)

So if my plasma viscosity is going down, is this a normal/expected process of multiple sclerosis? I've noticed that sometimes I stutter/get my words jumbled up if i have one of these jerks, also a strange build up/pressuee feeling on my chest and my feet currently feel ice cold. I was also told that my neurological exam was fine and that the neurologist wasn't particularly worried about me. What does this mean?

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (2 hours later)

The viscosity levels when returns towards normal means subsiding of inflammation but if it goes down than normal than there are some other associated disease

Multiple sclerosis is diagnosed by ruling out other similar conditions and then diagnosis for multiple sclerosis done. The disease occurs with relapse and remissions therefore the neurological exam do not reveal any significant findings. It is not that your neurologist is not concerned. he is concerned and you should always trust your doctor

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (3 days later)

Today, i had 3 of these jerks. They didn't move any part of my body as such, they feel like I almost blackout for a split second, and i feel like a strange pulsing sensation go down my arms. I've also noticed a when i have them, i get like a high pressure build up on my chest. What do you make of these symptoms? I also got coldness, aching and slight tingling in my right arm yesterday.

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (24 hours later)

Thanks for the reply

As stated earlier they are all neurological symptoms, They are much confusing with partial seizures but they do not seems to be. The actual findings can be seen on MRI as you were have MRI schedule. If you done MRI and have got report, it will be very kind of you if can share the report.

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (1 hour later)

Thank you so much for this! It is so helpful and comforting being able to speak to an expert regarding all of this. I had my MRI scan on Wednesday and my EEG on Friday. Just waiting on the results now. Will my MRI definitely show signs or is there a chance that it could come back as negative? It was just my head that was scanned.

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (10 minutes later)

Its my pleasure to making you feel comfortable

The EEG is specific if done within 24 hours within of jerks however the MRI can find changes that are on going and degenerative. what i hope for you is that the MRI come back with negative reports and no finds had been made as you are too young for any disease but lets wait for the results.

Do share your results with me when you get them. you can give me your email id for results

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (17 days later)

My brain MRI came back with no abnormal findings today, such a relief! Still waiting on the EEG though...do you have any other explanations as to what could be causing these jerks? They have gradually been getting less and less over the past 10 days, still get odd times when my right arm will go cold and tingly.

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (19 hours later)

Hi
Thanks for you feedback

Its too good to hear to you have a got normal MRI reports. Major conditions are evaluated with MRI and If you have got normal MRI findings then its most obvious that EEG will also be normal. collectively which means that you do not have any major disease which is a good news.

The only conditions left behind are either seizures which if EEG is normal will also be ruled out and then left are nerve compression at cervical level or depression. However wait till the EEG reports comes back and then go for further evaluation. Meanwhile you can use a selective serotinin reuptake inhibitor drug like escitalopram and see whether the symptoms improve or not.

If you still have some query, feel free to ask

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (3 days later)

Thank you for this! I did some strenuous exercise on Saturday which made me very out of breath, and this resulted on 8 jerks in the space of 5 minutes. They felt like i blacked out for a couple of seconds aswell. What do you make of this?

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (14 minutes later)

Thanks for the reply

With exercise there is increased in demand of blood supply and oxygen thus the body tissue are supplied with increased amount of blood that also contains oxygen and as per demand the oxygen intake from the air is increased by increase in the breathing which we normally call breathlessness so, it is a normal phenomenon with exercise.

Now as far as you your jerks are concerned as you are almost having normal reports and you feel jerks with your every activity and sometimes they reduce. so the conclusion is that your condition is psychological instead of any medical disorder which needs to be counselled and addressed promptly. I will recommend you to visit a psychiatrist with your complete details of reports.

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (6 days later)

My EEG has come back positive with what my GP described as 'bursts of abnormal activity', which happened in both sides of my brain but they couldn't form a definite diagnosis from it...what do you make from this? My email is YYYY@YYYY

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (14 minutes later)

Thanks for the reply

As told earlier the spontaneous impulses generated by he brain or neurons is feature of the seizures which is now detected by EEG. The type of seizures can be defined by detailed clinical inspection and examination but it seems more to be absence or partial seizures. Any other neurological condition cannot be suspected because The MRI was normal.

If you still have some query, feel free to ask

Thanks
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar