Post concussion syndrome or MS?

So I was in a car accident last December and suffered a neck sprain, bad concuussion, whiplash, etc. I was doing vestibular therapy and concussion therapy. Fast forward to March and I get very sick, end up in the hospital needing an IV (maybe COVID, not sure), my legs went very weak and I could hardly walk. Then in April I hit my head again, and suffer a second concussion. I am 31 year old male.

In May I started experiencing severe pain in my right leg shooting down like a sciatica, very bad back pain, numbness and tingling in that right foot, etc. I had a back MRI showed some bulging disc and mild disc degen but nothing too serious. Then my neck started hurting… very very badly. And my hands would sometimes go numb especially when laying down on them. And it wouldn’t be like your typical falling to sleep either. At times, I feel tingling, burning, pin prick, type sensations throughout my body. My left arm will sometimes shake like a tremor/convulsion and my face will at times get tingly as well, with intermittent spasms/twitching. My neck feels like an ice pick is being pushed into it at times. Even my elbows feel at times burning especially if I put them down. I’ll feel the shaking really bad at times, like it flares up and then I feel completely exhausted. This hadn’t happened for a while, like 2-3 months ago, and it just started picking back up again. This makes me think maybe it’s something more than just severe PCS. My neuro thinks maybe I injured a part of the brain that controls pain. They don’t think it is MS or any disease because 1. I never had these symptoms before all this happened and 2. Brain MRI, cervical MRI, back MRI show no lesions and I had an EMG/NCV test done … clear… all blood work for any mimic diseases clear … I asked about ALS/MND she said she does not suspect that. I have some pinched nerve in my right leg is all the EMG showed. No fasciulations, so I don’t get the weird tremor/twitching sensation. My PCP said MS would have shown up in the MRI’s.

The only thing I haven’t had done is have a spinal fluid test done. Not sure why all the tests are normal when I feel like at times I am getting worse, but other days I feel fine. All these symptoms don’t seem like post concussion syndrome to me. In the beginning they did (just vertigo/balance issues, etc). It’s so hard to tell because I still have some balance issues too but in May it was almost like my legs weren’t connecting with the ground. I felt like at any moment I could fall down, and my legs felt very numb. I don’t feel that bad any more, but the burning pain, tremors/muscle shaking/etc, facial spasms, limb issues, numbness/tingling sensations in the hands, and what not lead me to believe it could be something more.

I take gabapentin (prescribed because of these issues), prilosec, pepcid, zrytec, medical marijuana. I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, GERD, IBS, post concussion syndrome, post traumatic neck arthritis, mild degenerative disc disease, and have allergies. I know brain trauma can mess you up but it just seems like this comes and goes, almost like a relapsing event. I would have thought it would have just been a straight forward path to recovery. At times, I feel like I am getting better, then worse, then better. I’m at the point now where I am coping and realize maybe I may just have to live like this, but I am concerned it is something treatable and maybe these doctors are missing something. I am hopeful that I will get better, and maybe it is just really bad post TBI issues. Does this sound like MS? I had no issues before these incidents (accident, concussions, illness). I have had 2-3 in my lifetime. One colliding head first without a helmet in flag football… Physical therapy is helping, but I just can’t fathom what is going on here. Can brain trauma lead to MS? MS like symptoms?

So sorry to hear your woes, sounds a horrid time for you.

If it is TBI then surely MRI and other tests would have shown something up . They sound like they have done lots of tests to check MS etc, so if they are stating it isnt then i would take some reassurance re this. It does sound neurological in respect of nerves are misfiring , and of course you can get 4 things going on at same time that are different and unrelated, eg Im also on lots of same meds as you and have GERD/ IBS and other issues which are separate from the current query re MS

MS isnt brought on by trauma either so understandable if all happening post concussion then they conclude this is the trigger and I assume if your GP has been proactive in getting you to neuro and they have tested all the MS mimic diseases they will have done blood tests for defiiciencies etc too. If it comes and goes, then maybe need check with neuro if this is typical for PCS?

I see my neurologist oct 26th. They’ve done soo much blood work for like every thing that could be similar. I’ve had a brain MRI, cervical MRI, back MRI, x rays, CT scans, EMG/NCV, etc etc. Both PCP and neuro say no MS. which obviously I can’t fault them because MRIs show nothing and said no diseases like als etc. So it’s reassuring that no significant structural anomalies and just pcs/muscoskeletal issues. All I can do is keep taking gabapentin for a while and stick to physical therapy. All of this definitely came after the car accident and then later got way worse after the second concussion. All in a short period of time. I would say that the issues have lingered for a while, and they get worst when an intense migraine comes on, like recently. I will have to bring this up to her. Thanks for the help! It’s frustrating because it feels like I don’t know if I will get better and just have to hope for the best