Urgent: Need a neurologist or similar specialist ASAP

So, I’m looking for some help here. If it’s even possible, I want to explain my mother’s situation. She’s been in the hospital for nine days now without a definitive diagnosis, and she is essentially dying from the pain. It feels impossible that the doctors don't know what's going on, and I don't believe they are hiding anything from us. To give you some background, my 52-year-old mother went to see her doctor because she had a swelling in her neck, her right arm was hurting and tingling, and she just felt terrible overall. Her thyroid wasn't looking right either; some initial therapy didn't help, so they ordered lung scans. She’s a smoker, and the scan showed four or five critical dark spots on her lungs. They prescribed some kind of radiation treatment, which she underwent, and she actually felt fine afterward. Following that, they said they needed to perform a biopsy on some lymph nodes near the lungs. The doctor took samples from six different nodes, but the results came back completely clear and normal—the doctor suggested maybe it looked clean because of the radiation. Ever since then, the excruciating pain started. She’s in constant agony all day long. The pain in her arms and legs is unbearable; she can barely get up if she tries at all. She’s dealing with dizziness and hasn't slept in fifteen days. When I say the pain is intense, I mean it—she describes it as feeling like her bones are being broken whenever we try to massage her. To make matters worse, over the last few days of those fifteen, she’s started seeing double. It’s strange; she sees normally out of one eye, and normally out of the other, but when she looks with both eyes open, everything is doubled. If she covers one eye with her hand, the vision returns to normal. The pain won't stop, it stays just as intense, and this double vision persists. We finally decided to take her back to the hospital because a second biopsy was scheduled, but she was in such bad shape that they couldn't even go through with it. Now, nine days have passed and still no diagnosis? They ran blood work, and almost everything looks fine—her blood sugar is okay, and all the vital markers seem normal. An MRI of her brain was done, and it came back clear. Her neck area also looks clean and normal. Yesterday, they performed a spinal tap—I think it’s called a lumbar puncture based on what I read online—and we are waiting on those results. Meanwhile, she is in this much pain, unable to sleep, and unable to even look at things properly. Can anyone help me? Is a neurologist supposed to be handling this? I forgot to mention that her spinal imaging also came back okay. What am I supposed to do? This is my mother, and she has never been sick a day in her life. When I visited her a few days ago, I noticed a small swollen node on her arm; I checked other parts of her body, but it was only in that one spot. Does anyone have any intelligent advice or suggestions on what we should be suspicious of? I know deep down this is likely something extremely serious. Please, help...

Does anyone actually have an idea? Or are we all just sitting here empty-handed?

Well, you didn't mention where it's actually located or which department they're dealing with.
It seems a bit strange to me that they would start radiation therapy before performing a biopsy; typically, you get the diagnosis settled before jumping straight into treatment.
The idea of undergoing radiation first and then doing a biopsy on the glands sounds more like a standard tumor protocol—are you absolutely certain about everything the doctors are telling you?
Are you an adult?
Based on the tests you listed, some of them definitely fall under neurology, such as the spinal fluid draw and the MRI of the head and neck.

There’s just too much ambiguity here. First they put her through radiation, and then they sent her in for a biopsy??

Kyle Lee7 said:Well, you didn't mention where it's actually located or which department they're dealing with.
It seems a bit strange to me that they would start radiation therapy before performing a biopsy; typically, you get the diagnosis settled before jumping straight into treatment.
The idea of undergoing radiation first and then doing a biopsy on the glands sounds more like a standard tumor protocol—are you absolutely certain about everything the doctors are telling you?
Are you an adult?
Based on the tests you listed, some of them definitely fall under neurology, such as the spinal fluid draw and the MRI of the head and neck.

He's currently staying in thoracic surgery. And honestly, I might have gotten the sequence mixed up—I think the biopsy actually happened before the radiation started. My mistake.

Did your mom get a mammogram or at least a breast ultrasound? Breast cancer that’s spread to the lymph nodes can cause pressure in the neck and even swelling in the arm. On top of that, breast cancer can metastasize to the lungs and bones, which would explain those shadows and the pain you're seeing.
It honestly baffles me how doctors approach things this way—starting radiation based on a "suspicious" finding before they've even confirmed the actual diagnosis.
Have you actually sat down and talked to her primary specialist? What you’ve laid out here is completely disorganized and doesn't make any sense logically. 😕

p.s. She really needs a head CT. If there's a suspicion of cancer and she's dealing with dizziness or can't stay on her feet, there's a real possibility it has spread to the brain. 😢

You need to get in touch with her doctor immediately and demand clear, concrete answers.

Angela Wright said:Did your mom get a mammogram or at least a breast ultrasound? Breast cancer that’s spread to the lymph nodes can cause pressure in the neck and even swelling in the arm. On top of that, breast cancer can metastasize to the lungs and bones, which would explain those shadows and the pain you're seeing.
It honestly baffles me how doctors approach things this way—starting radiation based on a "suspicious" finding before they've even confirmed the actual diagnosis.
Have you actually sat down and talked to her primary specialist? What you’ve laid out here is completely disorganized and doesn't make any sense logically. 😕

p.s. She really needs a head CT. If there's a suspicion of cancer and she's dealing with dizziness or can't stay on her feet, there's a real possibility it has spread to the brain. 😢

You need to get in touch with her doctor immediately and demand clear, concrete answers.

She already had a head CT and everything came back completely clear. She hasn't had a mammogram yet, but they did run a full-body scan—either a CT or an MRI, I can't quite remember which. As far as I know, the radiation was ordered because of enlarged lymph nodes. We just got the results back from her spinal fluid analysis today, and that was also totally normal. On top of that, they performed a second procedure on her spine over the last three days. We’re still waiting on those results now. I honestly don't know if these doctors are making sense; my mom is in such intense pain that she's been taking heavy doses of Tramadol just for the last two days to manage it. It doesn't look like cancer, and it definitely doesn't look like anything in her head since the CT was clean. Does anyone have any ideas?

The tumor marker tests came back, and everything looks completely clear.

briskgardener13 said:The tumor marker tests came back, and everything looks completely clear.

Look, tumor markers aren't exactly the gold standard for diagnosis.

In my book, treating a woman with radiation based on nothing more than a suspicious cancer finding is a massive, fundamental blunder—it's bordering on criminal negligence. 😱That kind of thing should be reported to the medical board for investigation!😠 At this point, we have no idea what she actually had, let alone what kind of damage that radiation might have inflicted on her body.
Some people working in medicine belong in a slaughterhouse, not a hospital.😠😠😠

The only other thing I can think of is having her see a physiatrist for a full evaluation.

Angela Wright said:Look, tumor markers aren't exactly the gold standard for diagnosis.

In my book, treating a woman with radiation based on nothing more than a suspicious cancer finding is a massive, fundamental blunder—it's bordering on criminal negligence. 😱That kind of thing should be reported to the medical board for investigation!😠 At this point, we have no idea what she actually had, let alone what kind of damage that radiation might have inflicted on her body.
Some people working in medicine belong in a slaughterhouse, not a hospital.😠😠😠

The only other thing I can think of is having her see a physiatrist for a full evaluation.

Mom fell into a coma and is currently on life support. It looks like things were much more serious than expected; the cancer is quite widespread, and for fifteen days straight, the doctors at the hospital were basically just guessing at what was going on.

briskgardener13 said:Mom fell into a coma and is currently on life support. It looks like things were much more serious than expected; the cancer is quite widespread, and for fifteen days straight, the doctors at the hospital were basically just guessing at what was going on.

I am so incredibly sorry to hear that.😢
Hang in there.