This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

[jimmylegs]

had brain mri yesterday, they were only running an hour or so behind yay.
contrast agent for second time (first having been for dx 12+ yrs ago). we shall see what we see!

[Zyklon]

Updates?

[jimmylegs]

heya, nothing special so far. i haven't checked for the mri results yet but they said i should be able to pick up a disc this week. follow up appt w family doc not til first week of april.
in the meantime have been doing my little eye exercises and being good w regimen, but no particular change yet. the rehab study was for 4 weeks so i'll just have to exercise my patience as well

[jimmylegs]

HEY i think i have some progress. exciting!!!!!
i was getting a little bored with the eye exercises and no difference (why yes, this *is* only the third day since starting... i may not be the most patient person ever).
i decided to try adding a vertical nodding kind of element to the hard right-gaze stretch for the left eye. it does feel quite different, esp with chin lowered.
not perfect yet but now, with both eyes open, i'm much closer to seeing a single chimney on the neighbour's house than i have been since this whole issue started!
as noted above it's only been a couple of days since finding the exercises, and who knows if this is just when it would have started to resolve on its own, BUT i am very encouraged right now

[jimmylegs]

yesterday's gains seem to be holding still needs a lot of work but i'm very pleased

[jimmylegs]

ok i picked up the mri cd thurs pm and just dug it out to view this aft. i've only looked at the comments so far. i am definitely *not* among those who get INO without a detectable lesion. i will need to take some more time to dig out the previous disc to which the reviewer makes comparison, absorb this year's comments, and get into the image side of things.

[jimmylegs]

went to the doc for chats about mri, next steps, and updated bloodwork requisition.

mri chats = push to see neurologist, discuss new treatment options.

re next steps: 'can i interest you in *western* medicine?' (um i'm pretty sure most of my research resides quite firmly in the 'western' sphere but thanks for condescension..) i said i'm open to the conversation but not to long term pharma 'disease management' approaches.

bloodwork: i picked up year old lab results which i'd put off collecting, being 'too busy with work'. stupid stupid stupid. levels terrible and won't have been getting better throughout the past year of relative inaction.

what a pain that with mere days remaining at the end of my job commitments, the wheels came off. really? couldn't have waited another week? but i guess i needed this wake up call. again.

marching orders to self:
1 month of best behaviour food and supplement-wise, with special attention to zinc and vit d3 based on old test results.
one week washout, then retest those plus the rest of my more complete little panel.
also, NO DILLY DALLYING with results this time!!!
and lastly, tweak as needed based on updated results

[jimmylegs]

the eye rehab work is fascinating. think i got things to a new level today. it's a big deal to maintain distance focus with my chin dropped vs raised. now if only i can get right shoulder check to behave as well!

[jimmylegs]

more progress! i went to a local trail where i can check focus with chin up *and* chin down at a real distance. achievement unlocked! still busy with the right shoulder check quest however.

[Zyklon]

gogogo

Why do you do washout for one week?

[jimmylegs]

i will thanks

short answer, washout is to prevent most recent supplemental intakes from clouding background status.

long answer:
when i was silly pre dx, even so i had b12 on my radar due to diet and i monitored my levels. but i actually used to take b12 before my bloodwork. levels always came back low normal, but i knew from changes in symptoms that it didn't reflect my true status quo. out of curiousity i did a washout before testing once, and the b12 levels were undetectable - test was sensitive down to 75 pmol/l and the lab report said 'less than 75'.

iater when things got dire and the ms tests were done, i argued against the ms dx.
'no i'm b12 deficient'.
'but your test came back 300 pmol/l'.
'i've been supplementing like mad because of all this crazy new sensory loss'.
'so do a washout for us and retest'.
'no i'm terrified to stop now that things have gotten so much worse'.
and the rest is history.

there are other weird things to consider also, re bloodwork. eg coffee before testing can affect serum uric acid results, making them look higher than they really are.

also, morning fasting serum zinc is the highest level of the day so when i test that way, which i always do for comparability's sake, i have to be aware that it's my best possible result over a 24 hour period. makes my last serum zinc result, 12 umol/l, look even worse than just 'low normal' (it's actually great per the local lab but not per the hospital's system, which is more consistent with research)

with my zinc that low i can imagine my serum uric acid levels were crap too, but i don't have that on my next requisition. my old doc retired and i'm working in a new one. very slowly :S lol

[jimmylegs]

ok so the other day, one month to the day since this all started, i called the doc to say i'm feeling ok to drive again. she said no, wait and see if you can get approval from the specialist next week. i just keep dutifully supplementing and working on the eye exercises in the meantime.

at this point i can feel magnesium status reacting to the increased d3 intake. definitely going to increase mag intake a bit more.

things are still improving with the last little fragment of double vision. i can still feel eye stretches working, so am still expecting things to resolve even further as long as i stick to the routine

[jimmylegs]

clear to drive woot! lol