This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Hi there. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if they have found anything that helps.

I get nystagmus in one eye whenever i feel tired. Its usually the horizontal pendular type. Every now and then its the jerky horizontal type. Once I even noticed horizontal and vertical movement. The amplitudes will vary day to day. Every now and then, I will have it in both eyes. Its usually comes with some telling symptoms that let me know I'm probably having it, and then I will usually go to the mirror and confirm. It feels kinda like i've had a few drinks or so (I quit drinking 7 years ago). But not in a pleasant way. Usually, the jerkier the eye movements or the larger the amplitude, the crappier and woozier I will feel. If its really bad, I might even get a headache too. Again this only happens whenever im feeling tired.

Has anyone else experienced this?

I asked my neuro what I can do about this and his answer was "dont get tired". Not much help there.

Has anyone tried anything that helps either with fatigue and/or the nystagmus?

Thanks,
-b

hi there, just wondering if you have a diet/supplement regimen? i'm leaning towards magnesium status as one possible culprit related to your fatigue and nystagmus...

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

yes, i do. with the diet, i try to keep it as healthy as possible. nothing fried, no pork, no alcohol, minimal caffeine, minimal sugar, minimal dairy, minimal gluten, minimal processed foods. lots of fresh fruits and veggies. mostly just veggies and seafood.

as far as supplements, i used to take a whole bunch, but then i choked on one of the giant vitamin pills, so i've cut back since then. now im down to a multivatamin, my seasonal D3 dose (neuro recommends 4000 IU in summer, 6000 IU in winter) and 4000mg fish oil. The multivitamin I take has 50mg magnesium. I usually take all the pills at once, after lunch or so.

Thanks!

heya, so it looks like your diet may not be keeping up with the d3 high dosing. it's very possible that your high d3 intake has depleted your magnesium status resulting in at least some of your symptoms. it happened to me :S no fun!

it is extremely important to get the recommended daily amount of dietary magnesium at an absolute minimum, if you are high dosing d3.

you can calculate your own daily magnesium intake using this chart (scroll down a little from this link):

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... oodsources

note the only 'excellent' sources listed are spinach and swiss chard. you need a total of 4 c of these greens, boiled for 3 min, each day to meet the daily requirement. halibut appears to be the only significant seafood source (tuna a distant second). pumpkin seeds are rich in magnesium but also high in calories.

if you need a supplement, you can choose an organic (vs inorganic) soluble form, such as magnesium glycinate. avoid inorganic insoluble forms like magnesium oxide.

as for efficacy. if you can get a serum magnesium test done, it can tell you if your levels are adequate. fyi the 'normal' range is typically 0.70-1.10 mmol/L, way too wide for ms patients. so don't rest easy if you get a 'normal' result. you need to be in the top half of that range for sure, as per these studies looking at ideal levels:

Serum and Dietary Magnesium and the Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (1999)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10527292
"...Compared with individuals with serum magnesium levels of 0.95 mmol/L (1.90 mEq/L) or greater, the adjusted relative odds of incident type 2 diabetes rose progressively across the following lower magnesium categories: 1.13 (95% CI, 0.79-1.61), 1.20 (95% CI, 0.86-1.68), 1.11 (95% CI, 0.80-1.56), 1.24 (95% CI, 0.86-1.78), and 1.76 (95% CI, 1.18-2.61) (for trend, P=.01)"
translation: keep your levels above 0.95 mmol/L

About the Misdiagnosis of Magnesium Deficiency (2004)
http://www.jacn.org/content/23/6/730S.full
"In patients with Mg serum values lower than 0.9 mmol/l Mg, magnesium supplementation is recommended; for patients with values lower than 0.8 mmol/l, starting Mg supplementation is necessary. We recommend that a mMg serum value of 0.9 mmol/l Mg be considered as the lower reference limit, in evaluating symptoms or diseases suspected as being associated with Mg deficiency. In this case, Mg has to be used as a first choice therapy."
translation: minimum level 0.90 mmol/L

Dose evaluation for long term magnesium treatment in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (2005)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16164489
"The mean serum magnesium level of 1.47 mmol/l was close to the proposed optimal serum magnesium level of 1.4 mmol/l for achieving maximal neuroprotection as demonstrated by Miles et al. In only a few patients serum magnesium concentrations exceeded the upper level of 2.0 mmol/l. It is suggested that above this level the neuroprotective properties of magnesium start to decline. This would implicate that studies aiming serum magnesium levels above 2.0 mmol/l are at risk to be less effective."
translation: levels above 1.4 mmol/L! that's way higher than the status quo 'normal' range - some other authors replied to this but i can't see what they said (not free, boo!)

hope that helps!

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Wow! Thanks for all the info. Ill give it a try

-b

yvw - let us know how it works out

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com