This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

lets see... my symptoms are/ but not always limited to...
- high anxiety
- don't leave the house much
- high fatigue
- loss of apatite - finding it hard to even force to eat at times.
- nauseated
- body twitch - different parts - legs, arms, back
-swelling in face - knife pain behind it - numb feeling (can hold ice on those teeth and not even feel it) (also had an ENT done - came back normal)
- headaches
- blood in urine
- achy
- clumsy at times
- pain in lower back - switches sides about kidney level
- very poor circulation
- leg cramps
- energy loss
- sometimes go to the bathroom mult. times in a day, other times it wont be for a few days (on number 2... )
- sometimes warm - burning feeling on my back
- dizzy sometimes
- laughing to crying in seconds sometimes
- body feels very heavy
- trouble falling/staying asleep
- sometimes hard to remember a word - forget what i was just saying if i take a short pause (hard time to start where i left of sometimes)

last night the left side of my body went numb (felt like someone taking masking tape off your skin) dry heaves for 5-10 min, very bad head ache, body got drenched in sweat for a short period
i have been noticing other attacks like this but last night was the worst! thought i was dying!

I do smoke, i take lexapro 10mg daily for about year now? been having problems for over a year - just seeming to get worse any ideaaas? Thanks.
-neg. for lymes too btw
- im 5' 11'' and 134lbs

hi WP sounds like a not fun list!
i'm only commenting with ideas that i have spent some amount of time looking into, others here could round this out. you can combine supplements with boosts to your food sources of the following


check your d3 levels and get a good strong b-complex, and calcium


d3, magnesium, zinc


check your zinc, normal range 11.5-18.5, optimal 18


magnesium, also check iron if premenopausal female (wow i had to edit to correct "premenstrual female" whoopsie lol)


not sure, but if the swelling is anything to do with sodium, cut back and get yourself some potassium.


magnesium, drink more water


taken any antibiotics lately? take a good acidophilus
try a liver/kidney tonic regimen


d3


vitamin E maybe


d3, drink more water, and again - liver/kidney tonic


zinc, vitamin e, drink more water


magnesium


d3, b-complex, drink water


fibre for regularity???


b-complex


b-complex


b-complex


vitamin e maybe


exercise, magnesium drink at bedtime, tryptophan snack at bedtime
d3 and zinc to help get your hormones sorted (others here have looked at hormones more than i and may chime in here)


strong b-complex, and ginkgo biloba


stop it. vitamin C, E, magnesium, zinc.


lexapro doesn't feed your body what it needs to fight cognitive symptoms (and i read that it depletes b12 but that isn't backed up by any kind of authoritative reference, sorry). anyway if your b12 gets down it hampers your body's ability to process other nutrients properly.

i just found the following link to a decent set of nutrients and the associated array of possible deficiency symptoms. it is not referenced but does look pretty reasonable at first glance:
http://1stholistic.com/nutrition/hol_nu ... mptoms.htm

HTH,
JL

_________________
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

you've got all those symptoms and you've had an ENT/Ear nose throat checkup? Lexapro for anxiety...depression? I'm no doctor either but blood in urine and lower back pain...i'm sure you've had kidney & liver tests, ultra sound...right?

Ya the first thing you need to do is have a full workup done by your GP

thanks so much guys for all the great replies i do appreciate it sooo much! I am an 19 year old male... i have had two kidney stones (month or so ago now Talk about pain man... wow!), have been on two different antibiotics since, no stones in last current CT like a week or two ago in the er.
- two antibiotic within the last two weeks, cipro for my blood in urine and then z-pak now for my face.. the swelling went down a little however still numb, pain behind it if provoked to much (only have one left of the zpak and still nothing :\ ), been tingly in arms, and today was walking around for a good part of the day and my left leg between pelvis and knee just like a dull knife pain when i walked... also with the blood in the urine.. i have had blood in the stool too, but the prostate is fine, no clamydia or anything like that, i do tend to have high blood pressure lately when ive been into see the doc. (i have an apt. tomorrow morning) still pain in lower back! sometimes feels like in being squeezed almost too.. i dont know and pain in chest on right side like a dull point the size of say a nickel or quarter size...

oh.. and.. i feel like my doctors dont like me! i am a HUGE fan of herbal supp. and pure nutrients and such, i cant stand their poison! but i was told not to take any vitamins while on these antibiotics... (lol circle of money! ) but other than that... the last time i was in to see the doc... i had my mom with and she and i both told him and the doc in traing TWICE tht i have high anxiety... he puts me on claritin D WHICH is 240mg of pseudophedrine! bigggg no no for me and anxiety, wouldnt take it, one sudafed at 30mg of peusd-devil makes me fly... i hate it... and then put me on the cipro which also induces anxiety! lol ahhh good times... :O

Hi Woodpharm,

What a list! This must be hard for you. At 19 you should be energetic, getting out and having fun.

I'd take a holistic approach here. You are obviously under medical care already but drugs...even supplements... are not necessarily the sole answer to the situation you are in.

Get your diet checked out, it may be partly responsible for the kidney stones. Are you overweight by any chance? Eat healthy food and avoid excess fatty food and sugars. Obesity can make you very sick at any age.

Do you have a happy life, a social life? Do you get lots of exercise? I'd make this side of things a priority if you want to get well, however tough it may be to change things. If there is stress, something making you unhappy (apart from your illness and worry about stuff like MS) or emotional problems in your life - do everything you can to talk to people who can help you cope. Be as resourceful as you can in this area until you find someone who really understands you and is sympathetic and helpful...this may be a hit and miss process, maybe not. Outside help can be best because friends and family often have an agenda (even if they don't realise it).

Yeah I know all this advice may sound boring and kind of familiar but bear in mind that people who live happy, sociable, stress free lives, who eat healthily and sleep well rarely get seriously sick. Many are in that situation through sheer luck, the rest of us have to work at getting there....c'est la vie!:)

gainsbourg

hey there WP, wow sounds like you've been through a rough time!!
because of the stones and the abx, i restate the following (once you're off the abx, per doc's orders):



if you don't flush your system with enough water, that can contribute to kidney stones, and so can high sodium, high uric acid, and low vitamin d3. when you don't have enough d3 you can end up with hyperparathyroidism which can also contribute to the formation of kidney stones.

getting back to this point:

so now let's talk sodium. if you eat a high proportion of processed foods, you may be getting too much sodium, which helps the kidney stones form. in that case you may not be getting enough potassium to stay in balance and keep those crystals from forming.
here's a couple of blurbs about potassium:



gains is soooo right about exercise too, it's a fabulous antidepressant.

does any of this conjecture make sense in your particular scenario WP?

JL

_________________
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

heyy guys, update, doctor wants me to see a neurologist (my neighbor haha... oh boy...) aside from that he said the episode and with my face being the way it is, he just couldn't put a dx on it after a number of tests.. other than that he wants me make a list of everything and bring to the neuro on friday.

I do get lots of fruit on a daily, and mom usually cooks a great meal every night with all food groups, I dont know, it's troubling, I do think my diet at this point has some affect but when I look at what I am personally eating and taking in account for, that just doesn't seem to balance out... maybe it's just me though, i dont know, I am underweight though, someone asked, i was 134lbs today and my blood pressure was 137/88 I'm going to go look to see if thats normal now but just thought i'd let you all know! thanks!

bp sounds pretty normal.. but kidney stones don't!
can you give an idea of your daily food and liquid intake, say an estimate of 2 typical week days and one typical weekend day?

well today for instance, I had a bacon cheeseburger for lunch, I had a can of pears ,so far, but... lets see...

--it seems i have a tougher time eating in the morning until later in the evening as well.

-water through-out the day, if i cant force myself to at least a banana-2 a day ill usually make a chocolate banana milk shake at the end of the evening.

normal day besides those in just bout every day, fruit or crackers and such through the day and then normally by the later part of the day is when i get hungry around dinner time... brocli mmmm, beans, chicken, meats, rices, carrots, anything.. mom is a very good cook, so the meals are always very good, and those meals i do eat. but usually up til dinner time its a struggle to eat, some days its not like that and i can snack here and there on fruit or w/e and i do, but i dont know, My dad as well is Very up to date with all of the nutrition as well, and he thinks mine could be better but doesnt think thats where my problems underlie, they add to it yes but not the soul problem...

JL--Here is another good source of potassium to add to your list: Morton brand Lite Salt is an excellent source (340 mg per serving size).

And blood pressure to aim for used to be 120/80; just yesterday I heard a doctor (Nancy Snyderman -- spelling of name corrected, 2/25/09) on TV say that the target for blood pressure now was 100/70.

hey interesting. i think i was down to 70/50 at one stage, near death experience lol

what do you guys think? yes? no? maybe? also i have been having a hard time finding info on this but do people with ms tend to have higher or lower bp? or is there nothing to do with it?

OK, I'm a Mom to a teenage son...and you're asking for advice. Here you go, Wood!
1. Just say NO to cancer sticks. Please! There's nothing good in them, and they can mess with your blood pressure.
2. Go see the neuro on Friday and write down all your concerns, so you remember to ask all the questions you have. Have your Mom or Dad in the room with you for support and to ask their questions. Write stuff down.
3. Eat your Mom's meals, and always thank her for being a good cook Do the dishes for her...she'll love it!
4. Try not to worry too much... I know that's hard, but you'll get answers eventually.
5. Make sure to get good sleep, sunshine and exercise. Hang with friends, find some people to share your concerns with, ask for prayers (if you believe in that) or good thoughts. See a funny movie this weekend.
6. Let us know how your appointment goes on Friday.
7. Take a PROBIOTIC...to balance out your system. If your Dad's up on supplements, he'll be able to help you get a good one with lots of healthy bacteria.

We all wish you the best,
AC

_________________
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS