Please give Advice

This is the place to ask questions if you have symptoms that suggest MS, but aren't yet diagnosed.
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michellelucas1973
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Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:28 am

Please give Advice

Post by michellelucas1973 »

Hi everyone, I am 40 year old female. I am currently very confused and suffering. I developed Foot Drop 6 days ago in my right foot and cannot walk properly as a result. I also developed extreme weakness in my right arm. I went to my Dr. and he is sending me to a Neurologist on February 5, 2014 for a EMG test. Here is some of my past experiences:

When I was a little girl, I used to get pain and weakness in both my legs. It used to be so bad that my parents used to cancel plans to stay home with me. Mom brought me to the Dr. several times and was just prescribed muscle relaxers. My whole life, I have always had times when stumbling was an issue. It would come for a period of time and then everything would be normal for awhile. Very Clumsy, run into objects all the time, eg, walking and running into the wall or door frame.
I have always had periodically, tingling and numbness in both my hands and feet and arms. I have been known to drop lots of objects due to weakness in my right arm, once again most all my life. Dad would laugh sometimes and say ”my goodness there are stronger people in the cemetery, maybe we should get some muscles from them” LOL
I have always had bladder and bowel issues. I seen a Urologist-Dr, Alphin in Medicine Hat for my bladder issues(sometimes loses control) and he did an examination in which he put a camera in my bladder and everything looked fine health wise. That was about 4 years ago. My bowels have always had problems, seen Dr. Belletrutti here is Calgary and had a Colonscopy done, once again everything looks normal.
I am extremely tender all over my body, even a gentle push irritates the muscles. I used to suffer so much pain and soarness that I was on muscle relaxers and anti- inflammatory drugs for several years on a daily basis and the Dr. could not figure out what was wrong with me so he assumed that I had Fibramylogia. Mis-diagniosis and not by a Specialist. I used to even get Accupuncture to help with the pain.
I have started getting very forgetful when I was about 28-30 years old. It just gets worse as I get older.
Last spring, my right leg struck severe pain and numbness for 10 days. I was able to use my muscles but it hurt badly to walk. My family Dr. at the time thought I had a blood cloth and sent me for 3 different ultrasounds over a course of a week. She didn’t know what else to do as the pain did not make sense to her at all.
This time, since the leg is numb, I get a sensation of water running down my leg cold feeling, cramping lots in the calf of the leg and muscle cramps on the bottom of the foot.
Now have severe weakness in my right arm and tingling in my face and arm.
Do anyone think I could have MS?
michellelucas1973
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Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:28 am

Re: Please give Advice

Post by michellelucas1973 »

I should also mention that I have been on anti-depressants now for 5 years. I suffer severe depression
Anonymoose
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Re: Please give Advice

Post by Anonymoose »

Hi Michelle,

Sorry to hear you are having a hard time.

I'm not a doctor but it sounds like you have something different than (or in addition to?) ms going on. Can you have your GP do an extensive panel for nutrient deficiencies? If no deficiencies turn up, I would see a neurologist for a full exam and whatever tests he/she finds necessary, not just an EMG. If nothing comes up there...maybe consult a rheumatology specialist??

If you've been having issues like this for so long without any answers from your GP, specialists need to be investigating your health issues and managing your care.

Best of luck. :)
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jimmylegs
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Re: Please give Advice

Post by jimmylegs »

hi and welcome - sorry to hear you're having a scary time :S

strong strong second to the suggestion of having extensive nutrition testing done.

can I ask if any doc has ever referred you for nutrition counseling? it should be a basic first step for disease prevention. terrible that it is not standard practice!
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lyndacarol
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Re: Please give Advice

Post by lyndacarol »

michellelucas1973 wrote:Hi everyone, I am 40 year old female. I am currently very confused and suffering. I developed Foot Drop 6 days ago in my right foot and cannot walk properly as a result. I also developed extreme weakness in my right arm. I went to my Dr. and he is sending me to a Neurologist on February 5, 2014 for a EMG test. Here is some of my past experiences:

When I was a little girl, I used to get pain and weakness in both my legs. It used to be so bad that my parents used to cancel plans to stay home with me. Mom brought me to the Dr. several times and was just prescribed muscle relaxers. My whole life, I have always had times when stumbling was an issue. It would come for a period of time and then everything would be normal for awhile. Very Clumsy, run into objects all the time, eg, walking and running into the wall or door frame.
I have always had periodically, tingling and numbness in both my hands and feet and arms. I have been known to drop lots of objects due to weakness in my right arm, once again most all my life. Dad would laugh sometimes and say ”my goodness there are stronger people in the cemetery, maybe we should get some muscles from them” LOL
I have always had bladder and bowel issues. I seen a Urologist-Dr, Alphin in Medicine Hat for my bladder issues(sometimes loses control) and he did an examination in which he put a camera in my bladder and everything looked fine health wise. That was about 4 years ago. My bowels have always had problems, seen Dr. Belletrutti here is Calgary and had a Colonscopy done, once again everything looks normal.
I am extremely tender all over my body, even a gentle push irritates the muscles. I used to suffer so much pain and soarness that I was on muscle relaxers and anti- inflammatory drugs for several years on a daily basis and the Dr. could not figure out what was wrong with me so he assumed that I had Fibramylogia. Mis-diagniosis and not by a Specialist. I used to even get Accupuncture to help with the pain.
I have started getting very forgetful when I was about 28-30 years old. It just gets worse as I get older.
Last spring, my right leg struck severe pain and numbness for 10 days. I was able to use my muscles but it hurt badly to walk. My family Dr. at the time thought I had a blood cloth and sent me for 3 different ultrasounds over a course of a week. She didn’t know what else to do as the pain did not make sense to her at all.
This time, since the leg is numb, I get a sensation of water running down my leg cold feeling, cramping lots in the calf of the leg and muscle cramps on the bottom of the foot.
Now have severe weakness in my right arm and tingling in my face and arm.
Do anyone think I could have MS?
Welcome to ThisIsMS, michellelucas1973.

This description of a neurological exam might be helpful to prepare you for what to expect at your appointment on February 5, 2014. Before that appointment I urge you to compose a timeline and list of your symptoms to take to the appointment:

http://peripheralneuropathycenter.uchic ... #bloodtest

The tingling/numbness in your hands and feet and arms is known as peripheral neuropathy.

After discussing the section on blood tests, your doctor may order some or all of these:
Blood tests

Blood tests are commonly employed to check for vitamin deficiencies, toxic elements and evidence of an abnormal immune response.

Depending on your individual situation, your doctor may request certain laboratory tests to identify potentially treatable causes for neuropathy. These include tests for:

Vitamin B12 and folate levels (Testing for magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, and copper is also recommended by jimmylegs, here at TIMS.)
Thyroid, liver and kidney functions (especially thyroid hormones testing is recommended by Kathryn Simpkins in her book, The MS Solution)
Vasculitis evaluation
Oral glucose tolerance test (I suggest a "fasting blood insulin test" also, since excess insulin affects the muscles – your weakness?.)
Antibodies to nerve components (e.g., anti-MAG antibody)
Antibodies related to celiac disease (Gluten sensitivity often causes neurological symptoms – even depression.)
Lyme disease
HIV/AIDS
Hepatitis C and B
MS is always a possibility, but the MS diagnosis is made when these other conditions have been ruled out.

Your new friends here wish you all the best; please let us know how it goes.
My hypothesis: excess insulin (hyperinsulinemia) plays a major role in MS, as developed in my initial post: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-discussion-f1/topic1878.html "Insulin – Could This Be the Key?"
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jimmylegs
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Re: Please give Advice

Post by jimmylegs »

fyi, the link in my automatic 'signature' provides detailed info on the full array of useful preventative serum nutrient tests.
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