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Hi does anyone have experience of a very foggy head with whistling in the ears all the time. I have had this on and off since Xmas, neurologist says Tinnitus not a common MS symptom, but it came on quite quick then I had sharp neck pain for a week or two.
Any thoughts?
I have just finished 2 years of Mitox had one big relapse during that time but have been diagnosed relapsing progressive.
JJ

Could be a fungal infection--typical symptoms. Were you taking megadose probiotics when on Mitox? If not, easy to get a fungal overgrowth.

Ach neuros!
They go by common symptoms only. Anything else and they tend to preface dealing with them with....'well....it's not a common symptom but.......'.

I definitely have deafness and constant tinnitus due to MS for the last 11 years and I've another friend with MS who has tinnitus too. I've just started taking ginkgo bilboa for the tinnitus to see can it help it but there's not much out there that can help it.
Have a look at this article on Ehow: http://www.ehow.com/how_4743310_treat-r ... ed-ms.html

I just try not to think about it.

Thanks for the responses.
I have heard there's not much treatment other than distracting yourself but it's difficult if you too ill to do much! Thanks for the link.
I had not thought about a fungal infection, guess it's possible, the chemo did mean I got every cold going round if I came within a few yards of one! I'll check with my GP bout that.
Cheers JJ

You might want to look into VINPOCETINE (10 mg three times a day) it helps some forms of tinnitus. (In Europe Vinpocetine is the drug Cavinton)

It makes you SMART and may cure MS and makes you pee better and may remove unwanted calcium deposits from unwanted places. It improves blood circulation even in the Brain.

I avoid Ginkgo because Vinpocetine is better and safer and may cure my MS.

I can provide some boring abstracts if you cannot locate them yourself.

jackD

if you haven't already, i would encourage you to check out the ccsvi threads. those three symptoms: neck pain, foggy head, and tinnitus, are some of the most common symptoms associated with and alleviated with venoplasty (Liberation Treatment).

Thanks again,

Lilsis I have been anxious to think about the ccsvi stuff cause the treatment seems to have high risks associated but maybe I need to check it out and see for myself.
jackd Will look up vipocetine but abstracts would be helpful if you have time to post them.
I'm less foggy today but still have the tunes in my ears!

A good vipocetine abstract.

jackD


Int Tinnitus J. 2008;14(1):69-72.

Multimodal therapy for chronic tinnitus.

Hahn A, Radkova L, Achiemere G, Klement V, Alpini D, Strouhal J.

Ear, Nose, and Throat Department, Third Medical Faculty, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. hahn@fnkv.cz

From 2001 to 2006, we performed a retrospective study of patients suffering from chronic unilateral or bilateral tinnitus that was previously ineffectively treated by oral drugs [betahistine (Betaserc), extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb 761), tanakan (Tebokan), and cinnarizine-dimenhydrinate (Arlevert), singly or in combination]. We divided 150 tinnitus patients (80 men, 70 women) into seven treatment groups. Treatments consisted of application of intravenous pentoxifylline, lidocaine, or vinpocetine (Cavinton) and combination of these agents with physiotherapy and soft laser. Mean duration (+/- standard deviation) of tinnitus in these patients was 7.4 +/- 6.0 years; their mean age was 55.6 +/- 12.5 years.

The aim of our study was to compare treatment modalities and define their effectiveness for tinnitus relief.

The most effective treatment was defined as a combination of Cavinton and physiotherapy. We evaluated pure lidocaine infusion therapy as ineffective. None of the treatment modalities had an objective correlate of improvement, though improvement was reported by a visual analog scale.

PMID: 18616089 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

There are always side effects -darn!!!

jackD


Vinpocetine is a type I phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PEDI)



Mult Scler. 1999 Apr;5(2):126-33.

Effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors on cytokine production by microglia.

Yoshikawa M, Suzumura A, Tamaru T, Takayanagi T, Sawada M.

Department of Neurology, Nara Medical University, Kashihara, Japan.

Type III and IV phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDEIs) have recently been shown to suppress the production of TNF-alpha in several types of cells.

In the present study, we have shown that all the types of PDEIs, from type I- to V-specific and non-specific, suppress the production of TNF-alpha by mouse microglia stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in a dose-dependent manner.

Certain combinations of three different types of PDEIs synergistically suppressed TNF-alpha production by microglia at a very low concentration (1 microM).

Since some PDEIs reportedly pass through the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the combination of three PDEIs may be worth trying in neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and HIV-related neurological diseases in which TNF-alpha may play a critical role.

Some PDEIs also suppressed interleukin-I (IL-I) and IL-6 production by mouse microglia stimulated with LPS.

In contrast, the production of IL-10, which is known to be an inhibitory cytokine, was upregulated by certain PDEIs.

The suppression of TNF-alpha and induction of IL-10 were confirmed at the mRNA level by RT-PCR. PDEIs may be useful anti-inflammatory agents by downregulating inflammatory cytokines and upregulating inhibitory cytokines in the central nervous system. (CNS).PMID: 10335522 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

two things to test: zinc and selenium. where i live i can get zinc tested for free but i have to pay 30 or 35 dollars something like that for a selenium test.

also think about some coQ10 to make up for 2 years on mitox..

link

doxorubicin and related anthracyclines... (mitoxantrone)
"anthracyclines generate free radicals that cause oxidative damage, particularly microsomal lipid peroxidation, through an iron dependent process, which results in cardiotoxicity and adverse effects on other tissues.... including 1: reduction of coQ10 content within mitochondrial membranes, 2) inhibition of mitochodrial biosynthesis of coQ10 and 3) inhibition of mitochondrial synthesis of coQ10-dependent enzymes, particularly succinoxidase and NADH-oxidase...

For me, Niacin and Magnesium have both been extremely helpful. I believe vasodilation has been the key.

Taking 500mg of standard Niacin and getting the flush has always cleared my head (during the flush.)

NOTE: Some find the flush very unpleasant. Harmless but, learn about it 1st so it doesn't surprise you!

http://mens-total-fitness.com/niacin-flush.html


For restoring my Mg levels, clearing my head, and nearly silencing the tinnitus, lengthy foot soaks with about 5 cups of Mg Chloride flakes mixed in a gallon of warm water at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit cause my tinnitus to almost go away while I am soaking. It gets real, real quiet and weak sounding. For me this usually takes about an hour. It gradually returns during the next few hours after the soak but not as loud as before the soak. My walking is a lot better after the soak as well.

Here is some good info on Magnesium usage:

http://www.ancient-minerals.com/product ... ation-use/

Also, heat really turns up the volume on my tinnitus.
Two doctors have told me that when the body is exposed to heat and is trying to cool itself, there is peripheral vasodilation and internal vasoconstriction. Very interesting

THX1138 wrote:For me, Niacin and Magnesium have both been extremely helpful. I believe vasodilation has been the key.

Taking 500mg of standard Niacin and getting the flush has always cleared my head (during the flush.)

NOTE: Some find the flush very unpleasant. Harmless but, learn about it 1st so it doesn't surprise you!

http://mens-total-fitness.com/niacin-flush.html


For restoring my Mg levels, clearing my head, and nearly silencing the tinnitus, lengthy foot soaks with about 5 cups of Mg Chloride flakes mixed in a gallon of warm water at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit cause my tinnitus to almost go away while I am soaking. It gets real, real quiet and weak sounding. For me this usually takes about an hour. It gradually returns during the next few hours after the soak but not as loud as before the soak. My walking is a lot better after the soak as well.

Here is some good info on Magnesium usage:

http://www.ancient-minerals.com/product ... ation-use/

Also, heat really turns up the volume on my tinnitus.
Two doctors have told me that when the body is exposed to heat and is trying to cool itself, there is peripheral vasodilation and internal vasoconstriction. Very interesting

Taking 100 mg or more of Niacin can (read that WILL) cause liver damage. This includes the time-released version.

Check it out. Lots of folks tried to raise their HDL and damaged their livers.

jackD

jackD I have to respectfully disagree with your assertion that, "Taking 100 mg or more of Niacin can (read that WILL) cause liver damage." I am sure you wrote it out of caring and concern.

Why I disagree:

1) I have taken 2,000 mg - 3,000 mg of Extended Release Niacin per day for months.
2) On many occasions I have taken 500 mg - 1,500 mg per day of regular Niacin.
3) My MD suggested I take 1,000 mg Extended release Niacin 2x per day, and I did so for months. She told me 2,000 mg per day was a safe amount.

And after all of the above ............ Normal liver function test results

Additionally, the bottle of Walgreens Extended Release Niacin I am looking at right now has 500 mg in each pill.


I will add that liver function tests are recommended for people taking therapeutic levels of Niacin.

------ AND ------

Some people have sensitive livers and don't do well with large amounts (therapeutic levels) of Niacin.

Thanks for your concern jackD.

THX1138

jackD thanks for the info you posted on VINPOCETINE. It seems like it may end up being a real help in my blood flow/symptom-reduction quest.


THX1138

thx has your doc sent you for liver enzyme testing associated with therapeutic niacin dosing? if not, and you don't have a baseline, could be difficult to assess status.. however as to difficulty assessing, my doc recently said that liver enzyme testing is not necessarily the most telling and that somehow people with terribly compromised livers have normal results.. (well we all know how I feel about 'normal' so.. nuff said!) maybe somebody needs to go through the literature on ALT AST etc levels in 'healthy controls'