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I was wondering if anyone knows more about these symptoms and if it's possible it could be early MS. My internist who I have only seen twice has no idea what is going on. I asked for a referrral to neurology, but they cannot get me in until January. Are there some specific questions or tests I should ask about at that time to see about or either hopefully rule out MS? Thanks

Here is my history of symptoms:

Summer of 2010: Very suddenly starting having bad abdominal pains about 20 minutes after eating that would last a few hours. I could not find a specific kind or amount of food that made symptoms worse or go away. I also had diarrhea or else constipation maybe every other day. I had trouble sleeping on and off until Fall 2011. I also developed sudden eye irration. I could not open my eyes they would hurt so bad. I had to use a ton of eye drops for the first time ever. I previously had excellent vision, but after this I could no longer see the board from the back of the classroom. I had trouble seeing people's faces walking down the street. The eye irration ended after the summer, though. During that summer I worked for maybe 4 hours a day infront of a computer doing data entry, so I thought maybe it was just from that. My eyes no longer hurt and I see fine.

October of 2010: I went to urgent care one evening. I had a high fever, and was growing more lightheaded all day long. I felt too weak to do anything and felt very nauseous. The doctors said I had a virus (they couldn't identify it) that was causing my body to not retain fluids. They gave me about six bags of fluids and ice water. I went home and felt better in a couple of days.

After that, I started having a lot of fatigue. It didn't matter how much sleep I got. I was always run down. I was also having bad abdominal pains and diarrhea and constipation. I saw an internist who did a lot of tests. No celiac disease, no ulcers, no abomdinal cancer (he did a CT of the abdomin and couldn't find any abnormalities). He did find I had hypothyroidism. It has been corrected with levothyroxine since April according to lab tests. However, my symptoms weren't going away.

Summer 2011: I had such horrible fatigue I could hardly carry the laundry basket up the stairs. I would have to sit down and rest. It was like I had just run a marathon. Right before this I had ran on occassion and rode my bike multiple times a day. I was having trouble riding my bike due to fatigue. Sometimes I had to lay down to brush my teeth because I was so fatigued I could not stand. I had headaches, which is unusual for me. I had difficulty doing everyday things during this time due to fatigue.

Fall 2011: I saw an endrocrinologist to see if this was due to hypothryoidism even though it seemed to be corrected according to labs. He did not think it was a hormonal problem. He brought up POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia) when he noticed my heart rate increase upon standing. It seemed to discover this by accident. However, he said he did not know much about POTS. I was having difficulty sleeping. When I lay down in bed, my stomach or my legs would move (like a muscle spasm). This went away after a couple of weeks and I could sleep fine.

My abdominal pains went away around the time. Around the same time in September, I woke up and parts of my mouth felt numb. By the afternoon, the numbness had spread rapidly to my entire body. It has remained this way for two months. I also have not been able to taste anything in this time. It is not a decrease in taste, but a complete lack of taste.

The numbness feels like novacane wearing off. I can tell if something is touching my skin, but the sensation is greatly diminished.

Fall 2011: I saw a cardiologist to have a tilt table test for POTS. They weren't convinced I had POTS, but saw my heart rate went up in the doctor's office when I went from laying to standing. The tilt table test said my laying heart rate was 50-60, and standing was 90-120.

I have never fainted and my blood pressure does not change. My headaches have gone away. The fatigue is bad on some days and not on others. For the past two weeks I have not felt it much.

October 2010: Decided to see a neurologist, although I have to wait until January. No one has a clue what is going on.

So current symtoms:
-Heart rate increases by 30 to 60 bpm when moving from laying to standing
-Ageusia (complete inability to taste)
-Whole body numbness (can still feel some sensation. I'd say it's at least half of what it used to be)
-Fatigue that comes and goes and doesn't correlate with any kind of activity or amount of rest.

hi there, sounds like you've been having a whole bunch of no fun.

if you want to follow up on a nutritional approach, i can help.

from your symptoms i would look first at magnesium (headaches, fatigue, constipation, POTS) and zinc levels (ageusia, eye irritation, diarrhea). for hypothyroidism, copper iron and zinc are implicated. actually what with the fatigue iron is a pretty reasonable go-to in addition to magnesium.

you might want to read up on things that affect absorption and/or retention of those various minerals. i can fire you some links if you're interested - let me know!

i can give you target serum levels to aim for if you decide to get some bloodwork done.

Hi. I've had a number of tests. My iron levels are good as is my TSH for hypothyroidism. I know numbness can be caused by hypothyroidism, but the numbers on my tests are fine.

I eat well and get all the food groups. I'll try taking a multivitamin (I've done so in the past, but then sort of stop due to forgetfulness).

Not sure what's going on. Hopefully it's nothing serious like MS, but I'm not sure what it could be.

The main symptoms I'm worried about are the ones I'm having now: inability to taste, and whole body numbness (my skin sensitivity is about 50% diminished).

hey there,

that's good that your iron levels are okay - i aim for a serum ferritin level of at least 100 to ensure no possibility of deficiency.

if your TSH has been corrected via chemical measures, there could be residual underlying nutrition problems that have not been addressed.

food combinations can be trouble for absorbing certain nutrients, and it's *really* easy to lose zinc and magnesium even in a good diet, if the wrong food combos are involved.

serum zinc is one to look at for certain, regarding the inability to taste. and if the fatigue is troubling you, serum magnesium is the other.

the serum zinc normal range is too wide by a large margin, you need to be right at the upper end of what's considered 'normal'.

the magnesium normal range is twice as wide as it should be according to the scientific literature, and so you want to be at a minimum, in the upper end of the 'normal' range.

multivitamins can be okay maintenance products for healthy people - once you have significant health problems, therapeutic megadoses may be in order, depending what the bloodwork turns up. i wouldn't place a lot of faith in a one-a-day style multi to correct things like absence of taste. i hope you find a solution that works for you!