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Ok a brief history.. I few months ago I had something I would describe as "dead leg" or muscle weakness in my left leg. My physician thought that it was one of my discs pressing into my nerves, after an X-ray showed stenosis she wanted me to get a lumbar MRI done. The MRI had some things on it but nothing was pressing on the nerves that would cause that in my leg. Nothing else was done, I still have the problem but its not painful, its more of a weird feeling. That is sometimes worse at night or during activity, but I didn't no what else to do about it and never brought it back up.

For the last 3 years I have had headaches practically every day. I specify headaches because they are bad and painful but they don't kill me and they don't make me nauseous so I don't think they are migraines. I always thought the headaches were because of my teeth or jaw after going to TMI doctors and oral surgeons nobody has been able to find the cause, so my physician recommended me to a neurologist.

My neurologist wanted me to do a work up. Blood work, EEG, and a brain MRI. EEG was clean. MRI read; ***A few nonspecific foci of FLAIR hyperintensity within the subcortical white matter, as above. **Now I never even considered the reason for my headaches to be MS. I just never thought about it. The neurologist said it is a possibility but along with other things and I need another MRI with contrast in 2-3 months. So here are my questions if anybody can answer any of them. Sorry about the length but its hard to explain with just one part of the equation. I only my doctors can diagnose me, but it makes me feel better to be able to talk about it.

Did anybody with MS get that as a result with their MRI?

Should I tell my Doctor about the "dead leg", or will he just think that I am overreacting now? (I got the "dead leg" before the brain MRI but I don't want him to think I'm just saying it because of the MRI)

Should I go back to my physician and discuss it instead and bring the brain MRI, since she knows my history?

Or should I drive myself crazy and wait 2-3 months for the result of the next MRI and do nothing until then?

Thanks for anybody who took the time.

hi and welcome i have a bunch of preliminary questions. things you can act on now, while deciding what to do in terms of the docs.

let's start with the headaches.. what kind of water do you drink? how much per day?

how's your intake of electrolytes, specifically potassium and magnesium? do you typically hit dietary targets?
check these out, see where you stand:
potassium http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid ... #foodchart
magnesium http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart

couple more questions - are you physically active? on any long term medications? picky eater? eat lots of bread? all potentially pertinent bits of info

Hi, I was diagnosed after having two MRI one on my neck and then brain, I had lots of strange symptoms before, think with MS you can have so many strange symptoms its very confusing disase, why will .you have to wait 2months after MRI thats a long time I had an MRI then was diagnosed a few days later
once I was diagnosed I was very upset but before I felt like I was going crazy with all the symptoms.
all the best Sue

Bottled or filtered I really try to drink 8 but its more like 4 to 6 when I'm not that thirsty. I'm not physically active I sprained my ankle a month ago (whole separate problem) but I was before that. The neurologist took me off the meds to rule that out. I do like bread, but I'm trying to food journal for weight loss and just in case my headache is allergy related.

I went to my regular physician today to ask questions I didn't ask my neurologist. She told me they are waiting to see if the lessons grow or theres any changes so they can compare the MRI.

Thanks both of you. I thought I would be emailed when replied to oppz.

ok check out the bottle and see if it has a breakdown showing mineral content. that's one thing that could be telling. for another, you can potentially look up your city's tap water to see what that mineral content is. look for magnesium and potassium in particular, but sodium and calcium too. the prior activity level could have had a depleting effect and the water might not be up to the job of replenishing. most sports drinks don't quite get you there for replacing lost minerals either - too much emphasis on sodium and potassium.

Comparison of the Mineral Content of Tap Water and Bottled Waters
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1495189/

..... Table 2 - Mineral Content of Tap Water in Major North American Cities (mg/L)
..... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... able/tbl2/

..... Table 4 - Mineral Content of Selected Commercially Available European Bottled Waters (mg/L)
..... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... able/tbl4/

Variation in the mineral content of commercially available bottled waters: implications for health and disease
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9727819

bread contributes to depletion of a number of nutrients. some others may be lost during processing (eg iron, b vitamins - what you see added to enriched flour). if you eat a fair amount of bread, you might want to consider compensating for possible loss of minerals. i'll try to track down some studies but for now, i'll just say that iron, zinc, and magnesium should likely be on your radar. low mag will have particular relevance where headaches are concerned. and low zinc where potential allergy issues are concerned.

since you are currently symptomatic, you could try working on getting 600mg of mag daily from healthy foods,
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart
and minimizing bread intake as well as coffee, alcohol, or other diuretics that could promote loss.

you could also try a magnesium supplement. not all are created equal - i would not necessarily recommend 600mg of mag oxide unless you like your bathroom, a LOT. ;) you'd be ok with mag oxide if you only needed to top up from food a *little*, to reach 600. if you need more supplemental mag, look for magnesium glycinate, like this (it will be in a specialty store not the average drug store): http://orangenaturals.com/essential/mag ... g_60v_cap/

none of this will do you any harm while you sort things out with the doc. it's just essential nutrients, and low levels can result in symptoms. best to get rid of those possible aspects so you have a clear picture of what is left, to present to your docs.