This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi everyone,
Sorry it took me long to find this site,but I'm glad to have found it now. I just got a new MRI report and wanted to ask how many people have good reports on the MRI front, but have continuing symptoms? I'm starting to the think the MRI I had earlier this month (showing no new or active lesions) doesn't really mean anything. Recently, I've been having dizziness, trembling, and a scary sensation like my mouth is having a seizure: trouble making spit or swallowing.

Any insights or advice will be very welcome!

Chicadee

welcome to tims chicadee!

i think a few ppl will probably be able to comment here re clear mri but at the same time, symptoms.

last time i had trouble swallowing it was from magnesium depletion. magnesium tends to be lower in ms patients anyway, but i made it worse by taking high dose vitamin d3 and not properly timing or increasing magnesium dose to match.

if you are interested in being proactive nutrition-wise i can answer questions. lots of other topics to explore here too.

take care

Welcome to ThisIsMS, Chicadee. We are glad you found us.

In my own case, my first three MRIs were "normal" and my first neurologist even told me that he didn't know what it was yet, but it was definitely NOT MS. How wrong he was! My symptoms continued, increased in number and severity.

Even the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Minnesota missed the diagnosis, although the doctors tested everything they could think of. MS is a real puzzle, even for the best of them.

Recently, I heard of a new area called Functional Medicine. These practitioners are "disease detectives;" perhaps one of these could track down your diagnosis. All the best.

You might want to check out the diet section. There is many who have found diet to be useful in treating MS. Good Luck.

Thanks for all your help. I am going to look in into Magnesium again, and will revisit the diet issue. I've had n and off success using herbal tinctures and I seem to do better when I can avoid gluten, sugar, and salt. As everyone knows already- avoiding all those foods is a big challenge, since I also continue to work full time. Sorry to complain...really. I feel lucky to have a job, but as a result I eat whatever is easiest, if I can swallow it!

I'll look into the diet section after work today.

Have a wonderful day! Hope it's sunny wherever you are....

chicadee

hey there, if you do better avoiding sugar and gluten, this may indicate a zinc problem (among other things).

ms patients tend to be lower in zinc while healthy controls sit right at the upper end of the normal range.

might help if you were to look at zinc testing, maybe a supplement too (balanced with copper of course eg 50mg zinc 2 mg copper).

if you have to eat gluten and sugar, eating lots of zinc-rich foods could be a useful counter-measure. if your zinc is already depleted, you may need a supplement to get back up to the healthy range, then switch to a balanced dietary approach for maintenance of your zinc status in the longer term.

hope you have a wonderful day also!

Thank you so much! I will look into the Zinc. I know my B-12 was low, but I take supplements for it. My D was in range, but they told me too add some more. I remember that inc used to make me incredibly ill, but I am very curious to know what my levels of it are.

You are so helpful! Thank you-
Chicadee

no probs fyi i used to feel sick if i took 100mg zinc at once. how much did you take at one time?

re various nutrients and levels - aim for 150 nmol/L serum vit d3, and 18 umol/L serum zinc. and at least 500 pmol/L for serum b12.
if you get into magnesium testing, at least 0.90-1.0 mmol/L serum mg would be a good target. the 'normal' range goes down to 0.70 mmol/L - levels that low are not good enough.

you mentioned d3 there... iima, how much d3 are you taking, are you balancing it with increased calcium and magnesium intakes, and if so what amounts and what timing? (recall above - i was taking high dose d3, but with just a little cal and mag, taken at the exact same time, and i got all messed up, specifically in the throat including ability to swallow. learned from a wise pharmacist that patients must divide daily magnesium inputs when taking high dose d3. changed magnesium regimen and my throat was all good in 2 days.)

ttfn

You know, I have a friend who had been bugging me to take Magnesium from the beginning and the pills were terribly huge. So I'd mash them up and put them in my yogurt. It would tuen gray-green. It was sort of icky. So I stopped taking it. My D-3 is about 2000 IUs a day. I also take vitamin C, but other than that I haven't been taking anything else. I tried to eat kale whenever I can- mostly in an omelet. I am obviously in dire need of some more vitamins and I am excited to get back to a better regimine.

Thanks-
Chicadee

chicadee wrote:You know, I have a friend who had been bugging me to take Magnesium from the beginning and the pills were terribly huge. So I'd mash them up and put them in my yogurt. It would tuen gray-green. It was sort of icky. So I stopped taking it.

You can get a pill cutter from your local drug store for a few dollars. I've used them and they work well. I wanted to take one supplement at 50 mg, but the 100 mg tablets were less expensive so I just cut them in half.


NHE

hey there! ok next time you're stocking up, you could maybe see if you can find kirkman magnesium glycinate. nice sized gelcaps containing powder. you could take one at the same time as the d3, and one at another time of day on its own.

also if you're taking 2000IU vit d3 per day, perhaps a calcium chew of some kind would be advisable. you want to get enough cal, mag and zinc along with the d3. dosed and timed right, of course!

for myself i think i get all the calcium i need from diet, but not everyone is that way - just personally i find if i take a calcium supplement, i start to feel like it's interfering with my magnesium status - ca and mg do compete for absorption.

anyway. kale is awesome. so is chard if you can get the green/white (i read somewhere it's better than the red stem variety, but i don't exactly recall why!).

good luck and do let us know how you get on with your symptoms once some extra minerals are added into the picture