This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Good afternoon. I know that it takes a while to figure out if MS is the cause, but I have a story to tell. I hope that someone may be able to help me. Sorry that this is long, but I will condense the best I can:

I am 46, male, and from puerto rican decent. I am adopted and didn't know any family history until 4 days ago. I found my brother on Facebook. He is 49 and we share the same biological mother. However, we have 2 different fathers. He has bad MS.

My story begins in Oct. 2012, when I came down with what I thought was appendicitis at 3 am one morning. As the panic ensued, the pain migrated from the lower right groin to under my rib cage, on the right side. Pain went away after few hours, but it was excruciating. I did not go to the hospital. Feb 2013 it came back and went to ER. All tests (ultrasound/sonagram) clear. Blood test fine. When I got back from the hospital, I came down with a 104 fever in a matter of an hour and eyes were red/yellow. Went back to ER. Sent home again after nothing found.

Oct. 2013, happened again. Didn't go to hospital. High fever for 2 days, low grade for 3 - 4 days afterwards. Shaking uncontrollably, pain behind right eye. Brown/foamy urine (almost nerf football density) During this time, I saw 3 gastro doctors, one of which tried to take my gall bladder out. HIDA scan was 100% functioning after I demanded the test. Had a full MRCP (entire abdomen). Everything normal. Blood markers normal. Genetic blood work for auto inflammatory diseases, normal. No serious inflammation issues in bloodwork.

Feb 2014 (see the pattern, Oct/Feb then Oct/Feb), my right hip started hurting out of the blue. within 1 week I could barely walk. After the Orthopedics for the Washington Redskins said nothing was wrong, my gastro doc referred me to the Mayo Clinic where they did all the same testing and only found that my hip was in need of surgery which I did.

Since Feb 2014, and after surgery, all has been fine until Oct 2016 when my eye became bloodshot and sore (has done this in the past) and my back started hurting. I have 2 bulged discs on top of each other, but I found it strange that my eyes were like this before it happened (and also the middle finger knuckle on left hand became sore at the same time).

Anyways, Lymes, Rocky mountain fever, lupus, TRAPS, Mediterranean Fever, gall bladder, and everything else has been ruled out. Does any of this sound like MS? Can I get MS from my biological mother who had no symptoms (from my understanding)? My brother's memory is horrible. He has 25 facebooks that he forgets that he created so he has been little help. He says he got from a car accident, which I doubt caused it...but I am not sure.

Thanks in advance. I apologize for the length of this, but I feel like I finally have something but don't know if any of these symptoms match.

hankjoejr wrote:I am 46, male, and from puerto rican decent. I am adopted and didn't know any family history until 4 days ago. I found my brother on Facebook. He is 49 and we share the same biological mother. However, we have 2 different fathers. He has bad MS.

My story begins in Oct. 2012, when I came down with what I thought was appendicitis at 3 am one morning. As the panic ensued, the pain migrated from the lower right groin to under my rib cage, on the right side. Pain went away after few hours, but it was excruciating. I did not go to the hospital. Feb 2013 it came back and went to ER. All tests (ultrasound/sonagram) clear. Blood test fine. When I got back from the hospital, I came down with a 104 fever in a matter of an hour and eyes were red/yellow. Went back to ER. Sent home again after nothing found.

Oct. 2013, happened again. Didn't go to hospital. High fever for 2 days, low grade for 3 - 4 days afterwards. Shaking uncontrollably, pain behind right eye. Brown/foamy urine (almost nerf football density) During this time, I saw 3 gastro doctors, one of which tried to take my gall bladder out. HIDA scan was 100% functioning after I demanded the test. Had a full MRCP (entire abdomen). Everything normal. Blood markers normal. Genetic blood work for auto inflammatory diseases, normal. No serious inflammation issues in bloodwork.

Feb 2014 (see the pattern, Oct/Feb then Oct/Feb), my right hip started hurting out of the blue. within 1 week I could barely walk. After the Orthopedics for the Washington Redskins said nothing was wrong, my gastro doc referred me to the Mayo Clinic where they did all the same testing and only found that my hip was in need of surgery which I did.

Since Feb 2014, and after surgery, all has been fine until Oct 2016 when my eye became bloodshot and sore (has done this in the past) and my back started hurting. I have 2 bulged discs on top of each other, but I found it strange that my eyes were like this before it happened (and also the middle finger knuckle on left hand became sore at the same time).

Anyways, Lymes, Rocky mountain fever, lupus, TRAPS, Mediterranean Fever, gall bladder, and everything else has been ruled out. Does any of this sound like MS? Can I get MS from my biological mother who had no symptoms (from my understanding)?

Welcome to ThisIsMS, hankjoejr.

MS is not considered a hereditary disease, so it is my opinion that you cannot "get MS from your biological mother." However, there are times when many cases of MS appear within a family. In my opinion (I have no medical background), there may be similar habits among family members that promote the development of MS – the cause of MS is unknown; it could be connected to diet (perhaps a nutrient deficiency), or lifestyle (exercise, exposure/avoidance of sunshine, type of career/work… any number of things), or weakness in a body system (like the immune system, nervous system, or muscular system).

Unfortunately, symptoms of MS are similar to those found in other conditions (many of which your doctor has ruled out: Lyme's disease, lupus, etc.). Also, unfortunately, there is no definitive test for MS.

Vitamin D deficiency can result in the same symptoms. It is very common – over 1/2 of Americans are vitamin D deficient.

If you have had the vitamin D blood test called "25-Hydroxy D," please share the actual result numbers with us. MS patients are frequently low in nutrients – low in vitamin D, vitamin B12, magnesium, zinc, etc. Have you had a test for any of these? In my January test for vitamin D, my result was 24 ng/mL – frankly deficient.

Hello hankjoejr,

MS does not cause fevers. A fever would indicate a virus, infection, and other possibilities, bit not MS. Your back pain can be due to your bulging discs. If you are concerned about your eyes then please have them evaluated by an Ophthalmologist. An Ophthalmologist would be able to see if anything Neurological is causing what you are experiencing. Simply having red/yellow eyes doesn't indicate MS, it could be due to whatever is causing your fevers or many other things.

I hope you Drs. can figure out your health issues but in my opinion it's not Multiple Sclerosis.

hankjoejr wrote:When I got back from the hospital, I came down with a 104 fever in a matter of an hour and eyes were red/yellow. Went back to ER. Sent home again after nothing found.

Yellow eyes could be a sign of liver problems. Did they run blood tests to check your liver?