This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

1st sign was stumbling/tripping more often than others; probably for 2 yrs before being dx in 2000 at age 46 with PPMS - never had RRMS.

EJC wrote:Emma:-

Age 17 - pins and needles from waist down, on a bad day partial paralysis, on a good day able to walk normally. X-rays taken - Diagnosed "back problems" as extra lumber present. Symptoms went after 6 months.

Age 18 - Eyesight started to deteriorate. Glasses prescribed.

Over the next 6 years various loss of sensations in extremeties - no diagnosis given


Age 23 - loss of balance - loss of eyesight focus (hazy vision) - severe headaches - Diagnosed "virus" no tests required.

Two days later symptoms worsened re visited doctor for second opinion (different Doctor!). Suspected brain tumor, sent for MRI scan which proved clear.

Two weeks later - admitted to hospital for 7 days for IV steriods to help eyesight (still no diagnosis at this point).

Two weeks later, right side of body paralysed - lumber puncture (twice) plus Evoked Potential test.

3 Months passed after test at which point a diagnosis of RRMS provided. Optic Neuritis diagnosis follwed that of the MS diagnosis after a period of blindness to left eye.

Emma
This format is excellent and is exactly what I am looking for. This clearly shows there is more to the story of MS than that which shows on the day one is diagnosed with MS.

I have some patients who were getting on and off symptoms and who were told that they have or may have MS but these symptoms have never recurred after starting TMJ and Atlas treatment. Similarly I wonder if the early symptoms were attended to in the correct way perhaps the patients would not have gone on to develop MS.
So please let us see some more histories along the lines that Emma has shown.

2 things. I notice I had my husband down as 36 at onset, but it was 34. Secondly, we can not all do Emma's type of list, because the disease has presented differently. Like the above post about stumbling and moving right into ppms (like my husband, but he is spms), everything just gets slowly worse and it is hard to say exactly when at what age what occured.

Hi Dr. Amir, here is my hard luck-story:

age - text / symptom

-- born in Central Asia, grew up there

16 - moved to Central Europe (Germany) at age 16

around 16 to 25 - long episodes (2-4 days) of headache (in the back of the head and on the sides)

-- fatigue since early youth

22 - developed heat intolerance (summer 1998)

25 - started jogging to reduce fatigue

25 - severe back pain in the region of the right shoulder blade (comes and goes since then)

27 - tinitus in right ear (summer 2003) -> went to several doctors because of the tinitus, one of them saw
that my jaw joint on the left side was mor worn than the right side, was sent to see a dentist / jaw
specialist

27 - removal of wisdom tooth 2003 (both sides, tinitus was gone but only for ca. one week, then
it came back)

27 - brain MRI, the radiologist told me, there were small white spots but didnt know what to make of them

28 - car accident with whiplash

-- between 25 and 35 headache got better, satisfactory health condition

35 - May 2011: went to sit down on a chair but it had slide away, felt on the floor and hurt my tailbone badly

35 - June 2011: sensory disturbances on the right tigh, disturbance of fine motor skills on the right hand

35 - July 2011: brain MRI, 8 white matter lesions,

35 - October 2011:I was diagnosed with MS

Tore wrote:Hi Dr. Amir, here is my hard luck-story:

age - text / symptom

-- born in Central Asia, grew up there

16 - moved to Central Europe (Germany) at age 16

around 16 to 25 - long episodes (2-4 days) of headache (in the back of the head and on the sides)

-- fatigue since early youth

22 - developed heat intolerance (summer 1998)

25 - started jogging to reduce fatigue

25 - severe back pain in the region of the right shoulder blade (comes and goes since then)

27 - tinitus in right ear (summer 2003) -> went to several doctors because of the tinitus, one of them saw
that my jaw joint on the left side was mor worn than the right side, was sent to see a dentist / jaw
specialist

27 - removal of wisdom tooth 2003 (both sides, tinitus was gone but only for ca. one week, then
it came back)

27 - brain MRI, the radiologist told me, there were small white spots but didnt know what to make of them

28 - car accident with whiplash

-- between 25 and 35 headache got better, satisfactory health condition

35 - May 2011: went to sit down on a chair but it had slide away, felt on the floor and hurt my tailbone badly

35 - June 2011: sensory disturbances on the right tigh, disturbance of fine motor skills on the right hand

35 - July 2011: brain MRI, 8 white matter lesions,

35 - October 2011:I was diagnosed with MS

Thank you for this sorry but great story. This is what I call a classic untreated TMJ/dental problem worsened by the extraction of the wisdom teeth and finally went on to cause what is labelled as MS.

The symptoms you describe are all treated by medics whose attempts fail miserably. But the downward spiral into getting medical help for physical problems of asymmetry lead inexorably to developing 'MS' - an organic disease needing drugs!.

In my opinion careful physical treatment will prevent further damage. I have seen too many cases like this over the last many years. Your case goes onto only confirm my observations in stark reality.

hi dr. amir,

i know your question is about any symptoms or health problems looking back through life that might relate to these symptoms they named ms. but, there have to be others like me.

all my life i had no health issues. no meds. except a few bouts with a cold or flu and that was rare.

in the 70's i had a bad whack to the base of the skull and i had tingles in my left hand and foot and traction therapy helped that. in 1990 i had a very bad fall "no broken bones" but stoved everything badly on my right side. i also started snoreing and tmj. a few weeks later when i was walking my right leg started dragging slightly and it's been down hill ever since.

blossom wrote:hi dr. amir,

i know your question is about any symptoms or health problems looking back through life that might relate to these symptoms they named ms. but, there have to be others like me.

all my life i had no health issues. no meds. except a few bouts with a cold or flu and that was rare.

in the 70's i had a bad whack to the base of the skull and i had tingles in my left hand and foot and traction therapy helped that. in 1990 i had a very bad fall "no broken bones" but stoved everything badly on my right side. i also started snoreing and tmj. a few weeks later when i was walking my right leg started dragging slightly and it's been down hill ever since.

Hello Blossom
The 'whack' at the back of the head could have thrown your Atlas vertebra out of line. The traction would help resolve the cervical injury somewhat. Whether it fixed the Atlas or not is obviously difficult to say.
Very many patients come to my office who have not been ill but have developed TMJ problems. I find that they have had dental and jaw asymmetries all their lives but something had been holding back the appearance of their symptoms. I call this 'hanging by the skin of their teeth'.
Then some traumatic incident throws them over the edge and they start developing all kinds of symptoms. This could be as little as losing one tooth, a dental filling which was slightly higher or lower than before or some sporting accident - often minor, or over exercising with an asymmetric body especially running and lifting weights.
Furthermore the jaw does not fully develop until the age of 22 and many patients will note that their very first problems - long before MS was diagnosed - started around 22 to 25 when all the cranial sutures start closing up.
Your second accident could have thrown your Atlas further out and in the presence of other dental abnormalities you could have started a cascade of problems which includes snoring, sleep apnoea, TMJ dysfunction etc.

You do not mention ages at which the accidents occured plus I do not have any records, radiographs and obviously in the absence of very extensive history taking it is difficult to provide a better answer. In early February I shall have an online facility for patients to submit all such data and obtain an online consultation. Perhaps you may want to avail yourself of that.

There is unequivocal evidence, albeit anecdotal, that the asymmetry of our bodies plays a critical role in the development of most illness, be it headaches, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or MS. The extensive computerised facility we have been developing for many years will quickly highlight the underlying causes when surveying large populations of illness patterns.

I think you will find that most people would understand that "anecdotal evidence" is not "unequivocal" (only one possible meaning), and this use of language may assist you in case you do not understand why some people have lashed out at you in this forum.

CureOrBust wrote:I think you will find that most people would understand that "anecdotal evidence" is not "unequivocal" (only one possible meaning), and this use of language may assist you in case you do not understand why some people have lashed out at you in this forum.

CureOrBust
Thank you for that.

Story of interest?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/health/ar ... l.facebook

NZer1 wrote:Story of interest?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/health/ar ... l.facebook

The article is written by Bella Freud (great granddaughter of Sigmund Freud). She is one of Amir's patients. I've met her husband in Amir's surgery, a very pleasant chap.

There's a very fetching picture of Amir and Bella there under the main skull picture!

I am seeing Amir on the 12th for my first fitting

Hi KHL, thanks for joining the thread (and the forum).

Are you an MS sufferer?

From: patient nearing the end of treatment with Dr Amir

This is my first post so please forgive any mis-steps:

Me: 45 year old female from California living in London for last 10 years, diagnosed with MS at age 28 with spinal tap and MRI. Many years of various relapses on an approximately quarterly basis including sight loss, sensory alterations, limb weakness, balance issues and even intellectual challenges which required career adjustments. Suffered continually worsening balance issues but not life changing. Rejected drug approach and managed with Swank diet, dairy free diet, acupuncture, mercury removal, among other things, with liveable results IF stress was managed. Have had all 4 wisdom teeth removed at age 21.

Dr Amir: Started seeing Dr Amir about two years ago (so 15 years after diagnosis) and am nearing end of treatment. I did not need an Atlas adjustment but he has been moving my jaw and helping me change how I breathe and swallow. I currently have no evidence of having MS at this point and have had zero relapses since beginning treatment. My balance has returned to what is was at about 30 years old. I have gone past the point 'not having MS' to higher levels of energy, and am resilient to much higher levels of stress and diet detours. I can breathe more fully than I have ever been able (not knowing any difference) and my 'concrete jaw' has melted away. Aesthetically, my jaw looks more attractive and is no longer 'pushed back'.

First visit with Dr Amir: After being asked to move my jaw into a particular position and feeling for the first time what a full breathe felt like (I am a former Irish dancer and yoga enthusiast so I thought I knew my body and how to maximize its abilities) I then went home and considered whether to start treatment. Whenever I felt weak I would breathe in this new approximate position. After about 6 weeks, my experience convinced me that there would be some benefit in trying this new approach. Within a month of beginning treatment with Dr Amir the 'concrete jaw' went away and, after 'adjustment' appointments with Dr Amir, my energy levels would skyrocket. Throughout the two years of treatment my energy levels have varied but have been incrementally increasing.

Other: A friend of mine who suffered a debilitating gymnastic accident to her spine who could still walk but had been in pain for 17 years went to Dr Amir on my recommendation. Her life is renewed. She is out of pain and finally has achieved a long sought after goal of becoming pregnant.

Conclusion: I would like to see this approach being made available in the US. Having tried almost every alternative to immune suppressing drugs that presented itself over the 15 years that I suffered with MS (with exception to bee-stings - yikes!), Dr Amir's approach is looking like it has been 'the answer' for me.

PABCalifornia wrote: I currently have no evidence of having MS at this point and have had zero relapses since beginning treatment.

Have you had an MRI? compared it to "before"?

Were you seeing a neurologist before/during/after your treeatment?