This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hello All-

This is my first entry on an MS forum. I have been reading some forums and doing a lot of research latley and I am quite concerned I may have MS. I have suffered for at least the past 6 years with periods of severe fatigue, muscle pain and soreness, hand tremors and odd body sensations. Typically, I would take a day or two off and sleep for most of the day and night and things would get better and I would return to my normal baseline.

Over the past 2 years my bad days, as I have begun referring to them, have become more frequent. During this time I have noticed that my ankles have felt weaker and tremble when I am going down stairs. I am not a frail person and although I am overweight (I have a gut), I lift weights regularly at the gym. So this didn't make sense to me, but I ignored it.

Then about three weeks ago, things took a real turn for the worse. The tremors became widespread throughout my body. I also began having twitches throughout my body. I have had a headache on and off, sometimes lasting all day, that is at the base of the head and won't response to NSAIDs. I had very mild nearsightedness that I would wear glasses for when it was raining or at night but lost those about a year ago and have not replaced them. Recently my vision has seemed to deteriorate and is blurry especially in the evenings. Eye appointment is forthcoming. I have felt like my spine is compressed some days, like I am shorter and like I would feel better if one person would grab my feet and another person grab my head and stretch me out I would feel better. I have had neck and shoulder pain, and a band of pain across my lower back. Again this pain comes and goes from day to day. I am also having a head tremor on and off, it is a slow back to from movement, not side to side or up and down. The most debilitating symptom has been the fatigue. I just have no energy and want to sleep. Even though I have never had issues with insomnia in the past I am now finding it harder to fall asleep at night. Maybe it is anxiety about what is going on that is making it hard to sleep. But it feels like my body is electrified. The scariest thing so far is that about a week ago, my legs from the knees down went numb. Not totally numb, I could walk, but needed to adjust my gait. I felt like i had to pick my feet up much higher off of the ground. This happened in the evening but subsided by the time I woke up the next morning. My left leg was more numb than the right. I was left with a numb and tingling big toe on my left foot that has not subsided. Since then there are occasisions when the numbness returns to the left leg and foot but it is not as severe as it was that first night. The other thing I have noticed is that the heat/humidity seems to make things a lot worse. And finally, there are the odd body sensations that I can't really describe, which is so frustrating, by the way. It's like trying to describe what an orgasm feels like...not easy huh? So, last night I was laying in bed flat on my back and this weird sensation came over my upper arms and chest, it was warm, but warm inside, not on the skin. It wasn't unpleasant or painful, just odd and disconcerting. Or what about that mystery cell phone that vibrates in my groin area? What's that about? Or a zap light a lighting bolt just went off in my brain?

I saw my Primary Care doc today. She did the usual reflex tests, looked at my eyes etc. All my reflexes were good, but there was weakness in my left leg and loss of sensation in my left big toe and the outside of my left foot. She ordered lab tests which I will have done tomorrow morning and an MRI (date yet unknown but will be sometime in the next 2 weeks). She also gave me a referral to a Neurologist. She concurred that it could be MS. I am trying not to worry but pretty much think about it all of the time and have been for the past few weeks. I am no dummy and have done my homework and am fairly certain what I am dealing with is neurological.

I have never been one to make up diseases or do the whole drama thing. In fact, in most cases I have tended to ignore symptoms or put health issues off. I come humbly to this forum, because, no, I have not been diagnosed with MS. And many of you have been living with this disease for a long time and are struggling much more than I am. I hope that this is an acceptable use of this forum. Please do not hesitate to let me know if it is not. I have so much respect for the courage with which each you lives your lives.

Jack

hi jack welcome to TiMS! you'll find loads of support here

if you have any nutrition questions, ask away. my 'thing'

WolfenJack wrote:Hello All-

This is my first entry on an MS forum. I have been reading some forums and doing a lot of research latley and I am quite concerned I may have MS. I have suffered for at least the past 6 years with periods of severe fatigue, muscle pain and soreness, hand tremors and odd body sensations. Typically, I would take a day or two off and sleep for most of the day and night and things would get better and I would return to my normal baseline.

Over the past 2 years my bad days, as I have begun referring to them, have become more frequent. During this time I have noticed that my ankles have felt weaker and tremble when I am going down stairs. I am not a frail person and although I am overweight (I have a gut), I lift weights regularly at the gym. So this didn't make sense to me, but I ignored it.

Then about three weeks ago, things took a real turn for the worse. The tremors became widespread throughout my body. I also began having twitches throughout my body. I have had a headache on and off, sometimes lasting all day, that is at the base of the head and won't response to NSAIDs. I had very mild nearsightedness that I would wear glasses for when it was raining or at night but lost those about a year ago and have not replaced them. Recently my vision has seemed to deteriorate and is blurry especially in the evenings. Eye appointment is forthcoming. I have felt like my spine is compressed some days, like I am shorter and like I would feel better if one person would grab my feet and another person grab my head and stretch me out I would feel better. I have had neck and shoulder pain, and a band of pain across my lower back. Again this pain comes and goes from day to day. I am also having a head tremor on and off, it is a slow back to from movement, not side to side or up and down. The most debilitating symptom has been the fatigue. I just have no energy and want to sleep. Even though I have never had issues with insomnia in the past I am now finding it harder to fall asleep at night. Maybe it is anxiety about what is going on that is making it hard to sleep. But it feels like my body is electrified. The scariest thing so far is that about a week ago, my legs from the knees down went numb. Not totally numb, I could walk, but needed to adjust my gait. I felt like i had to pick my feet up much higher off of the ground. This happened in the evening but subsided by the time I woke up the next morning. My left leg was more numb than the right. I was left with a numb and tingling big toe on my left foot that has not subsided. Since then there are occasisions when the numbness returns to the left leg and foot but it is not as severe as it was that first night. The other thing I have noticed is that the heat/humidity seems to make things a lot worse. And finally, there are the odd body sensations that I can't really describe, which is so frustrating, by the way. It's like trying to describe what an orgasm feels like...not easy huh? So, last night I was laying in bed flat on my back and this weird sensation came over my upper arms and chest, it was warm, but warm inside, not on the skin. It wasn't unpleasant or painful, just odd and disconcerting. Or what about that mystery cell phone that vibrates in my groin area? What's that about? Or a zap light a lighting bolt just went off in my brain?

I saw my Primary Care doc today. She did the usual reflex tests, looked at my eyes etc. All my reflexes were good, but there was weakness in my left leg and loss of sensation in my left big toe and the outside of my left foot. She ordered lab tests which I will have done tomorrow morning and an MRI (date yet unknown but will be sometime in the next 2 weeks). She also gave me a referral to a Neurologist. She concurred that it could be MS. I am trying not to worry but pretty much think about it all of the time and have been for the past few weeks. I am no dummy and have done my homework and am fairly certain what I am dealing with is neurological.

I have never been one to make up diseases or do the whole drama thing. In fact, in most cases I have tended to ignore symptoms or put health issues off. I come humbly to this forum, because, no, I have not been diagnosed with MS. And many of you have been living with this disease for a long time and are struggling much more than I am. I hope that this is an acceptable use of this forum. Please do not hesitate to let me know if it is not. I have so much respect for the courage with which each you lives your lives.

Jack

Its very possible that you could have MS.I will tell what I really think. I wont sugar coat anything. I have been in the same situation as you since 2009. I have had a lot of transient neurological relatively mild symptoms. I can relate to the bizarre vibrations, mild(or perceived) weakness, odd sensations, vertigo and so on. I have had tremors off and on since 2009. These are the most consistent of all my symptoms. One day they are there and the next day they are gone. I notice that they tend to get more pronounced after exercises like push ups or running.

I've had weird eye pain that lasts second at a time. I've had very slight blurry vision in the mornings. I woke up one day out of bed too fast and my legs felt really weak. The further I walked the weaker they got, however once I stopped and leaned against the wall the weakness subsided within minutes. Bottom line these symptoms point to MS because of their transient and widespread nature. I have had two brain(no spine) MRI's and four CT scans. Always comes back normal. At this point I feel that I know what my problem is and there is not much I can do about it. I'll just have to press on until my condition worsens. Hopefully it will be a really long time before that happens. Try not to stress too much worrying about your underlying condition, you WILL figure it out eventually if you have not already. How old are you by the way?

Scared- I am 42 y/o. Looks like the blood work came back normal, just waiting for the MRI appointment now. I hope this doesn't drag on. I am sorry you have not been able to get to the bottom of what's going on for you but glad that the symptoms are still relatively mild. I am missing a lot of work and I don't know how long I can keep that up. Fatigue is kicking my butt as well as pain, stiffness, tremors, dizziness.

First of all, Jack, welcome! You'll definitely find lots of great info, and great people on this forum.

I'm sorry about what you're going through--I know how scared you must be. Try to stay as positive as you can--and hopefully you'll get an answer soon. As scary as it is to get a diagnosis for anything, knowing what you're dealing with is definitely better than being in the dark. Then you can start figuring out how to treat the issue! I promise you'll get through this, and once you know what's going on, hopefully you'll be able to alleviate some of your current symptoms.

Hang in there, Jack, and keep us posted!

The best place to start with any disease is the correct diet. You might want to check out the diet section which explains the benefits of various diets on this disease. Our bodies ability to heal is determine by the nutrition we give it. Keep in mind it is the toxins we put in our bodies which give us disease. If you can locate these toxins and stop putting them in your body you have a good chance of getting better. If you could find a holistic doctor he might be able to figure it our for you. If not hope you can figure it out for yourself.



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