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iam showing a lot of symptoms of ms and am very scared, i have been feeling like this on and off for over 3 years and am getting very worried.Started again with double vision and sore eyes (4th time i,ve had this in last 2 years) doctors keep testing me for diabetes (3 times) and also been told i had labrynitis once and dry eye syndrome 3 times, but still keeps coming back.Today apart from the eyse have got slightly numb thumb funny pain in my finger tingles in my shoulder and ,pins and needles in foot,constant "foggy" head slightly dizzy when moving head and tired all the time

peediedj67 wrote:iam showing a lot of symptoms of ms and am very scared, i have been feeling like this on and off for over 3 years and am getting very worried.Started again with double vision and sore eyes (4th time i,ve had this in last 2 years) doctors keep testing me for diabetes (3 times) and also been told i had labrynitis once and dry eye syndrome 3 times, but still keeps coming back.Today apart from the eyse have got slightly numb thumb funny pain in my finger tingles in my shoulder and ,pins and needles in foot,constant "foggy" head slightly dizzy when moving head and tired all the time

Welcome to ThisIsMS.

I am curious about why your doctors repeatedly test for diabetes. Rather than testing for your glucose level, I urge you to ask your doctors to test your INSULIN level (this is a completely different test!). The human body will produce more than enough insulin to keep the glucose level down in the normal range. This excess insulin is very irritating; it thickens and stiffens muscles; when the cells eventually become resistant to insulin, the energy source glucose is not allowed to enter the cells (this could be the reason you are "tired all the time"). Excess insulin also causes glucose to be stored as fat – if you have a weight problem, this can also indicate an excess insulin problem.

Ask your GP or endocrinologist for a "fasting blood insulin test" – you want an optimal result of 3 UU/ML or lower. All the best to you.

not necessarily ms, could be any number of things. for example, have you read much about sjogrens?
about sjogrens http://www.sjogrens.org/home/about-sjog ... grens-faqs
variable symptoms (dry eye, brain fog, numb/tingling extremities) http://www.sjogrens.org/home/about-sjog ... e/symptoms
sjogrens link to dry eye http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 5700002009
sjogrens link to diabetes http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/ ... /518.short

dry eye is not typically a presenting scenario leading to ms diagnosis. also it is rare for someone to have sjogrens and ms together:
The prevalence of primary sjögren's syndrome in a multiple sclerosis population
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 7/abstract

nutritional heads-up:

Qualitative Nutritional Intake Analysis of Older Adults with Sjogren's Syndrome
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract
Previous studies support certain nutritional inadequacies in the diets of older adults. Studies also identify xerostomia as a contributor to inadequate lubrication, mastication, taste and swallowing. Prior to this study a relationship between xerostomia and inadequate nutritional intake has not been documented. This study qualitatively analyzed the diets of older adults with Sjogren's Syndrome (SS); (n= 28; mean age = 69.1), A control group of age-sex-physical status matched seniors; (n= 24; mean age = 68.2) was also analyzed. The presence of xerostomia was confirmed by both clinical and sialometric techniques for alt subjects. Subjects were interviewed, completed a five-day diet record, and were interviewed again for quantitative analysis. The diets were then analyzed by computer for specific nutrient composition. The results indicated significant inadequacies at the p < 0.001 level for all the nutrients assessed in SS subject group as compared to both the controls and the RDAs. The significant differences were for: kilocalories, protein, fiber, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B-6, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, calcium and zinc. The most striking inadequacies (> 75% of all subjects) were for: fiber, vitamin B-6, potassium, calcium and zinc. These results support an association between geriatric malnutrition and xerostomia. This study provides an important foundation for future research in the area of xerostomia in the aged.

lyndacarol wrote:

peediedj67 wrote:iam showing a lot of symptoms of ms and am very scared, i have been feeling like this on and off for over 3 years and am getting very worried.Started again with double vision and sore eyes (4th time i,ve had this in last 2 years) doctors keep testing me for diabetes (3 times) and also been told i had labrynitis once and dry eye syndrome 3 times, but still keeps coming back.Today apart from the eyse have got slightly numb thumb funny pain in my finger tingles in my shoulder and ,pins and needles in foot,constant "foggy" head slightly dizzy when moving head and tired all the time

Welcome to ThisIsMS.

I am curious about why your doctors repeatedly test for diabetes. Rather than testing for your glucose level, I urge you to ask your doctors to test your INSULIN level (this is a completely different test!). The human body will produce more than enough insulin to keep the glucose level down in the normal range. This excess insulin is very irritating; it thickens and stiffens muscles; when the cells eventually become resistant to insulin, the energy source glucose is not allowed to enter the cells (this could be the reason you are "tired all the time"). Excess insulin also causes glucose to be stored as fat – if you have a weight problem, this can also indicate an excess insulin problem.

Ask your GP or endocrinologist for a "fasting blood insulin test" – you want an optimal result of 3 UU/ML or lower. All the best to you.

i think the last test i had was a fasting one, blood was taken in the morning after i hadnt eaten or drank since night before,also very dry mouth today,they have also blamed stress numerous times as well

dry mouth, another sjogren's symptom..

a little more nutritional fyi

Nutrient intake in women with primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome
http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v57/ ... 1543a.html
"higher energy-adjusted intake of supplemental calcium, and a lower energy-adjusted intake of unsupplemental vitamin C, polyunsaturated fat, linoleic acid, omega-3 fatty acid, and specific other unsaturated fatty acids, in the Sjögren's syndrome group as a whole, relative to controls."

contradictory re the calcium, but still interesting..

jimmylegs wrote:dry mouth, another sjogren's symptom..

that sounds worse than ms,iam male by the way

I don't know about worse than ms, haven't read tons re ss.. but at least there are some clues about ways to treat..

Reduced 25-hydroxyvitamin D Levels in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome: Correlations to disease manifestations
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10 ... 9950154266
"Levels of 25 OH D were slightly decreased as compared to normal controls..."

also

Primary Sjögren's syndrome in men: Clinical, serologic, and immunogenetic features
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 4386900446

i know there probably isnt a "average" but how many attacks roughly do the majority of people with ms have in a year?

peediedj67 wrote:i know there probably isnt a "average" but how many attacks roughly do the majority of people with ms have in a year?

Actually, I see average yearly relapse rates used often. Although they often disagree, the averages quoted usually range from less than 1 per year to a little over 1 per year. That makes the giant percentages of "lower relapse rates" claimed by drugs rather ludicrous to me. So, basically the drugs that show 33% lower relapse rates than placebo are showing 33% less than less than 1 relapse per year.

And a relapse might be something major or might present as just a slight inconvenience.

Okay, on a very quick google search, I came up with this relapse rate. Most of the links you find go straight to a drug study, but this article was about pediatric MS. This study found 0.4 relapses per year for adults with MS.

Here's a quote and a link.

The average annual relapse rate for people who developed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis as adults is 0.4 relapses per year. For people who developed MS before the age of 18, that rate is 1.13 relapses per year (even after they become adults).

The study was led by Mark Gorman of Brigham and Women's Hospital and was published in the January 2009 edition of The Annuals of Neurology.

http://ms.about.com/b/2009/01/15/pediat ... -rates.htm