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Around 8-10 months ago, I developed some symptoms that prompted me to see a neurologist - mainly mild muscle twitching and a killer headache that stuck around for over a week. I had brain MRIs done, and everything came back normal. My neurologist ASSURED me that my symptoms were NOT MS. Flash forward to the present. For over a week now I've had killer neck pain on the left side, some headaches (nowhere near migraine level), and more recently, some joint stiffness and muscle/joint pain that comes and goes. I've also had a decent bit of fatigue, like I can barely bring myself to get out of bed in the morning. We've ruled out quite a few things - it's nothing cardiovascular, it's not HIV, it's not Lyme, it's not thyroid. All my blood counts were fine. Well I was having a chat with the radiologist today while he was doing some imaging of my veins, and I was telling him my symptoms. One of the first things he asked me is, "Do you have any family history of MS?" I told him I'd had an MRI and it was clear. His response was basically that it's been long enough that it could potentially be MS and not have shown up on my last MRI. So I ask, is it possible that my episode 8-10 months ago was an MS flare-up, and this is my second? Or do you think I should be comfortable with my previous MRI? My neurologist can't get me in to see me again until the end of August...

try reading up on magnesium deficiency or low magnesium, hypomagnesemia, that kind of thing. it's right off the mainstream radar. I literally taught my own doctor about it. regular blood counts don't look at serum mag and if they did, most doctors wouldn't even see the problem if there was one.

so, one easy step to rule out this simple electrolyte issue, is to ask for a serum magnesium test and never take normal for an answer. get your own copy of the results, and make sure your levels are right at the top of the normal range.

deficiency occurs well within the so-called normal range for magnesium and many other things. there are all kinds of reasons your levels would be low, it's very common, very underdiagnosed, and VERY CHEAP AND EASY if it does turn out that your levels are down (ie mid to low normal).

the supporting science is extensive and conclusive. your target serum range for magnesium is 2.3-2.7 mg/dL (or .95-1.1 mmol/L).

testing is easy. addressing dietary deficits is easy. supplementing is a smidge harder, but we have all the info here

the good news is finding out has a much shorter turnaround time than the neuro visit

that's enough info for now, if you read up and it looks like a plausible thing to check, we can get into more detail as needed.

Thanks for your input. One of the first things I did after my symptoms begin actually was to start taking magnesium and iron supplements. They haven't done anything to abate the symptoms at all that I can tell. I'm more trying to find out whether MS is something I should even be considering as a possibility given my symptoms at the moment, and given my clean MRI 8 months ago.

without a serum measurement it's impossible to tell whether any of the magnesium you took was actually able to make it into your system.

magnesium supplementation is notoriously challenging. did you take a soluble/organic absorbable form like glycinate, or insoluble/inorganic and difficult-to-absorb form like oxide?

magnesium relies on zinc as a cofactor. taking things with magnesium that interfere with zinc, such as iron, would really cause trouble for magnesium absorption too.

I just recently dug in and took a real in-depth look at my own experience related to iron and zinc interactions over the past 7 years. lots of lab tests throughout the process. every time I took iron my zinc would go down and my symptoms would crop up. eg, 'jimmylegs', speaking of muscle twitches...i had magnesium issues throughout. it's been a crazy learning curve.

if you want to experiment without bloodwork I would try just magnesium glycinate and NO IRON.

if you are certain you need to work on low iron, and that supplements are the best route, it should be done with zinc in the picture as well or the balance goes straight out the window. over the long term you can research healthy iron and zinc rich foods and ensure there are lots of them in your diet.

if you need any more info, i'm here

laneb wrote:I'm more trying to find out whether MS is something I should even be considering as a possibility given my symptoms at the moment, and given my clean MRI 8 months ago.

Welcome to ThisIsMS, laneb.

I believe that with your symptoms MS is a possibility. You are correct: you might have had a first episode of MS 8 months ago and a second episode now.

In my own case, my first three MRIs, which were done over several months, were "clean" and, in fact, when my first MRI came back normal, my neurologist at that time told me that I definitely didn't have MS – he was wrong!

Joint pain and bad headaches + fatigue sounds like Lyme disease. Tests are 70% innaccurate. Even if you've been tested retest.

Most people never knew they were bit and most never get a rash.