PLEASEHELP,Do I have MS?

[melissaVJT]

sorry to be going on so much but are you thinking something to do with hormone imbalance or thyroid problems? if so would anything come up in my blood tests? I have had heaps and heaps of blood tests.. the doc really doesn't want to waste government $$ on mri unless he has to.

[Loriyas]

I am NOT a doctor so I can't give any advice. I was only saying hormonal since you recently had a baby. I have no idea if all of the symptoms you have described can be related to anything hormonally. I was just trying to make the suggestion that anything is possible as you have not had anything but blood tests as far as I understand. You sounded miserable with your symptoms so I was trying to suggest you be seen by a physician sooner rather than later. Please do what you think is best. Good luck.

[heyray]

You have all the symptoms I had in the beginning right before I went to the neuro specialist, but ofcourse you have to go through your neuro to get it confirmed. I would advice you, like the others, to start your diet. At the beginning I began having migranes and my head was numb like I was wearing some kind of helmet. My hands began to go numb and they started tingling. My legs became weak and I could barely run a mile. My speed decreased dramatically and my leg started to give out. My feet started to tingle and become numb at times. I went to the neuro, he diagnose me, put me on copaxone, that i didn't get because it was so expensive, and began my diet which includes vitamins and supplement. I feel fine now, but when I do start eating things that I shouldn't my symptoms come back. So I neutralize them with a lot of greens and veggies such as carrots. You have to get yourself diagnosed to make sure its not any illness that can be detrimental. I wish you the best, we're all here to help.

[melissaVJT]

sorry I didn't mean to offend you Loriyas I am not good at putting things atm i really appreciate the help i just realized how that sounded sorry its just my husband keeps saying nothings wrong with me when it is. i meant i hope it is just something hormonal or like that but i would feel bad having an mri etc if it is something so little

i have been numb and dizzy all morning which is now feeling good for me but when i started doing my housework just earlier i got really dizzy and prickly all over and was burning and cold and sweating i felt so light like i couldnt feel my body i had to lie down on the floor i had this 3 times in a row while i was lying down i was very scared im feeling worse again now.

[mikeyjinx]

Here's a link you may have come across already with a google search: http://www.healthboards.com/boards/head ... aines.html
Check out the fourth post by mariesi about the thyroid. Like the others have said it could be a number of things giving you these symptoms. The first thing my doctor checked for was syphilis.

[lyndacarol]

Melissa – Start with a GP or internist who sees himself as a "disease detective"; establish a baseline with a thorough physical exam including blood tests for cortisol, glucose AND insulin, thyroid hormones (don't let the doctor stop with only a test of T4 – to get the whole picture he must test for TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Total T3, Reverse T3, and antithyroid antibodies), vitamins like B,D and minerals (jimmylegs will tell you which ones); keep copies of the test results in your own file. Many people think that MS IS the result of hormone imbalance; others, problems in the thyroid.

Read, read, read. Learn as much as you can about possible diagnoses. By the way, flareups of MS are very common in a mother in the six-month period after the birth of a child; pregnancy itself and breast-feeding seem to make MS symptoms improve for a while. Breast-feeding is so good for baby and for the mother too; it is a definite topic of conversation for you and your physician. Current MS medications have no guarantees.

Just to prove the point that there are many different opinions among the members here, but we express those opinions very civilly, in general (however, emotions do run high at times – we try to keep that in mind): My opinion is just the opposite of Loriyas'… I see no urgency for getting to the doctor, unless you develop an immediate, acute symptom. And I certainly see no urgency about starting any MS meds; they are very strong, and often have their own serious side effects. Can you keep a food diary and note if your dizziness occurs after eating or eating certain foods? In my own experience, I had dizziness after eating anything with sugar (including yummy ribs with BARBECUE SAUCE). It might also be helpful to keep a Journal of your symptoms and when they occur and what you were doing. Even though I do not know you, I think your symptoms are real – they are occurring for a reason – it is only left to find that reason.

In the end, these are YOUR decisions to make, with input from your husband, doctor and the people who know you best. All the best to you.

[melissaVJT]

Thanks again everyone. I will be checking with the doctor about thyroid though it doesn't match all my symptoms I can't find anything that does. I don't have syphillis my husband is very faithful and in the job we are in we are together 24/7 and i think u get tested when pregnant. Thanks for the advice about research. tests and food that is helpful. I will go back to the doc tomorrow though because its getting worse with each dizzy spell and i can't do my housework or work at all and im constantly confused and dizzy and the dizzy spells are soo bad i feel lighter and lighter as if im fading away i burn all over and had ice cold waves and prickly sensations each time i think i will not make it but i do. moving around seem to bring them on and that scares me too. during a dizzy spell my body gets extremely numb and i cant speak clearly. I hope i can get fixed soon i cant bear the thought of another week this. this is actually my first time seeing this doctor and prior to this i havent seen a doctor since i was 16 except my midwife for childbirth

[melissaVJT]

in regards to the breastfeeding i breastfed my first son until he was 18months when he weaned himself and I was 20 weeks pregnant. I plan to breastfeed this one for 2 years if I can. If the doctor tells me to wean to take the hemiplegic migraine meds i will be devastated because people who have those suffer from this get paralysis and stroke like symptoms where they pass out and on the forum every person said they passed out or were paralysed prior to diagnosis and I have had neither and they all said they get headaches which I don't get. but I am worried that he will say take the meds or suffer and this is so unbearable that there is no way I can just suffer it unless it goes away but I really don't want to stop breastfeeding for something that isn't going to work

[mikeyjinx]

lol. I was suggesting you had syphilis. Just that there may be a number of things that have similar symptoms.

[melissaVJT]

lol thanks

[SarahLonglands]

Melissa, everyone seems to get an mri for anything these days: I know because there is a mobile mri machine often parked over the road here, buzzing away all night. So I think your doctor should blow the expense and ask for one. They cost much less than they used to. Its better to use our resources of helium on an mri test than on keeping children happy with helium balloons.

You sound really worked up: not good for your new child, so you need to know what is wrong. So start by watching your diet and also take large amounts of vitamin D, and I mean really large: I take 5000iu a day.

Best wishes,

Sarah

[Loriyas]

Sarah is right-you sound very worried which is why I said to try to find answers right away. You did not offend me so no worries there. I just don't want you to take what I (or anyone here) suggest to you as medical advice. If you can, take a deep breath, then get to work at getting some answers. Part of your fear is probably that you don't feel in control. So take control and you will feel much better because you know you will be moving forward. I understand how scary this time is. I've been there. We all have. Hang in there.

[melissaVJT]

Thanks again for your help I will focus on the dieting and am seeing the doctor today if he doesn't listen I might go see a different one in another town. His plan was to see how we go over the month then talk about weaning and trialing meds for hemiplegic migraines and then see how we go and hopefully the neurologist will see me sometime... I don't think he realizes that this is an impairment and if it doesn't get better something needs to be done soon. Hopefully he will listen he has referred me to the neurologist but Im worried they wont contact me because he would have told them his plan and recommend that they see me if they need to. ER also referred me so that might help.

I am worried and I can't stop thinking about it but I am staying calm and not stressing because I know stress will be bad for me and also bad for my family. Im just get really scared when I have a dizzy episode and Im too scared to move around much incase it brings one on and makes me worse. Once I know whats wrong I can accept it and move forward or hopefully Im lucky enough to have something treatable/cureable.

You guys are so amazing I know you must go through hell a lot and im sitting here moaning about something that might just be nothing... thank you for listening to me.

[SarahLonglands]

Don't worry Melissa, I and I think Lori as well, have been through hell but managed to come out the other side. Twelve years ago it was a different matter and I didn't think I would be here now, but I am so I try to help other people.............Sarah

[jimmylegs]

fyi

Serum and red blood cell magnesium levels in juvenile migraine patients.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7868328
"In comparison with normal subjects, migraineurs had significantly lower serum and red blood cell magnesium levels."

Prophylaxis of migraine with oral magnesium: results from a prospective, multi-center, placebo-controlled and double-blind randomized study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8792038
"High-dose oral magnesium appears to be effective in migraine prophylaxis."

Oral Magnesium Load Test in Patients With Migraine
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12005285
"Magnesium retention occurs in patients with migraine after oral loading, suggesting a systemic magnesium deficiency."

Intracellular and plasma magnesium in familial hemiplegic migraine and migraine with and without aura
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8200020
"We found no significant differences between the magnesium levels in the five study groups. We conclude that reduced blood magnesium is unlikely to be related to migraine pathophysiology"
...without access to full text, can't get into 'table 2' to see the magnesium results in this one. would be interesting to see if the average was lower in patients but not 'statistically' so. also wondering if the controls were legit. anyone have full text access?