Unexplained numbness with hx of lesions

[Befu21]

I'm experiencing numbness across my left breast, axilla, left abdomen and left side of my back. No pain just a dull numbness. Some hx: had a MRI 15 years ago due to some partial complex seizure episodes. Lesions were found but neuro wrote them off and said he didn't forsee them being an issue. Now at the age of 35 I've had a episode of loss of vision once last year that I presumed was a form of migraine. Never happened again. Now this numbness. Seems to me all signs are pointing to MS. Is there anything else that might could be the culprit?

[jimmylegs]

suboptimal nutrition is one of myriad possibilities. targeting optimal health should be given equal time in parallel to any pursuit of diagnosis. my 2 cents

[NHE]

I'm experiencing numbness across my left breast, axilla, left abdomen and left side of my back. No pain just a dull numbness. Some hx: had a MRI 15 years ago due to some partial complex seizure episodes. Lesions were found but neuro wrote them off and said he didn't forsee them being an issue. Now at the age of 35 I've had a episode of loss of vision once last year that I presumed was a form of migraine. Never happened again. Now this numbness. Seems to me all signs are pointing to MS. Is there anything else that might could be the culprit?

Welcome to ThisIsMS Befu21,
Unexplained numbness could be due to peripheral neuropathy. One possible cause of peripheral neuropathy is low vitamin B12 levels and a B12 deficiency can mimic MS in many ways. Have you had your B12 level checked? A complete B12 analysis includes B12, homocysteine, red blood cell folate and methylmalonic acid. The currently accepted laboratory ranges for B12 are much too broad and include many who are deficient at the lower end of the range which is typically 200-800 pg/mL. For anyone experiencing neurological symptoms, you'll want B12 to be 600-1000 pg/mL. Please see the following topic for more discussion about B12.

http://www.thisisms.com/forum/natural-a ... 24857.html

[jimmylegs]

beyond risk assoc w dietary choices, chronic (>12mo) current use of drugs such as PPIs, which are prescribed to 8% of canadians aged 25-79 (836K people - more than 8x the number of canadians dxd w ms), for one statistic, can contribute to b12 deficiency

rx stats: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2 ... 32-eng.pdf

A case-control study on adverse effects: H2 blocker or proton pump inhibitor use and risk of vitamin B12 deficiency in older adults
http://bit.ly/2rn3UJS

haven't gone looking for similar research in younger folks however.

[jimmylegs]

and that being said although b12 is the longest established nutritional ddx for ms it is hardly the only essential nutrient to consider if you want to ensure your condition is as far as possible from the nutritional characteristics of ppl with chronic illnesses, including ms.

[Befu21]

Never had my b12 checked. Def will look into that! I don't ever go to a Dr and take no meds. I'm a bit of a natural nut and eat very clean. I dread even looking into all this bc I'm just not a fan of the medical world in general. I try to avoid it at all cost lol. Thanks for the feedback. Guess I just need to pony up and see what's going on.

[jimmylegs]

i hear ya! do consider including dietitian in your health care (vs disease mgmt) team.and *please* don't hone in on b12 to the exclusion of other essentials. i'm a poster child for eating 'right' in an uninformed/ideological way and paying the price with permanent neurological/spinal cord damage. yes b12 was part of the picture but there was much more going on as well!

[Befu21]

That's great advice. Just curious will there be damage done due to this numbness? Or will it resolve and come back each time with no ill effect? It's starting to lessen. I'm on day 5 of it. Today is less area effected by numbness yet some burning/itching feelings in the areas that are still affected.

[jimmylegs]

it's hard to say but personally all of my early numbness was reversible. in some documented cases of nutritional neuropathy damage can be halted at least, if not reversed altogether. in my case it was my not taking it seriously enough, not taking enough action and quickly, that ultimately led to the permanent nerve damage. now i have both peripheral 'stocking and glove' and spinal cord damage for life. i'm also much better informed about my daily essential nutrient requirements, and how the foods i eat, and the combinations, each specifically contribute to my overall status. my food intake is radically different than it used to be before i was diagnosed. i was basically starving myself to death trying to do food 'right' as i saw it back then.

your situation could be something transient and passing not to do with nutrition, maybe a little physio would sort it out. couldn't hurt to find out - i've definitely had chronic pain resolve with physiotherapy that nutrition would never have touched. but still it does no harm at all to become more informed about nutritional status in general.

if you're on any kind of medication long term, even birth control, that can contribute to nutrient depletion as well. so, lots to consider. it's a big job but if you take it one step at a time you can get there. i'll refer you to user zyklon's posts, as an example of one individual's in-depth exploration of his own status to date http://www.thisisms.com/forum/introduct ... 28969.html

[ebrownkirkland]

How long did the issue with your vision last? It could be an ocular migraine if it didn't last long. As for the numbness, you could have a B12 deficiency (I have had that in the past). The seizures could be a benign form of epilepsy. And migraines and headaches can cause lesions. I've found that neurologists won't consider small lesions to be anything but incidental findings unless they are in a location common for MS, or if they are more than 3 mm. (I have small lesions throughout my brain, but the only one they're concerned about it a 9 mm one that is immediately adjacent to the right lateral ventricular atrium.) You said you had your MRI 15 years ago... Maybe it's time for another? I had one in October that showed nothing but a few small lesions and then one about two weeks ago that showed the big 9 mm lesion. If you have new lesions maybe MS is on the table but you won't know without further testing.