This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi,
I’m 62, female and active. I’m new and undiagnosed but am here looking for some answers and support.
I just experienced vertigo Monday after bending over for some time cleaning a spill. When I stood up I felt faint and dizzy. By bedtime I noticed symptoms of vertigo. (I realize this could be directly related to the bending over incident)

Background - intermittent symptoms -
Age 18 - 19 after a day of white water rafting, at dinner my arms were in excruciating pain and immobile. This was not your garden variety soreness from using my arms. I’d never felt such pain and heaviness, I couldn’t lift my fork to eat.
Age 24 - began experiencing waking up at night with my arms in excruciating pain and locked, couldn’t move them without concerted effort. This would happen 6 or so times that year and then disappeared and never came back.
Age 39 - Migraine type visual disturbances with out the migraine pain. Have had this a few times a year.
Age 44 to present date - night time involuntary contractions up to 10 times a night - no pain, just a tightening that is only relieved by doing a full body stretch. This has come and gone with years in between but has started up again when the vertigo hit. Is this called spasticity?

Separate dots that I’m connecting to find an answer. I may be going down a rabbit hole and they all could be unrelated but would appreciate your feedback. Thanks much.

Welcome to TIMS. What does your doctor say?

Hi Elliott,
Thanks, as I am undiagnosed, my doctor appointment is on December 28 to start the discussion and get direction.

There are many, many, many diseases that mimic the symptoms of MS (in the hundreds). I know you are anxious for answers but your best bet is to be patient until your appointment and let your doctor(s) figure out what is going on so you get the right answers. You could drive yourself crazy otherwise. Good luck.

Welcome.

I smell a magnesium deficiency, jimmylegs?

Please don't read horror stories before visiting a doctor.

Take care ;)

Hi I am also female, mid 60's and have also had the same symptoms over the years.
Mine started in my early 40's where I would have dizzy/vertigo spells and some days it felt like I was
walking through treacle. Headaches and pins and needles in one hand. I asked my Dr if he thought it
could be MS and he looked at me like I was a Hypochondriac. He told me to go home and relax.

2 yrs later and another Dr finally did a blood test and turned out I had an under active Thyroid. After
18months of being on medication I was back to normal and taken off the Tablets. The thing is my symptoms
have continued even though I have had blood tests (last one 8 months ago) and my Thyroid is fine. The
symptoms have not been there all the time and can go months being fine and then they come back and]thats
how its been over the years.

The last few weeks the symptoms have got worse I have had pins and needles in my right hand which comes and goes
during the day. pain in my upper arm and the pain feels like the Sciatica pain you get in your leg which I also get which
only lasts seconds. I am also having problems with my bladder where I suddenly get the urge to go and get leakage. The last few weeks
the brain fog has been awful. My Husband says I stop breathing when I am asleep for a few seconds which is scary for him.
I also have a wheezy chest and dry cough. I wake up and my voice is either Horse or high pitched squeak. I fall asleep constantly
when sat down. I was emailing a friend the other day and fell asleep mid type.

I also have pain in my stomach which only lasts a few seconds and is brought on by movement. It feels like cramp
and I have to stand up and stretch and then it goes. Sometimes my legs twitch. I feel tired all the time. I also get
a weird feeling like I have a vibrating mobile phone in my pocket (I haven't) and can be felt anywhere on my body
or sometime I feel the vibration under my foot as if I am stood on a phone.

I have made an appointment with my Dr for next week but I don't want them to think I am a
hypochondiac

Hi,

For both of you, what is your blood pressure.

For Sweetsue, I think you need to breakdown what's happening and not put it under one umbrella. Your sleeping issue, chest and cough problems all sound related. I'd ask to see an ENT specialist about those. The falling asleep when sitting suggests you need an echocardiogram to look at the motion of your heart. That might need a cardiologist, depending where in the world you are. It could also relate to the leg pain. Suggesting these to your doctor might prompt him to make the referrals.

Regards,

Hi Sweetsue.

The last few weeks
the brain fog has been awful. My Husband says I stop breathing when I am asleep for a few seconds which is scary for him.
I fall asleep constantly when sat down. I was emailing a friend the other day and fell asleep mid type.

The above symptoms sounds like Sleep Apnea.

Wheezing and a dry cough could indicate you are sick, have asthma or something else along that line.

Snoopy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:15 pm Hi Sweetsue.

The last few weeks the brain fog has been awful. My Husband says I stop breathing when I am asleep for a few seconds which is scary for him. I fall asleep constantly when sat down. I was emailing a friend the other day and fell asleep mid type.

The above symptoms sounds like Sleep Apnea.

I agree. Your doctor needs to refer you for a sleep study test. I have a family member with sleep apnea. They used to fall asleep in the middle of a conversation and also while eating with a mouth full of food. Your fatigue and several of your neurological symptoms could be directly due to sleep apnea. Untreated sleep apnea causes lesions in the brain due to hypoxia. These lesions are similar to the lesions found in Alzheimer's and increase the risk of dementia.


• Cognitive impairment in obstructive sleep apnea.
Pathol Biol (Paris). 2014 Oct;62(5):233-40.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25070768

• Death by a thousand cuts in Alzheimer's disease: hypoxia--the prodrome.
Neurotox Res. 2013 Aug;24(2):216-43.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23400634

• Untreated sleep apnea in children can harm brain cells tied to cognition and mood
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 082507.htm

• 5 Areas of Brain Damage Caused By Obstructive Sleep Apnea
http://doctorstevenpark.com/5-areas-of- ... leep-apnea

• A Review of Neuroimaging in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
http://jcsm.aasm.org/articles/020417.pdf

• Study provides more evidence that sleep apnea is hurting your brain
Researchers at the UCLA School of Nursing have found that people suffering from sleep apnea have weaker brain blood flow
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/study ... your-brain

Hi Thank you all for your replies and I will certainly mention all this to my Dr.

I did have a heart check about a year ago and that was fine. I am overweight and was told that the breathlessness
is probably down to my weight which I put on when I had the thyroid problem which I find hard to get rid of even
though I do not overeat. I find it hard to exercise due to lower back pain and bad knees (due to working as a Auxiliary
nurse for 25 yrs) I do have raised blood pressure which I took tablets for but none of them suited me and made me
very ill so now just take half a asprin a day. I work from home as am self employed so sometimes its hard to switch
off at night so that does not help the tiredness but I still sleep a good 8 hours apart from the constant need to go to
the bathroom

I will speak to my Dr. Thanks