Need your help with diagnose - scared

[yumekyger]

Hello, my name is Eric and i am 44 years old.

I have had a lot of stress in my life and i tend to have a low threshold for stressful situations. I panic, get anxious and angry quickly.

The past few months have been a nightmare for me as i have suffered from an incredible amount of symptoms after a very stressful event. The urologist found nothing, the ENT found nothing, the gastro found Reflux Oesophagitis. But none of them has an explanation for everything, and certainly nothing that ties it all together. So i have been suffering from extreme anxiety and fear of something bad and can't bring myself to accepting the fact that it might all be 'just' stress.

Here are my symptoms:
- Penis pain that comes and goes (occasional)
- Burning in penis after urination (occasional)
- Itchy anus (occasional)
- Pain in testicles (occasional)
- Pain in various muscles: hips, rib cage, lower back, upper back between the shoulder blades (especially in one particular point in the middle of my spine), chest, throat, back of head, left knee, and recently a finger on my right hand. This pain travels constantly: one day it's my back hurting, one day it's my chest, one day my pelvic area, once in a while, it's everything...when these muscles hurt, i can put a finger on them and they are very sensitive/painful.
- Nausea
- Heartburn
- Fatigue
- Bloating and belching
- Pain below the sternum
- Hoarseness and sore throat and problems swallowing food
- Depression and anxiety

Does this fit the profile of someone with MS? thank you for you help.
thank you.

[jimmylegs]

hi and welcome to the forum. your list could be the result of many things.

if the docs haven't been able to help so far, consider looking where they tend not to - nutrition.

re muscle pain, heartburn, fatigue, swallowing problems, and anxiety, i suggest you investigate magnesium

re urogenital pain/burning, bloating, gas and depression, you might want to look into zinc.

first, are you getting recommended amounts from food? you can review your diet and compare to higher daily intake numbers.

do you eat enough healthy food sources of zinc to get up to as much as 40 mg per day?
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart

for magnesium, do you eat enough healthy food sources to reach 400mg per day?
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart

if not, your food options are there to start boosting in your daily routine. if you think you need to supplement, it could be a good idea to test some levels first.

if you are ok just trying supplements, you need to be careful with doses and forms.

for magnesium, choose a soluble absorbable form like magnesium glycinate over insoluble inorganic forms like mag oxide. while experiencing symptoms, you can try for at least 600mg total mag per day from food and supplements combined.

for zinc, you would choose zinc citrate balanced with some copper, in the ratio 25 units zinc to 1 unit copper. for up to one month you could try up to 100mg per day of zinc/copper, in divided doses to prevent nausea.

to prevent chronic depletion of essential nutrients, consider whether you need to reduce levels of wheat gluten, phytates, alcohol, sugar and dairy intake, or high levels of physical activity and sweating.

hope that helps

[lyndacarol]

Welcome to ThisIsMS, Eric (yumekyger). I do not believe your symptoms are "just stress." In my opinion, stress is used too often as the doctor's excuse when he simply doesn't know the cause. Since a good many of your symptoms are mentioned with a vitamin B12 deficiency (which can develop at any time in one's life), I urge you to watch the following video:

"Everything You Want Your Doctor to Know about Vitamin B12"



I highly recommend this 50-minute documentary (and the book) featuring Sally Pacholok, RN, BSN & her husband Jeffrey Stuart, D.O. (authors of the book, Could It Be B12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses); Lawrence Solomon, M.D., hematologist with Yale Medical School; Ralph Green, M.D., hematologist at UC Davis; and Donald Jacobsen, PhD, at the Cleveland Clinic (Homocysteine Research Lab).

@1:23 "The neurological manifestations well precede the hematological manifestations."

@1:46 "In 1948 scientists isolated a red crystalline pigment and named it vitamin B12. It is a primordial molecule responsible for the health of all the DNA in all our cells. The Framingham Offspring Study suggests 40% of Americans have suboptimal B12."

In part two (the story of Dr. W David Carr, pediatrician) it is mentioned that B12 deficiency causes uro-genital nerve damage (which, in my opinion, could involve the penis/testicle pain you described). Dysphasia (difficulty swallowing) and anorexia are commonly seen in B12 deficiency.

If one of your doctors has not ordered the four initial tests to investigate the possibility of a B12 deficiency in the blood, I suggest you bring it up with your GP or internist. Do not simply begin taking B vitamin supplements if testing has yet to be done. Taking supplements will skew the test results. If this is your problem, the treatment is fairly simple and inexpensive.

Your set of symptoms COULD fit with an MS diagnosis, but they also fit with many other conditions – vitamin B12 deficiency is just one.

All the best to you.

[yumekyger]

hello,
thank you both for your reply. I will investigate these possible vitamin and mineral defficiencies.
best,
eric

[yumekyger]

Hi,
sorry, one more question for you lyndacarol. Is it therefore common with MS for pain to travel throughout the body on a daily basis?
thank you,
eric

[lyndacarol]

Is it therefore common with MS for pain to travel throughout the body on a daily basis?

I don't know how "common" it is for MS pain to travel, Eric. But, personally, I have experienced pain in one location (knee, chest, arm, head, etc.) for a short time (maybe for three days up to a week) and then it goes away; only to have pain reappear a month or six months later in a new location.

Every case is unique; my experience is not necessarily typical.

[yumekyger]

hi,
thank you again for your reply.
best,
eric