Don't know how to proceed.....

[SewBzzzy]

MS was "suggested" a few years ago, but since I have so many issues due to scoliosis and multiple back surgeries and fusions, it fell to the wayside.

However, during the last six months or so, I've had some very interesting symptoms that, according to my spine surgeon, does not relate to my back. He even confirmed my back and neck are fine for now by doing two MRI's. (I have two metal rods in my spine and a metal plate in my neck). Not only do I have more "numb" spots on my body, but I occasionally experience an "all over itchy" feeling, like I've rolled in the grass or something. I also have bouts of SHARP eye pain that comes and goes....mostly in my left eye.....and SHARP ear pain that comes and goes in my right ear. The strangest thing that just happened this week is occasionally lip and tongue numbness....along with tingling. I'm 58 years old, but my memory seems to be really BAD of late, including not even being able to remember important conversations on occasion. My bladder and bowel habits are odd, as well as my balance. I've just chalked it up to the scoliosis .......but that doesn't cause the eye, ear, lip and tongue, as well as "itchy" thing. LOL! I'm a HS secretary, and I need all my faculties! LOL!

My question is......how do I proceed? I have a high deductible insurance and will be paying for the MRI's for the next 6 months. How do I find a GOOD neurologist that can diagnose MS in my area?

[jimmylegs]

hi SB

i personally never had to focus on how to get a diagnosis.. for me everything happened pretty quickly. so can't advise on how to find the right person to do so.. actually i've spent more of my time figuring out how NOT to be an ms patient any more

have your docs had you go over your diet to see if you're meeting all your recommended daily amounts for essential macro and micronutrients? on average, ms patients are a ways off in that department. if not, with a bit of effort it can be done independently. if you're interested in investigating whether any of your symptoms would clear up with some work on diet and lifestyle, there's TONS of info here on various approaches.

[lyndacarol]

MS was "suggested" a few years ago, but since I have so many issues due to scoliosis and multiple back surgeries and fusions, it fell to the wayside.

However, during the last six months or so, I've had some very interesting symptoms that, according to my spine surgeon, does not relate to my back. He even confirmed my back and neck are fine for now by doing two MRI's. (I have two metal rods in my spine and a metal plate in my neck). Not only do I have more "numb" spots on my body, but I occasionally experience an "all over itchy" feeling, like I've rolled in the grass or something. I also have bouts of SHARP eye pain that comes and goes....mostly in my left eye.....and SHARP ear pain that comes and goes in my right ear. The strangest thing that just happened this week is occasionally lip and tongue numbness....along with tingling. I'm 58 years old, but my memory seems to be really BAD of late, including not even being able to remember important conversations on occasion. My bladder and bowel habits are odd, as well as my balance. I've just chalked it up to the scoliosis .......but that doesn't cause the eye, ear, lip and tongue, as well as "itchy" thing. LOL! I'm a HS secretary, and I need all my faculties! LOL!

My question is......how do I proceed? I have a high deductible insurance and will be paying for the MRI's for the next 6 months. How do I find a GOOD neurologist that can diagnose MS in my area?

Welcome to ThisIsMS, SewBzzzy.

Since you have asked, "how do I proceed?" I recommend that you go to your GP or internist and ask that he order testing to investigate a possible vitamin B12 deficiency. A deficiency can develop at any time in one's life, but is especially common in people over 50. (Also, nitrous oxide, which is often given with surgery, inactivates the body's stores of B12 – were you given nitrous oxide in your back surgeries?) The University of Chicago suggests that the investigation of numbness/tingling/pain in the extremities (peripheral neuropathy) should begin with vitamin B12:

http://peripheralneuropathycenter.uchic ... #bloodtest\

Any doctor, even your family doctor, is able to order these tests (#1 serum vitamin B12 test, #2 serum folic acid test, #3 serum homocysteine test, and #4 a urinary methylmalonic (uMMA ); the tests are relatively inexpensive (the serum B12 is about $90); do not take vitamin B supplements before testing, as they will skew the test results.

I highly recommend that you watch this 50-minute documentary featuring Sally M. Pacholok, RN, BSN & her husband Jeffrey J. 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):

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



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

The symptoms you mentioned can be found on this list from the video:

Signs and Symptoms of B12 Deficiency:
Tingling/Numbness
Sore Mouth or Tongue (this might include your tongue numbness
Fatigue
Anxiety
Irritability
Depression
Weakness
Abnormal Gait
Mental Impairment (would include your "bad memory)
Visual Disturbances (or perhaps your eye pain is related to the next entry)
Migraine
Orthostatic Intolerance
Chest Pain
Tachycardia
Difficulty Breathing
Edema
Elevated Homocysteine
Elevated MMA
Stomach and G.I. Problems
Blood Abnormalities
Neurological Lesions
Limb Movement Disorders
Psychosis
Thoughts of Suicide

Tinnitus (and perhaps your ear pain) are related to B12 deficiency, as are balance, bowel, and bladder problems.

Another member here at ThisIsMS recommends: To eliminate B12 as a possibility, your doctor will need to run a full panel of tests. These include...
• serum B12
• RBC folate
• urinary methylmalonic acid (uMMA)
• fasting serum homocysteine
• unsaturated B12 binding capacityhours.
The tests should be run after not taking either B12 or folate supplements for at least 72

If you have a B12 deficiency, it is easily and inexpensively treated with supplements or injections.

As for finding a good neurologist in your area, I would start with a recommendation from your family doctor.

[jimmylegs]

i'll just caution you against zeroing in on b12 to the exclusion of other important essential nutrients. it's a fashionable issue at the moment, granted, but all the same it is just one of many potential nutrient concerns for ms patients. have a read around the forum to see what others have been working on too.