Please answer!

[salt93]

I'm having a lot of symptoms of ms but I have periods when I'll be wanting to say something but no words come out! Then I start panicking and it's even worse! MS symptom?

[Anonymoose]

Hi salt,

I'm sorry you're having such a rough time. I know it's scary but try to stay calm. Your symptoms could be related to ms or 30 or so other things. Some are as simple as a vitamin/mineral deficiency. Others are more of a pain in the butt but still usually manageable. It will take time to figure out. Have you been to your GP for preliminary testing?

[salt93]

All my regular labs are ok! They didn't check magnesium! I have also newly diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia! My primary is blowing it off to anxiety! I made an appointment with neurology! Any other recommendations?

[Anonymoose]

All my regular labs are ok! They didn't check magnesium! I have also newly diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia! My primary is blowing it off to anxiety! I made an appointment with neurology! Any other recommendations?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia
Have you studied up on reactive hypoglycemia? It seems like it has a lot of symptoms in common with ms. Since you have that diagnosis, I would hold off on the neuro and focus on getting the RH under control. The RH symptoms could seriously muddy up the waters when looking for additional issues. If you still have issues after that, then keep digging and see a neuro. Or, if it'll make you feel better, see a neuro now. MS doesn't eat you alive in a few months or a year. You've got time to work on known issues. I waited for two years before I saw a neuro...already knew I had ms because the symptoms and patterns were textbook. I'm doing fine.

You'll be okay. Just take it one step at a time.

[lyndacarol]

All my regular labs are ok! They didn't check magnesium! I have also newly diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia! My primary is blowing it off to anxiety! I made an appointment with neurology! Any other recommendations?

Your symptoms included peripheral neuropathy (tingling/numbness in the extremities – legs/toes). I do not know whether "regular labs" include the testing recommended by the University of Chicago. In my opinion, these U of Chicago suggestions are the place to start – discuss a written list of your symptoms with your PCP (he can order these tests). Magnesium should be checked (as should other nutrient levels like B12, folate a.k.a. folic acid, zinc, vitamin D). Ask for your own copies of the test results, too.

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

Blood tests

Blood tests are commonly employed to check for vitamin deficiencies, toxic elements and evidence of an abnormal immune response.

Depending on your individual situation, your doctor may request certain laboratory tests to identify potentially treatable causes for neuropathy. These include tests for:

• Vitamin B12 and folate levels
• Thyroid, liver and kidney functions
• Vasculitis evaluation
• Oral glucose tolerance test
• Antibodies to nerve components (e.g., anti-MAG antibody)
• Antibodies related to celiac disease
• Lyme disease
• HIV/AIDS
• Hepatitis C and B

We are willing to share our experiences and opinions when asked. All the best to you.

[salt93]

How does glucose play a role because I am having low sugars!

[lyndacarol]

How does glucose play a role because I am having low sugars!

The glucose level is lowered by insulin. The body always overcompensates for the amount of insulin necessary to reduce the glucose level to a normal range. This excess insulin (hyperinsulinemia, which can be measured by a "fasting blood insulin test") coursing through the bloodstream is toxic and quite damaging to the interior of the blood vessels; insulin crosses the blood-brain barrier and affects muscles (specifically thickening and stiffening smooth muscles which are in the walls of the blood vessels and the muscles around the urinary bladder – detrusor and sphincter, and those around the intestines).

In time, this chronically elevated insulin level leads to insulin resistance (the cells become insensitive to insulin). As a result, the pancreas has to secrete even more insulin in order to force the cells to allow the glucose to enter. This state of insulin resistance is also called Type II diabetes. This seesaw continues back and forth until the pancreas is exhausted and stops producing insulin… Type I diabetes.

In my opinion, this elevated insulin level (often the result of diet) is also possibly a symptom of a fundamental vitamin B12 deficiency. It is known that a B12 deficiency (through faulty methylation) causes liver enlargement (hepatomegaly) and spleen enlargement (splenomegaly) and liver, stomach, intestinal, adrenal, and hormonal imbalances; I suspect a B12 deficiency also affects the pancreas causing an imbalance in secretions there.

[salt93]

They checked my b12 and was ok

[lyndacarol]

They checked my b12 and was ok

Although my response here is not meant to ask for personal tests results to be revealed publicly (A private message may be more appropriate for personal information.), I post the following publicly since it may be of interest generally:

I urge you to read the book, Could It Be B12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses by Sally M. Pacholok, RN, BSN, and Dr. Jeffrey J. Stuart, D.O. (This may be available at your library.):
http://b12awareness.org/could-it-be-b12 ... diagnoses/

On page 11:

There is much controversy as to what constitutes a normal result for this test [serum vitamin B12 test]. Because of this controversy, this test is often used in conjunction with other markers of B12 deficiency (MMA, Hcy, and more recently the HoloTc).

… We believe that the "normal" serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/mL to at least 450 pg/mL because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) below 550 pg/mL.

At this time, we believe normal serum B12 levels should be greater than 550 pg/mL.…

We commonly see patients with clinical signs of B12 deficiency who are not being tested. Others who are being tested are not being treated because their serum B12 falls in the gray zone [between 200 pg/mL 450 pg/mL]. This error results in delayed diagnosis and an increased incidence of injury.

Compare your B12 test results to those recommended by the authors.

[salt93]

Mine is 448

[lyndacarol]

As you know, your B12 test result falls within the "gray zone" described by the authors on page 11; it seems to me it would be appropriate to discuss further testing (a serum homocysteine test, Hcy; a serum or urinary methylmalonic acid test, MMA; and a HoloTranscobalamin test, HoloTc) with your doctor. If you have had a complete blood count (CBC), an MCV value in the high-end of your lab's standard range also indicates a B12 deficiency.

There is much controversy as to what constitutes a normal result for this test [serum vitamin B12 test]. Because of this controversy, this test is often used in conjunction with other markers of B12 deficiency (MMA, Hcy, and more recently the HoloTc).

You want to be quite sure that there is no B12 deficiency; if you are found to have a deficiency, it is easily and inexpensively treated. The cause of MS is unknown; therefore, in my opinion, there is no effective treatment for MS.

[salt93]

My hands are so still is this a symptom because I feel like I have had it!!

[lyndacarol]

My hands are so still is this a symptom because I feel like I have had it!!

From Could It Be B12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses, page 50:

The nervous system impairment stemming from this deficiency can cause tremors, handwriting difficulties, and other symptoms severe enough to resemble the early stages of Parkinson's disease.

Clumsiness and weakness and numbness of the hands/fingers and feet/toes are listed elsewhere as symptoms of B12 deficiency. (By the way, mental confusion and forgetfulness – your difficulty finding words? – "brain fog" can be symptoms of a B12 deficiency, and also of other conditions.)

You know your symptoms best; compose a list of all your symptoms and discuss them with your doctor.

[salt93]

Are these starting signs of ms as well?

[lyndacarol]

Are these starting signs of ms as well?

These symptoms are common to many conditions that must be ruled out before the diagnosis of MS is made.

Here are the symptoms of MS as listed by the National MS Society: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Sympto ... S-Symptoms