Electric Shocks in the Chest

[Lissylou]

I am writing on behalf of my father who was diagnosed with MS over 30 years ago. He is currently suffering from electric shocks on the left side of his chest. The first time it hit him about 4-5 years ago, we thought he was having a heart attack the pain was so severe. Since then he has had this happen on a number of occasions but never as severe as the first time and it would leave him after a short period. He is currently suffering from a more constant buzzing feeling with fluttering shocks in his chest which can intensify depending on what he does and how he moves. He has been to the doctor but has not been taken seriously, there is a sad lack of understanding where we live, considering we have such a high concentration of MS in our area. Having tried to research this online, I am no closer to getting to understand what is happening to my dad. The closest I got suggested a link to hypothyroidism which my dad also has. Any suggestions?

[lyndacarol]

I am writing on behalf of my father who was diagnosed with MS over 30 years ago. He is currently suffering from electric shocks on the left side of his chest. The first time it hit him about 4-5 years ago, we thought he was having a heart attack the pain was so severe. Since then he has had this happen on a number of occasions but never as severe as the first time and it would leave him after a short period. He is currently suffering from a more constant buzzing feeling with fluttering shocks in his chest which can intensify depending on what he does and how he moves. He has been to the doctor but has not been taken seriously, there is a sad lack of understanding where we live, considering we have such a high concentration of MS in our area. Having tried to research this online, I am no closer to getting to understand what is happening to my dad. The closest I got suggested a link to hypothyroidism which my dad also has. Any suggestions?

Welcome to ThisIsMS, Lissylou. You asked for "Any suggestions"…

Doctors are often willing to attribute any symptom that appears after an MS diagnosis to MS, but it is entirely possible that a new symptom could be related to a totally different condition.

One of the many symptoms of a B12 deficiency is chest pain. And since any person at any age can develop a vitamin B12 deficiency, I urge you to check out this possibility (The serum B12 test alone is not adequate for finding a deficiency. Your father should request a serum homocysteine test AND a serum methylmalonic acid test, as well.). By the way, people over age 50 are at greater risk of a deficiency than the general population.

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/ and, in fact, browse through all the information at their website.

[Scott1]

Hi,

I haven't got an answer for you but, as I have recently spent time in hospital with heart issues related to an MS attack, I would suggest he goes to a cardiologist or a hospital and asks to wear a monitor for a few days to check for atrial fibrillation.
During my recent attack I had so much going on that I did not notice that my heart was affected but within minutes of being observed I was on blood thinners and beta blockers. The MS attack was secondary.

If it is AF, which is a common complaint, the top two chambers of the heart cease to pump correctly. This causes some blood to pool in the heart where it can coagulate. If it then pumps that blood out, the risk of moving a clot is greatly increased.
Go to a cardiologist now or the outpatients area of a hospital and say you wish to be checked for AF. Don't wait.
If its not an issue then that's good news but at least you will know. If you don't check then you are playing Russian roulette with a loaded gun. Go now.

Regards

[centenarian100]

I definitely agree with scott that you should have him evaluated to make sure that his chest pain isn't cardiac in etiology.

That being said, the symptom you are describing is a fairly common symptom of multiple sclerosis-neuropathic pain related to prior thoracic transverse myelitis-a variant of "MShug," so this could easily be MS related. It can be treated with medications if it is very severe.

It is very doubtful that it is related to hypothyroidism

best of luck

-C

[DrGeoff]

Total agreement with centenarian100. Check for heart problems first, then suspect neuropathic pain (both the "electric shock" and the "buzzing" are typical). This can be treated with Gabapentin or Pregagalin (start with the first, it's cheaper, and most can tolerate it) You do have to taper on and taper off either one.

Any good neuro should have checked for B12 deficiency on a regular basis (see lyndacarol's post), so make sure that this has been checked recently.

Geoff