Symptoms getting worse and only now connecting them to MS

[aquablue]

Hi

I am a 34 yr old female and for about 10 years I have been getting mild symtoms that came and went. It started with really severe stabbing pains in my lower abdomen that would occur around mid cycle, these pains would make me feel extremely bad for about three days, my stomach would feel swollen and bruised inside. I was sent for scans and tests and they all came back clear. (I still get these pains though not as severely).

The next symptom that started showing was dizziness like vertigo. the ground would feel like it was moving under my feet like when you step off an elevator. I was sent for blood tests many times over the years and they always came back clear. I still suffer from this vertigo feeling which is now accompanied by blurred vision. I have recently got glasses which helps a little but not alot.

I then started to get quiet obvious tremors in my head but mainly my hands, I was tested for thyroid which also came back fine. I still get them but not as severely as that time that they brought me to the doctor.

I have also had a really bad itch over my shins and calves mainly but also my arms and torso sometimes. it has flared up so badly sometimes and ive scratched so hard that I bleed. I have always put it down to bad water in the area or dry skin but I am not sure. I am also prone to hives.

My main issues now and over the past year or two are body aches. I am in so much pain which I think is muscular. it started in my fingers and wrists but has now moved to literally every part of me. knees, legs, back arms. I have no strenght in my limbs and even mixing cake batter makes my arms ache really badly.

My memory is getting really bad aswell, silly things that I keep forgetting. I have been putting it down to baby brain but my daughter is 14 months now so I dont think it is related.

I am really getting worried and am making a doctors appointment but I just wanted to lay out my symtoms and hopefully get some advice about what to do next ??

thanks so much

[aquablue]

also just wanted to add that every so often i get this lump inside my neck on the right side which feels like it starts high up and moves down towards my chest...it is hard to discribe as it doesnt really feel like a sore throat but is very uncomfortable. this can last for a few hours or a few days depending on the severity..... thanks!

[lyndacarol]

My main issues now and over the past year or two are body aches. I am in so much pain which I think is muscular. it started in my fingers and wrists but has now moved to literally every part of me. knees, legs, back arms. I have no strenght in my limbs and even mixing cake batter makes my arms ache really badly.

Hi and welcome to ThisIsMS, aquablue.

You have told us that years ago you had "scans and tests and they all came back clear." Other than thyroid testing (which you have mentioned specifically), I wonder if other recent testing, as suggested by the University of Chicago, has been done. In some conditions, neurologic symptoms can appear before signs in blood tests are manifested.

Numbness/tingling/pain in the legs and arms is the definition of "peripheral neuropathy." This is a common symptom in many conditions, which must be ruled out first before an MS diagnosis can be made. In investigating the cause of peripheral neuropathy, the University of Chicago suggests the following:

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

I suggest you compose a written list/timeline of your symptoms that you will take to the doctor's appointment you're making. Discuss your list and make a game plan (you and your doctor might consider the U of C list, starting with the newer, more accurate test for B12 called the HoloTranscobalamin, a.k.a. HoloTc, test – and including a serum homocysteine test as well as a serum or urinary methylmalonic acid test to confirm the B12 results… By the way, do not take any vitamin B supplements in the weeks before possible testing, as this will skew test results.).

We wish you all the best; please let us know how it goes.

[aquablue]

Thank you so much for the reply.

To be honest i am not sure what exactly those bloods were for. I think basic things like anemia etc.... I live in Ireland so I am not sure we would use the university of chicago testing but I will definitely check. I just feel that my symptoms havent been looked into properly but that is probably because I had been going to the doctor with one complaint at a time. I will try and have a deeper discussion this time round. My mother suffers from osteoarthritis and has an overactive thyroid so maybe it is hereditary.

I am just wondering if the symptoms I mentioned are common symptoms of MS though? Has anybody had these same symptoms?

appreciate your advice and support!

[NHE]

also just wanted to add that every so often i get this lump inside my neck on the right side which feels like it starts high up and moves down towards my chest...it is hard to discribe as it doesnt really feel like a sore throat but is very uncomfortable. this can last for a few hours or a few days depending on the severity..... thanks!

Does is seem like it might be a muscle cramp? Have you tried massaging your neck or using a moist heating pad like the ones with beads that you heat up in a microwave? If you think it might be a muscle cramp, then magnesium supplements, such as magnesium glycinate, can sometimes help. I get cramps in my neck from time to time, but I've never experienced one that felt like it was moving.

[Youarethecure]

There really isn't anything "common" when it comes to MS. It is different for everyone, and everything is a variable. Now, if there are any "common" symptoms they also overlap with other issues that can cause the same symptoms.

How were your symptoms through your pregnancy? I have read many times that MS basically chills out for the time that a woman is pregnant.

Best wishes,

Chris

[aquablue]

Thanks for all your responses. Today my doctor sent me to the hospital for some tests. I had a CT scan and blood tests for arthritis, calcium, and a list of other things that all came back clear. They said my muscular pain symptoms were vague and they looked at fybromyalgia trigger points but it only hurt in a few of the areas so they are ruling that out.
They have referred me to a rheumatologist and given me serc for vertigo symptoms.

I got the impression they thought I was mad lol. It is very hard for me to explain the pain when it's not in full blown flare up! Typically today was a day I felt pretty ok!

Anyway I will wait to see what the rheumatologist says.

Just to answer the questions that you guys asked...yes the lump in my throat could be a muscle spasm and I feel it like a lum, but I am not sure. I am going to start keeping a symptom diary to track eveverything.

Regarding my pregnancy...I had alot of migraine and back pain but I believe all that to be normal and pregnancy related. Before a migraine I would feel numbness on one side of my face and go kind of blind in one eye for a period of minutes to an hour. I believe that is typical of migraine though and it hasn't happened since.

Thanks again for your advice!