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Hi guys,
I know this must have been addressed many times but I need to talk about this. I have an MD appointment coming up next week to hopefully find out what is going on with me. I'll try to make this short. I'm a nurse of 8 years, so after my own personal knowledge and some research, I'm thinking I have possibly found the reason for my ailments. Of course diagnostic studies would confirm MS with me. Just wanting to know what symptoms everyone else experienced when diagnosed. I just recently moved from NC to the southwest desert of CA....120 degree heat during the summer and my symptoms have been exacerbated ten fold. My symptoms are as follows:
-Constant headaches, leading to migraines...daily, more unilaterally
-constant pressure/fullness in my head that hardly ever goes away
-dizziness/lightheaded feeling when moving head, standing, with any sort of activity except when laying down
-forgetfulness, terrible memory (short term memory is terrible, sometimes can't remember certain parts of my day)
-sensitive to heat, very intolerant....makes my symptoms worse by far. Have to take cold showers (can't tolerate warm/hot showers)
-numbness/tingling on various areas of my body intermittently
-minimal blurred vision, but happens occasionally
-mind always feels foggy
-history of a very low vitmain D level (single digits)
-no family history, but my mom has an auto immune disease (rheumatoid arthritis)
-VERY moody, lash out at people/agitated easily one minute then happy the next
-Chronic fatigue....becoming excessive, missing lots of work
-Chronic pain throughout my body, always achy
-itchy skin, creepy crawling feeling all the time with no visible signs of irritation
Most of these symptoms I have had for at least 1-2 years but the memory problems and the headaches are new in the last 2-3 months and progressively worsening. The heat exacerbating my symptoms is what alarmed me of possible MS. Any info that you may have or any advice is greatly appreciated. I guess I just need to hear about other's experiences and your symptoms when diagnosed.
NurseTia wrote:I have an MD appointment coming up next week to hopefully find out what is going on with me. I'll try to make this short. I'm a nurse of 8 years, so after my own personal knowledge and some research, I'm thinking I have possibly found the reason for my ailments. Of course diagnostic studies would confirm MS with me. Just wanting to know what symptoms everyone else experienced when diagnosed. I just recently moved from NC to the southwest desert of CA....120 degree heat during the summer and my symptoms have been exacerbated ten fold. My symptoms are as follows:
-Constant headaches, leading to migraines...daily, more unilaterally
-constant pressure/fullness in my head that hardly ever goes away
-dizziness/lightheaded feeling when moving head, standing, with any sort of activity except when laying down
-forgetfulness, terrible memory (short term memory is terrible, sometimes can't remember certain parts of my day)
-sensitive to heat, very intolerant....makes my symptoms worse by far. Have to take cold showers (can't tolerate warm/hot showers) -numbness/tingling on various areas of my body intermittently
-minimal blurred vision, but happens occasionally
-mind always feels foggy
-history of a very low vitmain D level (single digits)
-no family history, but my mom has an auto immune disease (rheumatoid arthritis)
-VERY moody, lash out at people/agitated easily one minute then happy the next
-Chronic fatigue....becoming excessive, missing lots of work
-Chronic pain throughout my body, always achy
-itchy skin, creepy crawling feeling all the time with no visible signs of irritation
Most of these symptoms I have had for at least 1-2 years but the memory problems and the headaches are new in the last 2-3 months and progressively worsening. The heat exacerbating my symptoms is what alarmed me of possible MS. Any info that you may have or any advice is greatly appreciated. I guess I just need to hear about other's experiences and your symptoms when diagnosed.
Welcome to ThisIsMS, NurseTia. I am responding to your statement that "any advice is greatly appreciated." These are my thoughts:
As you must know, your symptoms are common to many conditions. MS is one possible condition, but it is a diagnosis of exclusion and can be made only after other more likely possibilities have been ruled out. If your "numbness/tingling on various areas of the body intermittently" includes the extremities (peripheral neuropathy), the University of Chicago suggests the following investigation:
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
Starting with the first entry in the list, I encourage you to consider thorough screening for a possible B12 deficiency. This screening should include #1 the serum B12 test (or the newer, more reliable HoloTc test, which may not yet be available in your area), #2 the RBC folate test, #3 the serum homocysteine test, and #4 a methylmalonic acid test. The serum B12 test alone is often not adequate to detect a deficiency.
Diagnosing and Treating Vitamin B12 Deficiency: "Everything You Want Your Doctor to Know about Vitamin B12"
I also recommend this 50-minute documentary featuring Sally Pacholok, RN, BSN, & Jeffrey Stuart, D.O. (authors of the book, Could It Be B12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses and their new book, What's Wrong with My Child?); 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."
As you probably also know, every patient diagnosed with MS has a unique set of symptoms. We wish you all the best.
Nurse Tia I know exactly what you are going through. I'm 31 years old and the only symptoms I'd started with were tingling. The tingling came and went in various areas but stayed in my fingers in my left hand. Also when I put my head down I get a tingling feeling all the way down the back of my body.
I moved across the country and it seems like I got sicker. I suffered from anxiety. I don't sleep, literally. it took ambien to make me sleep. The doctor did find very small lesions in my brain and when I did not eat I felt sick. Infection sick. Three weeks later I can say I feel much better. The numbness in my hands is going away I still feel the tingling when I put my head down. My anxiety is getting better and my sleeping is up and down. I'm afraid I may have MS but I seem to be getting better.
I was told that I'm suffering from adjustment anxiety. So I am getting better but in the back of my mind I'm scared.
Angie, That's weird that you just moved too. Maybe the climate changes exacerbated our symptoms? I totally get what you mean by feeling the tingling sensation on you head. Problem is, I get mine randomly everyday on my scalp. It's so frustrating because I feel that my family just don't understand and that my constant complaining everyday of "I don't feel good" or "I'm so tired" is beginning to sound too repetitive. My bad days are becoming more frequent than my good days. Oh, and the pain and stiffness in the morning takes hours to walk out. I just want to feel better and "normal" again! I wish I had advice for you. That's why I am here....just hearing what others have to say while I wait on my MRI Best wishes!
I agree with Lyndacarol. At this stage I would drop the MS label and wait for someone to make a definitive diagnosis. There are many infections and deficiencies that mimic your symptoms.
As you have a medical background you may be interested in reading this as you may or may not find things of interest. http://www.thisisms.com/forum/regimens- ... 24019.html
Best wishes!