I think I have MS

[Eddandstuff]

Hello Everyone,

My story starts 2 years ago now. It started with a sexual encounter with a woman I didn't know too much about at the time. I found out a week later this woman was HIV positive and that's when I began to panic. Symptoms set on a week after I had sex with this woman. It started in my feet. It felt as if my shoes were too tight. Then my bowel movements completely changed. I was not going to the bathroom to do #2. Constipation became a big thing and is still a big thing for me. Muscle pains and aches, burning legs, waking up with a stiff jaw, stabbing headaches that lasts a few seconds and dissapate.

I thought for sure I had HIV. I tested for an entire year with different tests--always negative. The only thing that's come back is elevated EBV levels doc isn't sure if it's reactivsted or not but the antigens were sky high in my blood. Any other blood work from the beginning showed Vit D deficiency and slight anemia at the time.

For a while I chalked it up to anxiety. But these symptoms persisted and still today I have no explanation to the shooting pains in my fingers, continuous muscle twitching and constipation I still have. My legs have weird aches and pains in the thigh areas and sometimes it feels like my blood isn't flowing at all. The worst part is the stabbing headaches that lasts for a few seconds.

MS looked like a factor to me when I looked at the symptoms--specifically CONSTIPATION. This has been a BIG symptom for me along with the headaches and muscle pain. MS is the only disease I see that has this listed as a symptom.

From what I've described, what do you guys think? I'm so scared

[ElliotB]

Go see a doctor! No point in driving yourself crazy with worry.

[lyndacarol]

Any other blood work from the beginning showed Vit D deficiency and slight anemia at the time.

For a while I chalked it up to anxiety. But these symptoms persisted and still today I have no explanation to the shooting pains in my fingers, continuous muscle twitching and constipation I still have. My legs have weird aches and pains in the thigh areas and sometimes it feels like my blood isn't flowing at all. The worst part is the stabbing headaches that lasts for a few seconds.

MS looked like a factor to me when I looked at the symptoms--specifically CONSTIPATION. This has been a BIG symptom for me along with the headaches and muscle pain. MS is the only disease I see that has this listed as a symptom.

From what I've described, what do you guys think? I'm so scared

Welcome to ThisIsMS, Eddandstuff.

Your symptoms are common to many conditions, even anxiety is a possible cause. All of the other likely causes must be ruled out before MS can be considered. (There is testing to eliminate other possibilities; there is no definitive test for MS.)

You have asked, "what do you guys think?" So here are my thoughts (I have no medical background):

1) Follow ElliotB's advice and make an appointment with your GP.
2) Compose a written list of your symptoms to hand to your doctor when you see him. (It will guide your conversation and avoid wasting time.)
3) If the vitamin D test, which showed a deficiency, was done a year ago or more, ask your GP to order a current vitamin D test (the "25-hydroxy D") – ask to receive your own copy of the test results so that you have the actual test result numbers. A vitamin D deficiency could result in the symptoms you have described.

Once you have been found to have a vitamin D deficiency, it is a good idea to monitor with a test every year after. It is best to maintain a level at least 40-60 ng/mL (Some neurologists recommend a level between 80-100 ng/mL for their patients who have neurological symptoms.).

[Eddandstuff]

My big question is does MS just develope like that out of nowhere because of stress? I was perfectly healthy before this.

[Snoopy]

Looking symptoms up is not going to help you determine what might be going on. There is no symptom unique to Multiple Sclerosis as there are numerous other conditions that cause the same type of symptoms as Multiple Sclerosis, including vitamin/mineral deficiencies, some medications, and mental health issues.

Eddandstuff
My big question is does MS just develope like that out of nowhere because of stress? I was perfectly healthy before this

Anxiety and stress can cause body wide physical symptoms and unless treated (medication and Psychotherapy) your physical symptoms could continue. Anxiety can cause bowel problems (constipation/diarrhea).

[lyndacarol]

I tested for an entire year with different tests--always negative. The only thing that's come back is elevated EBV levels doc isn't sure if it's reactivsted or not but the antigens were sky high in my blood. Any other blood work from the beginning showed Vit D deficiency and slight anemia at the time.

Raising the vitamin D level in your blood may help with the EBV antibodies according to this article (avoid a vitamin D deficiency):

The beneficial effects of vitamin D3 on reducing antibody titers against Epstein-Barr virus in multiple sclerosis patients. (2015)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=25666504

"The aim of this study was to investigate whether vitamin D3 supplementation in MS patients could influence the immune response against latent EBV infection.… All the patients were seropositive for EBV prior to vitamin D supplementation.… Our findings confirm that antibody titers against EBV in MS patients rise after the onset of the disease and indicate that vitamin D3 supplementation could limit augmentation of these titers in MS patients."


To your latest question… The cause of MS is unknown; MS may have one cause or many. In my opinion, stress may contribute to the symptoms, but I doubt it is the only cause of those symptoms.

Symptoms do appear "out of nowhere" – no one knows the reason. Each case of MS is unique; individuals experiment and find what works for them. For some, it's antibiotics, or antiretroviral medications, or a particular diet, or nutrients, or exercise, or lifestyle, or the disease-modifying drugs (a.k.a. DMD's), or any number of other factors. There is no one choice that works for everyone.

[Eddandstuff]

I thank you guys for taking the time out to reply to me.

In the beginning after I'd gotten my vitamin-d checked my doctor started prescribing me large doses of it to be taken once a day for a week. After reading the information you guys has provided for me I now know that it isn't something that can be fixed that quickly and easily within a weeks time. I'm now thinking of starting vitamin d and b12 supplementation and adding in magnesium for the muscle twitching and constipation along with calcium.

Can you guys give me some numbers on how much I should be taking of each to balance myself out?

I also wanted to add one more piece of information that I left out:

4 years ago I was diagnosed with HSV1 (herpes of the mouth) only my outbreaks (when I do have them, which is rare) occur around my buttock area (I have no idea why)

I know herpes can affect the central nervous system and travels through the spine so Imm wondering if that coupled with the vitamin D deficiency is really the big explanation for all my symptoms.

I also had very low red blood cells on my initial full blood work two years ago and my doctor had prescribed me iron supplementation. I know it was definitely some type of virus I'd caught from my encounter that changed everything for me--I know it wasn't an STD though as I'd tested for everything for a year straight. Before this I was a perfectly healthy young man who never had to visit doctors and rarely got sick. I worked out 3-4 times a week weight lifting and never experienced headaches or extreme fatigue or muscle pain like I do now. I only suspected MS recently because of my symptoms persisting and but I don't feel anxiety in the sense that I'm afraid of a diagnoses. I want a diagnoses as it's hard for me to believe that it's a vitamin-d deficiency or herpes or a combination of both seriously affecting me.

I also want to add in the beginning I had a very intense chest pain that radiated deep within. It's now spread to both sides of my chest and I get the pains off and on when I breathe in. The most alarming physical symptom I'd ever had was blurred vision for a week and my left food had actually swelled up for no reason at all(I had not injured it). There was visible blood under the nail of my toe but I hadn't banged my foot (this makes me think I'm bleeding internally or something is definitely going on within and it's affecting my legs especially)

[lyndacarol]

In the beginning after I'd gotten my vitamin-d checked my doctor started prescribing me large doses of it to be taken once a day for a week. After reading the information you guys has provided for me I now know that it isn't something that can be fixed that quickly and easily within a weeks time. I'm now thinking of starting vitamin d and b12 supplementation and adding in magnesium for the muscle twitching and constipation along with calcium.

Can you guys give me some numbers on how much I should be taking of each to balance myself out?

When your vitamin D was tested, what was the actual number result?

In order to figure what dosage to try, you need to know your starting level and how far you need to go to raise the level. The California-based GrassrootsHealth group recommends that a person's level should be at least 40-60 ng/mL. They offer the following chart to estimate the dosage necessary to raise the serum level: http://grassrootshealth.net/media/image ... single.pdf

The Vitamin D Council recommends 50 ng/mL.

There is wide variability in the response of individuals to a particular dosage – for example, one person can have a D level of 20 ng/mL when taking 5000 IU/day; but someone else may achieve a level of 140 ng/mL from the same dosage of 5000 IU/day! After supplementing with vitamin D for 3-6 months, your doctor needs to retest to see where your level is – there is no way to know how your body responded without testing.

Vitamin D uses magnesium in its pathway to becoming the active form. If you are supplementing with vitamin D, you need to add more magnesium (beyond the amount your body needs anyway for muscles and bones).

Since your doctor prescribed "large doses," I assume you were deficient. I suggest you work with this doctor again on your vitamin D situation.

[Eddandstuff]

Lyndacarol,

My Vit-D level at the time was 12 along with a really low serum ferritin level. My monocytes were high (indicating something viral was going on) but every tests checking for anything sexually related was negative. I think I might have caught some enterovirus or something and coupled with my HSV infection it exacerbated my symptoms.

[girleygirl555]

See if your GP will make you a appt. with a Neurologist. They have better knowledge. Good luck.