scared I have ppms-need help

[boobug12]

Hello, this is my first post and a bit long so i apologize. I am a 23 year old female.
July 2016 I woke up one morning feeling like one of my legs was "numb". not entirely numb but numb in a sense that it felt "different".
I also noticed a bit of weakness in right leg, not enough to affect my walking however. Two days prior to this I had had a pretty bad stomach flu where I had a fever and vomiting. The numbness /weakness didn't go away after awhile and i did the worst thing possible and googled my symptoms. MS was the first that popped up and my symptoms matched. Even before the numbness started I would have occasional moments where I felt like i was slightly unbalanced but nothing lasted and nothing was severe. One night i also experienced pretty bad virtgo while laying in bed but that has not happened again.
I immediately freaked myself out concerned I had MS and would therefore suffer a terrible miserable life to come. I seriously was a COMPLETE mess, about to check myself into a mental hospital.
I went to the doctor in August and told him my concerns, He said it could be a number of things and gave me a blood test. After the blood test I didn't hear back from the doctor and basically blew everything off. I was still scared and concerned the numbness didnt go away, but after awhile I stopped thinking about it and these symptoms didnt really bother me. Fast forward to now, February 2017 and these feelings have not gone away. The numbness in my leg is still there, although it hasent gotten any worse. Whats concerning me is the weakness. It is still there and feels about the same. However, i am now experiencing tingling in my legs and feet, and tingling in my other leg and foot now. I have researched alot about the types of MS and i am concerned it is the progressive type. Because, 1) numbness and tingling has not gone away, 2) i now feel tingling/numbness in other leg, 3) i know feel pain in all of my body, my legs, my ams, everything. I know symptoms can last a long time with RRMS, but it seems like it has now progressed to my other leg. I still suffer from occasional balance issues, although its not severe. I am TERRIFIED. I could handle RRMS but PPMS sounds terrifying and depressing. I am only 23 and would more than likely be in a wheelchair in the my 30's. I could accept needing a cane or chair for when im old, but this is too much. I am a single mom of three boys, under the age of 4 and I am heartbroken. I cant'concentrate or eat, all i want to do is sleep. I walk around in a zombie state obsessed with this condition and focusing on my body and every little tingle or painful feelings. I know i sound ridiculous since I am not Dx'd yet, but I dont know what else it could be. It really feels like this is the course of PPMS. It has gotten so bad I will sit and cry. I've thought about what would happen if I were dx'd with PPMS. I've considered letting my parents adopt my children and living alone and disabled so noone has to experience my pain or see this happen to me. I am going to the doctor soon to start the process of getting tested. Any words of wisdom, advice, or personal experience would be appreciated.

[Boudreaux]

You should definitely go back to the doctor and get a diagnosis because you might be barking up the wrong tree. Then whatever bucket you end up falling in, you should learn as much about it as you can and continue on with life as best as you can.

It's understandable to be scared about the unknown but it seems like you are already giving up and you don't even know what you are up against yet.

[Snoopy]

Hello boobug12,

You should make an appointment with your Primary Care Physician, explain your symptoms and let your Dr. decide, through testing and exam, what may or may not be causing your symptoms. Your PCP can do a Neurological exam, if normal it would make MS less likely.

There is no symptom unique to Multiple Sclerosis, many other conditions, medication side effects, mental health issues and vitamin/mineral deficiencies can cause the same type of symptoms as seen in MS. All of those other possibilities need to be ruled out before MS would be considered then your neurological exam/evaluation and testing would need to indicate MS as a possible cause.

You have body wide pain but MS doesn't cause pain to present that way. Your fear of having MS and PPMS at that and your obsession with MS indicates anxiety/health anxiety. When you see your Dr. please speak to him about treatment for you anxiety.

[ElliotB]

Advice? Go to the doctor VERY soon to start the process of getting tested to determine if what you have is serious. There are about 400 illnesses that mimic the symptoms of MS, and something as simple as a serious vitamin deficiency may be the issue. Good luck and hope you feel better soon...

[NHE]

Hi boobug12,
Welcome to ThisIsMS. It's best not self-diagnose. You might have a very treatable condition. Find a doctor you can trust that takes your symptoms seriously. Once you've found that doctor, make sure that you get tested for a possible vitamin B12 deficiency as it can potentially cause many of your symptoms. A full test should include not only B12, but homocysteine, red blood cell folate and methylmalonic acid as well.

[jimmylegs]

hi bb,

my 2 c, maybe something to consider if you have not already: three little ones in 4 years while a single mom may have taken a toll on your body's nutrient stores. have any of your docs referred you to a specialist to get some specific nutritional bloodwork done?

this article emphasizes folic acid (duh) and iron as nutrients requiring close attention between pregnancies. iron status can take months to recover postpartum.

The Risk of Maternal Nutritional Depletion and Poor Outcomes Increases in Early or Closely Spaced Pregnancies
full text: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133/5/1732S.full.pdf
you can get a pretty good takeaway message from just the last page of that article.

the article also notes depletion during pregnancy of zinc, vit a, bit b6 and vit b12. all of these apparently return quickly to 'normal' but zinc is flagged in particular as one to watch out for because of its particular association with low birth weight and/or premature delivery. i am very skeptical of normal ranges and wouldn't necessarily ignore any of the nutrients listed just because they were 'normal'. low normal is really not that far from deficient.

in my non expert opinion i would guess that if you've been through three near back to back pregnancies with low zinc, vit a and b vits including b12, you could be overdue for a therapeutic topping up

with several of the nutrients listed above, you can readily start overlapping with nutrition problems and symptoms in common with ms patients. for details, see these links on vitamin deficieincy syndromes (i'm matching this list up as best i can to the specific problem vits listed in the article above)

vit b9 http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/nother/v ... htm#folate

vit a http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/nother/vitamin.htm#vitA
vit b6 http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/nother/v ... idoxinedef
vit b12 http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/nother/vitamin.htm#B12

by and large that site is only for vitamins so doesn't touch on the iron or the zinc but you get the idea!

check out this related thread from march to june 2012 - mum of three also, but over a decade rather than 4 yrs. this story DOES touch on zinc http://www.thisisms.com/forum/post189094.html#p189094
spoiler alert: happy ending - with some fine tuning of her nutritional regimen her issues cleared up

if you are currently on a multimin/multivit or other nutritional regimen, could be worthwhile to review, and decide if there are any useful regimen adjustments to be made if you are NOT on a regimen, might be time to ask for an evaluation and potentially start topping up your tanks