Rather confused and concerned

[Monique]

Hi
My name is Monique and I am 33 years old, 34 in November. I am not diagnosed with MS but I am rather concerned with a lot of symptoms I am having. It is easiest to list the symtoms. I would appreciate any feedback on whether I should prod my doctor with the possibility of MS or allow her to keep going the way she is. She seems pretty stumped to me though

-Constipation (Lasting 2 years now)
- Dimness in my right eye (occasional and everything seems tinged with red)
- Numb left foot (I have noticed when I shower the numbness spreads up my leg)
- Sporadic numbness in right foot and hands (Mainly fingers)
- Severe cramping just below my ribcage on both sides (lasted about 12 months. Started with severe pain there so I could barely move)
- Urgency to pee (I seem to be up regularly during the night. I can go from being aware I need to go to being busting 5 minutes later)
- Constant itchy throat which has caused a bad cough
- Tip of tongue is numb. Occasionally roof of mouth also

That is most of the symptoms anyway. Another would be severe headaches radiating from my left eye. Pain is always centred on left side of head. I am confuzzled. Two years ago I was a happy, healthy person. Now it is much different. I will appreciate any input anyone can add. Thank you

Moni

[Monique]

headaches radiating from my right eye. Centred on right side of head. I always get my hands mixed up

[jimmylegs]

hi monique and welcome to the forum. sorry to hear about your troubles. i can only offer some thoughts on possible nutritional investigations you may want to consider. my first questions will be about diet and lifestyle, how your background may or may not be a possible contributor. so. would you consider yourself generally sedentary, active, or an athlete? do you have children? if so, how many? how much of your diet would you say involves bread or other processed foods like pasta etc? do you have any dietary preferences regarding animal products for example? or seafood? would you say you eat more fruits than veggies, or vice versa? what is your level of total sugar intake from fruits, sweets, simple carbs, alcohol - low, medium, high? do you smoke at all? do you have any other general health issues unrelated to the above, that you haven't thought relevant? such as other diagnoses, history of infectious disease, anything? did anything happen leading up to two years ago, that might possibly have any connection to your current symptoms? hope we can figure something out to help you

[Monique]

Hi
My nutrition is very good really. I watch what I eat a lot. I lead an active lifestyle. Not so much in summer though. Summer and me dont agree. I have a 9 year old daughter who keeps me quite busy. Nothing has changed for me really in the last few years. But in the last couple of years I have all these symptoms pop up.

[jimmylegs]

okay, well if you can elaborate re your diet, i can have a look to see if there are any gaps nutritionally, that might match up with nutrition issues known to be common to ms patients. could be an interesting exercise.

[Monique]

Hi
My usual menu for the day is all bran for breakfast. a ham/chicken and salad roll for lunch. meat and three veg for dinner. I make up fruit salads every couple of days and have that for dessert and afternoon teas. Friday nights I treat myself with a bar of chocolate.

[jimmylegs]

ok so let's have a look at that...

1/2c original all bran cereal details:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/bre ... als/1690/2
GI = 8, IF = 45 (anti-inflammatory), O6:O3=13:1
meets daily value for b6 and b12, nearly so for manganese, hits about 20-25% for b1, b2, b3, and b9, iron, magnesium and phosphorus

1c 2% milk details:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dai ... ducts/71/2
GI = 9, IF = -71 (pro-inflammatory), O6:O3=7.7:1
hits about 20-25% DV for vit D, b2, b12, calcium, phosphorus.

ham, sliced:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sau ... ats/1345/2
GI = 1, IF = -13 (pro-inflammatory), O6:O3=11.5:1
higher sodium (30% dv), 23% dv for B1, hits 15-20% for manganese and selenium

chicken, sliced:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sau ... ats/1446/2
GI = 1, IF = -10 (pro-inf), O6:O3=N/A (36.5 O6, but O3 info NA)
this was more sodium than anything else really...

lettuce leaf (outer, 24g)
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2477/2
GI = 0, IF = 32 (anti-infl), O6:O3=0.42:1
has a smidge of vitamin A, everything else negligible...

wrap (had to use pita, chose whole wheat)
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/bak ... cts/4853/2
GI = 17, IF = -107 (pro-infl), O6:O3=19.4
this one was good for selenium and manganese...

can you specify the typical ingredients in your fruit salads, and your typical dinner meat and veg choices also? are you on any kind of rotation for meat/poultry/fish? what are your top 6 veg that make it into the 3 veg sides?

on balance so far although these foods are healthy in and of themselves, taken in this particular combination i'm seeing a tendency to being more strongly pro-inflammatory than anti, with higher O6 intakes compared to O3. a daily IF score of at least 50 is desirable, GI no higher than 100, and a lower O6 to O3 ratio. need more info to get a real sense of nutrient gaps overall, too.

i'll check in later for more info

[Monique]

To help you further I will put my other symptoms down

-Tremors (quite common. seen especially when I lift things)
- Blood tests have been done. Vitamin D was extremely low (25 where the normal is 50+ I was told). I was put on 1000 IU daily of Vit D supplement. My zinc levels were marginally low too. I was put on a multivitamin. I have been taking these supplements for 3 months now. There has been a little improvement but not much.

In answer to your questions I eat more beef then any other meat. probably 3 serves of that a week. 2 of fish. 2 of chicken. The salad on my roll is normally lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber and carrot. The vegetables I eat at dinner can be corn, peas, beans, potato, pumpkin, cauliflower and broccoli.

I eat healthier then 95% of the population and yet 95% of the population doesnt have my symptoms. Rather concerning

[lyndacarol]

Hi Moni.

Please read this one-page thread started by Phoebe12: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/introduct ... 20710.html

[jimmylegs]

ooh! okay i figured out a few more of the foods you sent, but i'm also full of questions too

anyway yes you want your vit d3 up to 125 nmol/L if you can get it there. is your supplement D2 or D3? either way, 1000 IU per day won't get you there any time soon. do you have your zinc result handy? how much zinc, and what form, is in the multivitamin? what brand of multi is it? also, what else have you had tested?

beef *should* be keeping you in good shape for zinc. do you also eat bread at dinner?

what kinds of fish do you have? and how do you prepare the chicken dinners?

also curious what you have in your diet in the way of nuts and seeds?

for the remaining veg:

tomato, raw, 1oz
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2682/2
GI = 0, IF = 21, higher O6

onion, raw, 9g
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2501/2
GI = 0, IF = 2, higher O6

cucumber, 28g
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2439/2
GI = 0, IF = 0, higher O6

carrot, 7g
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2383/2
GI = 0, IF = 11, higher O6

corn, frozen, 1/2c
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2422/2
GI = 6, IF = -38, MUCH higher O6

peas, frozen, 1/2c
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2889/2
GI = 4, IF = 9, O6:O3 4:1, not bad

beans, frozen, 100g
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2807/2
GI = 2, IF = 1, higher O3 than O6

potato, baked, 1 whole (156g)
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2904/2
GI = 16, IF = -102, O6:O3 3:1, not bad

pumpkin, mashed, 1c
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2917/2
GI = 3, IF = 95, O6:O3 1:1 really good

cauliflower, cooked, 1/2c
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2837/2
GI = 1, IF = 12, O6:O3 1:3 awesome!

broccoli, cooked, 1/2c
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2818/2
GI = 2, IF = 62, O6:O3 1:2 really great!

all in all it may not seem fair, but all it takes is a nutrient gap or two for long enough, and genetic makeup can manifest itself in ways we don't necessarily enjoy. don't worry the other 95% have their own headaches to deal with. or pending.

since you have some documented suboptimal levels, i think it's likely that with a determined program that you should get some decent improvement. will you be going for follow up testing any time over the next while?

[Monique]

I do not think my problems are a result of nutrition. The first thing my doctor did was send me to a nutritionist and she said my diet was just fine. Her only advice was to bake my meat instead of frying. Which I have been doing religiously ever since. Is it possible I could have MS given my symptoms or should I let my doctor keep ruling out different things it could be?

[jimmylegs]

i don't know - maybe someone else has some ideas. hope you find some answers!

[Monique]

Hi

The main reason I posted the question I did is because I have heard testing for MS can be very expensive. I am on a very fixed income and dont want to pay all that money if I dont have to. I am not seeking a professional opinion. Just wanted to know if others had experienced similar symptoms before being diagnosed. I see a lot of views but not many responses which leads me to think that my symptoms are way off for this condition or that theyre so close to it that people dont want to tell me. such a conundrum

Thanks

Moni

[Kiyaan]

Hi Moni,

The problem with diagnosing MS is that any and all of those symptoms could be due the disease, or not; some of the symptoms you have mentioned are more classic presentations of MS. I would certainly get tested, especially if there is history of MS in your family. Meanwhile, as hard as it may be to do, try to not worry about it.

Best,

Kiyan

[Monique]

Hi Kiyaan

It is probably hard to believe but I am not too concerned about the diagnosis, way more worried with the money issues arising from it. money never goes far when there are kids about. But I keep myself positive and take life as it comes mostly

Moni