This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

So this is the first time that I am putting it all out there because nobody else seems to get it!! My family always says to me "your always tired...something is always wrong with you!!" Even thousands of dollars spent at emergency rooms have left me leaving with "Im sorry we cant find anything wrong with you"....Im really starting to think Im going crazy!

So here it goes: Im 43 year old female, here recently I had a severe episode that landed me in the hospital after 4 visits to the ER. I had woken with severe direaha and vomiting that had also had a cramping that felt like contractions.....It hit me in the middle of the night and continued til morning. By morning the D & V had stopped but not the cramping....it lasted 14 days. It was so severe that I told my husband I couldnt take much more.... The doctors ran all kinds of abdominal test CT scans ect and ended up giving me muscle spasm meds and a cocktail pain shot with phenegran and sent me home...like I said this happened 4 times before they admitted me and kept me on bedrest with continual pain meds, no food and more abdominal test. I kept telling them it felt like I was having a baby..it was PAIN like muscle pain not stomache sick. All test would come back great, so like all Dr visits they said it was IBS ( I have no symptoms of IBS on regular occasions) So I leave and cramping stops and it all goes away like it never happened. STORY OF MY LIFE!!
So I started researching myself and came across the MS HUG .....that is exactly what I experienced but for several days!! I started reading more about MS. Now I know there are so many other diseases that sound familiar to MS and I probably would have leaned toward Fibromyalgia if it werent for the hug. I have reflected back to when my visits to hospital started...I was in late 20's. Would start with pain in back and abs, feeling tired and just like I was dying but didnt know from what. Nothing ever was found. Seems they always went for appendix and gallbladder and when those came back ok...I was sent home feeling crazy.....then I would feel better and wouldnt got to the doctor. Im a hairdresser as well so alot of times I just blamed pain on being in the industry since the age of 14 and wear and tear on my body.....in my 30's more of the same...around 36 my mother got sick and died and I truly felt I was too..I went to the doctor feeling awful, something was wrong. they said stress and put me on zanax and lexipro. Emotionally I felt better and numb but my pain was still there. Between 38 til now 43 I have had a time.....more pain, so gallbladder came out( still have the same pain mid you)... pregnant 3 times lost all three, dad dies I get even sicker , literally cant get off the floor sick sick sick and then the hug as I mentioned above. Now all episodes come with several symptoms and Im going to list what happens and I would appreciate any feed back. I have no insurance which is why I probably am hesitant to EXPLORE possibilities, not to mention many think its all in my head...all I know is I dont see others struggling like me on a daily bases to just get through a day. Thanks for reading I really aprreciate it!
Symptoms:
short term memory loss...cant grab a word or explain something simple ( feel so stupid at times)
distance is bothering me
reading vision getting worse
throb behind eyeball
wake up with both arms totally numb and hurt to move
toes going numb
Elbows feel like glass is in them when pressure is put on them
lower back ALWAYS hurts
bottom of feet feel bruised some mornings when get out of bed
very stiff all over ( feel 80 sometimes)
loss of flexibilty
so so tired
weight gain
joints hurt
hard to open doors and jars
sharp jolts of pain all over at different times
arms heavy to hold up
sometimes hurts to walk
cant balance anymore
ringing in ear
sometimes choke when swallowing
restless sleep
charlie horses in legs
If I try and stretch real hard like when waking up, I sometimes get locked for a few seconds
sometimes I feel it a struggle to hold myself up like I feel every muscle trying to do it
After I get out of shower I have to lye down for about 10 minutes....feel like I cant stand any longer HEAVY

All these syptoms come and go...there seems to be a few of them always though!

alwayssomething wrote:Im really starting to think Im going crazy!

So here it goes: Im 43 year old female, here recently I had a severe episode that landed me in the hospital after 4 visits to the ER. I had woken with severe direaha and vomiting that had also had a cramping that felt like contractions.....It hit me in the middle of the night and continued til morning. By morning the D & V had stopped but not the cramping....it lasted 14 days. It was so severe that I told my husband I couldnt take much more.... The doctors ran all kinds of abdominal test CT scans ect and ended up giving me muscle spasm meds and a cocktail pain shot with phenegran and sent me home...like I said this happened 4 times before they admitted me and kept me on bedrest with continual pain meds, no food and more abdominal test. I kept telling them it felt like I was having a baby..it was PAIN like muscle pain not stomache sick. All test would come back great, so like all Dr visits they said it was IBS ( I have no symptoms of IBS on regular occasions) So I leave and cramping stops and it all goes away like it never happened. STORY OF MY LIFE!!
So I started researching myself and came across the MS HUG .....that is exactly what I experienced but for several days!! I started reading more about MS. Now I know there are so many other diseases that sound familiar to MS and I probably would have leaned toward Fibromyalgia if it werent for the hug. I have reflected back to when my visits to hospital started...I was in late 20's. Would start with pain in back and abs, feeling tired and just like I was dying but didnt know from what. Nothing ever was found. Seems they always went for appendix and gallbladder and when those came back ok...I was sent home feeling crazy.....then I would feel better and wouldnt got to the doctor. Im a hairdresser as well so alot of times I just blamed pain on being in the industry since the age of 14 and wear and tear on my body.....in my 30's more of the same...around 36 my mother got sick and died and I truly felt I was too..I went to the doctor feeling awful, something was wrong. they said stress and put me on zanax and lexipro. Emotionally I felt better and numb but my pain was still there. Between 38 til now 43 I have had a time.....more pain, so gallbladder came out( still have the same pain mid you)... pregnant 3 times lost all three, dad dies I get even sicker , literally cant get off the floor sick sick sick and then the hug as I mentioned above. Now all episodes come with several symptoms and Im going to list what happens and I would appreciate any feed back. I have no insurance which is why I probably am hesitant to EXPLORE possibilities, not to mention many think its all in my head...all I know is I dont see others struggling like me on a daily bases to just get through a day. Thanks for reading I really aprreciate it!
Symptoms:
short term memory loss...cant grab a word or explain something simple ( feel so stupid at times)
distance is bothering me
reading vision getting worse
throb behind eyeball
wake up with both arms totally numb and hurt to move
toes going numb
Elbows feel like glass is in them when pressure is put on them
lower back ALWAYS hurts
bottom of feet feel bruised some mornings when get out of bed
very stiff all over ( feel 80 sometimes)
loss of flexibilty
so so tired
weight gain
joints hurt
hard to open doors and jars
sharp jolts of pain all over at different times
arms heavy to hold up
sometimes hurts to walk
cant balance anymore
ringing in ear
sometimes choke when swallowing
restless sleep
charlie horses in legs

Hi and welcome to ThisIsMS, alwayssomething.

First of all, you are NOT crazy! You have very real symptoms that have very real causes. We are not qualified to diagnose your situation, but we can offer you our ideas, opinions, and encouragement.

I suggest you find a GP, a family physician, who is compassionate and wants to be a "disease detective." It is less expensive to see a GP than a specialist and a GP should be able to order testing to start the investigation of your problem.

Since your symptoms are commonly found in people with a vitamin B12 deficiency, it is my opinion that one of the ER doctors you have seen should have screened for that possibility. Initial blood testing should include: #1 a B12 test ($90 out-of-pocket), #2 a homocysteine test ($176), and #3 a methylmalonic acid test ($246) – There is a urinary form of this last test for $150 and, actually, the urinary form is considered to be more accurate. These test costs come from page 274 in the book, Could It Be B12?. Even the commonly ordered Complete Blood Count (CBC), which costs about $48, can indicate a B12 deficiency, if it has been a long ongoing condition and the red blood cells are enlarged (A high MCV number means the red blood cells are enlarged.)

Any person at any age can develop a B12 deficiency. Do not take vitamin B supplements before any testing for a deficiency is done (Taking a B supplement will make the test results inaccurate.)

If you are found to have a B12 deficiency, it is easily and inexpensively treated. There have been several malpractice cases won (for several million dollars each!) when doctors did not look for vitamin B 12 deficiencies and patients went on to develop irreversible neurologic damage.


I highly recommend that you watch this 50-minute documentary featuring Sally Pacholok, RN, BSN, & her husband Jeffrey Stuart, D.O. (authors of the book, Could It Be B12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses); 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).

"Everything You Want Your Doctor to Know about Vitamin B12"



The following are just a few of the symptoms listed in the video as part of a B12 deficiency:

Signs and Symptoms of B12 Deficiency:
Tingling/Numbness
Sore Mouth or Tongue
Fatigue
Anxiety
Irritability
Depression
Weakness
Abnormal Gait
Mental Impairment
Visual Disturbances
Migraine
Orthostatic Intolerance
Chest Pain
Tachycardia
Difficulty Breathing
Edema
Elevated Homocysteine
Elevated MMA (methylmalonic acid test)
Stomach and G.I. Problems
Blood Abnormalities
Neurological Lesions
Limb Movement Disorders
Psychosis
Thoughts of Suicide

In my opinion, this area of possible B12 deficiency is the place to start – it is fairly easy and inexpensive to check, especially in the case of no insurance.

We are glad you found us; we are good listeners; we wish you all the best. Please let us know how things go.

You have had it tough

But you seem very strong and determined to push on.

It could be MANY different things that cause these issues. It could be something as simple as B12/nutrient deficiencies. It could also be a disease like MS, or it could also be nothing at all.

Do you have any family history of MS?

You have to see a neurologist in order to be tested for all the possible causes.

In any event, whatever it is, it is something you have dealt with and lived with for over 20 years. So just know that it IS something you can handle.

I hope the best for you,

Chris

Thank you for your input!! I will go have those test ran!