This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hello Everyone,

I haven't been officially diagnosed yet but have had a lot of changes going on lately and wanted to share with you guys to get some insight from others that have already been dealing with MS for a while.

I am a 50 year old male.

In late 2012 I was having tinnitus in my left ear, headaches on the left side of my head, some coordination issues with reaching for things and hitting the shelf instead. My GP sent me to get a head MRI to check for tumor. There was no tumor but they found multiple lesions.

I saw a neurologist and he explained that the main reasons for having brain lesions were previous cardiovascular events or MS. I have no known cardio events. At the time I wasn't having any of the major MS symptoms such as problems walking, losing sight, etc. He suggested I could have the spinal tap to check for MS but that it wasn't always conclusive. He also suggested to go into a waiting mode to see if anything new came up then to come back in and see him.

I also had another confirmation MRI done in fall 2013 and it confirmed the same lesions, but the comparison between the two showed no new ones.

Since then I've just gone ahead with life and been more or less ok until last fall. I started having episodes of feeling light headed and then I would get a racing heart beat and some palpitations, anxiety. These episodes seemed to happen randomly with no explanation. In the last few weeks they've become pretty much a daily occurrence and whatever physical symptoms may or may not be contributing to this, I'm apparently now into having panic attacks because of this, fun times.

I'm seeing my GP and he ordered the holter moniter test to rule out any hear rhythm problems(waiting for results) and gave me some .5 mg Ativan for the time being to just help get thru the day. I also have an appt to go back to my neuro but its a few weeks out.

So, my current symptoms besides the light headedness, racing heart, palpitations, feeling flush episodes which are probably from the panic attacks are: tinnitus, bladder issues(frequency), headaches on left side, feeling jittery a lot of the time, light headed but not vertigo, episodes of uncontrollable shaking/shivering, some coordination issues, while eating I frequently have food go down the wrong pipe and cough it out, arms feel like they get tired much faster than they should, neck/shoulder pain on left side, hot/cold flashes, some ED issues, vision has gotten much worse in the last few years(eye doctor says thats normal for my age), I sweat much easier/more than I should for the activity I'm doing(been like that for 10 or 15 years), I temporarily forget words that I should know (usually takes 30 seconds or a minute before it comes to me), unexplained sharp pains that will happen in a particular part of my body and then go away and then days or weeks later it will happen in a completely different spot.

Does the confirmation that I have brain lesions almost guarantee that I have or will have MS since I haven't had any cardio events(stroke/heart attack) that I know of?

Are these symptoms things that you guys deal with? A lot of them seem pretty mild compared to the things I've been reading on this site and others.

Are panic attacks common among people with MS? Not necessarily caused by MS but just because of the anxiety and stress of all the strange things happening to your body.

Thanks

jmh wrote:Does the confirmation that I have brain lesions almost guarantee that I have or will have MS since I haven't had any cardio events(stroke/heart attack) that I know of?

Welcome to ThisIsMS, jmh.

Lesions in the brain (and all your other symptoms) are common in many conditions. MS is only one possible cause for your symptoms; and the MS diagnosis can only be made after the other possibilities have been excluded or ruled out.

Your GP should begin by ordering blood tests: has he measured your vitamin D level? Has he ordered the initial 4 tests to determine your vitamin B12 status? (These tests include #1 a serum B12 test, #2 RBC folate test, #3 a serum homocysteine test, and #4 methylmalonic acid test.)

Either a vitamin D deficiency or a B12 deficiency can cause neurological symptoms; these vitamins are required by every cell in your body; they affect every system in the body. After your GP has ruled out these possibilities, there are other nutrient tests to be done, thyroid tests, liver tests, kidneys. Gluten sensitivity (celiac disease) can cause neurological symptoms – has he tested for this? There are many other possibilities – your GP needs to be a "disease detective."

By the way, request your own copy of any test results – it is important to have the actual test result numbers.

jmh wrote:I saw a neurologist and he explained that the main reasons for having brain lesions were previous cardiovascular events or MS.

This "either or" approach is flawed. Lyndacarol is correct in stating that many conditions can cause lesions. Others include vitamin B12 deficiency as well as migraines.

Thanks for the replies. I am working with my doctors to try and make headway with the most urgent current situation which is the racing heart beat and palpitations, most likely anxiety and panic attacks, but trying to rule out all the physical causes as well. Testing for the vitamin deficiencies is something that I haven't heard of, I've been trying to get a hold of my doctor all day to see if those were tested for in the most recent round of blood tests. I don't see them in the results. Thanks, again.

Hi jmh I'm a 56 year old male...I was diagnosed with M S 3 years ago. i'v had pretty much the same symptons you describe
I still get the palpitations from time to time. I get them in bed if i fall asleep and wake up real fast thats when they come. I'v told both my dr and neurologist it didn't seem to be a problem. The panic attacks their not fun!!! You don't know if the pain is causing the panic attack... or the panic attack is causing the pain!!! For Me being diagnosed with MS pretty much ended the panic attacks now i had a reason why all these different things are happening. Hang in there just by addressing the problem will help the anxity ..I'ts All Good you just have to learn to adapt as time goes forward!!!!!! Best Wishes...... Jef