undiagnosed and constant knee muscle weakness

[weakknees]

Hello,

I am a non caucasian non smoking/drinking male in my fourties and I have been struggling with a sudden feeling of muscle weakness in both my knees for two years now.
Little history: Since 2012 I am taking a low dose medication for my hypothyroidism after dealing with chest discomfort. The discomfort went away and medication is doing fine for me. In Fall 2013 I developed bladder pain. Not sure where it came from, but it stayed with me for 6 weeks. No pain with peeing (rather felt like a relief, but pain came back once peeing was done), just general pain and urge to go more than normal. Antibiotics did not work, a CT scan revealed nothing and the Urologist could not fins anything. Once it somehow left, it never came back. In May 2014 i started to have tingling/prickling and skin numbness in my left arm. It started suddenly in my left hand and traveled upwards to my neck and lower left face, back and forth. No general numbness or loss of power, just tingling and the feeling that patches of my skin "weren't there". No pain. I did my usual stuff as ever and after 3 weeks it subsided. Everything was normal again. In December of 2014, I developed headaches above my sinuses, more specific above my right eyeball. I also had pain inside my right eyeball. No loss of vision. Doc prescribed medication, headache went away, eyeball pain stayed for weeks, then left and came off and on. Went to eyedoc, he examined, took an optomap but everything was deemed fine. In March 2015, 9 months after first episode of tingling, it came back. It started exactly the same way and repeated all over for about 2 weeks. Around March 10 I woke up at night with a "sensation of weakness" originating from tailbone, slowly flowing into both my legs and stopped at my knees. From there, the sensation went away. There was no pain, just a very weird feeling of "momentarily paralysis". Next morning woke up and did my usual things. Tingling etc was all gone. Few days later, March 16, I was at work and without any warning as I was walking, my knees got attacked as it felt like, with a sudden muscle weakness. Both knees at the same time. It was like if suddenly you lose 20% of your muscle strength of both your knees and that the same time. No pain. This weakness has stayed with me ever since; over 2 years now. Sometimes I feel better in the evening, but next morning it is always back. Temperature and weather does not influence. I feel it as a permanent knee weakness that is never gonna go away.... Neurologist tested me twice in a year McDonald criteria but couldn't find anything specific. Evoked potentials, one MRI and EMG came clean. Neuro doesn't know and says I am suffering from "good" health. I am in the pipeline for developing something like ms sometime? I tried multi vitamins, B12, potassium supplements, extra exercises, nothing makes the weakness go away. I am worried. Any input is welcome. There is no family history of ms. Thank you

[jimmylegs]

hi sorry to hear. were your nutritional efforts based on lab findings, or more independent guesswork? how much of each did you take and for how long? although it's not the only possibility of course, when my knees used to give out it was pure b12 deficiency, lab documented, and at first reversible.

[weakknees]

No, my bloodwork all came ok. The nutritional efforts were suggested by doc and family member. I would call it "guesswork" because nobody can give me a reasonable explanation what's going on. I wish my bloodwork would show some kind of deficiency... But no, nothing has shown up.

[jimmylegs]

uninformative test results are often a problem with the range settings. if you post your info we can potentially offer some useful input. i'm curious why you tried things, if the tests said nothing. and stlll curious, in addition to the results, what doses forms timing and duration of supplements you attempted to implement. also curious if you've been referred to a dietitian at all. sometimes a seemingly healthy diet has some gaps that a pro can help you identify. on that note some of user zyklon's topic might interest you.

[Snoopy]

Hi weakknees,

I am unsure what you mean by attack to your Knees and knee weakness. Could you explain further? There are different muscle groups that support the knee, it is always possible you're not be working all muscle groups that support the knee. You could try working with a Physical Therapist to see if that makes any difference. True knee weakness will cause the leg/knee to buckle with a possibility of falls.

Multiple Sclerosis is not a disease of joints which includes the knee. What MS can do is cause spasticity (muscle spasms, stiffness, pain) and if the stiffness and muscle contractions are bad enough MS can cause the muscles to be pulled to the point of knee pain. Leg weakness can be common in those with MS and a knee buckling or giving out is common. This is due to the muscles supporting the knee being weak for many, Physical Therapy can help, it's also true for people who don't have MS.

Weakness in MS isn't just something we feel but can be detected by a Neurologist during exam/evaluation. How was you Neurological exam/evaluation?

You said you had a MRI, what MRIs did you have, Brain, spine, or both? If you only had the brain done you might talk to your Dr. about the spine. MS is a disease of the Central Nervous System(CNS) which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves, lesions can and do show up anywhere within the CNS. A spine MRI would also be helpful for diagnosing a back problem such as bulging/herniated disc, degenerative disc disease and more. Back problems can cause Neurological symptoms.

[weakknees]

My MRI was of my head and spine, with and without contrast. It came clear, whatever was seen in my head did not meet criteria for ms. I trust my Neuro as he is a good friend of my dear family members. As far as diet is concerned, er have a dietitian in the family and I believe my food intake is ok.
What I mean by "attack on my knees" is that one second, my knee muscles are at full strength (as it has always been) and the next second, I feel like 20% loss of strength. I can still do everything, but it just take a little more effort. It was like all of the sudden, you V6 engine has been replaced by a weaker 4 cylinder....This weakness started without warning, just like that and in both knees at the same time. The reason why I cleared the McDonalds criteria is because I still have sufficient power to do things. But my muscle strength at my knees is just not the same.