This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi there.

I´ve joined the board today only after spending a few weeks reading some information in here and i would like to ask you about the symptoms i´m having.

I´m not diagnosed with MS yet, and i really hope never but it looks like there is something going on.

So my history started in November 2007 with double vision. I´ve gone first to the oftamologist to check what this was and he sent me to the neurologist.
The neurologist made me do a TAC but nothing was found.

I was pleased with the TAC being normal but i wasn´t confident and so i went to the throat and ear specialist. I was also feeling a little lack of balance like some vertigo but nothing major.
He made me do an MRI to my brain and ears but again everything normal.

The diplopia still remained and this was in January but i was slowly recovering from it.

I also did an electroencefalography that came out normal again.

So at the moment the diplopia has gone but i´m now feeling balance issues. It´s an odd feeling that something isn´t right with my walking.
I don´t fall or anything and don´t need to use a cane or furniture to grab myself but it feel that something isn´t right.
It looks like my legs block or that i´m walking in cotton.

My family doctor told me that this might be anxiety and stress since i have a very stressefull and active life. My job is very stressefull and i also study at night in the university and workout at the gym and that keeps me very busy and may well be the problem like my doctor told me.

Anyway i´ve tried to rest more but this odd symptom still persists. I also feel internal tremors inside me when i´m resting.

This symptoms are happening from 3 weeks now but i can´t get an answer.

I was told that when people with MS have balance issues means falling. I can walk, run ,jump, dance and do alot of heavy leg exercices while at the gym that i don´t fall.

Have any of you felt this?

It´s really strange having diplopia, internal tremors and balance problems(if they really are balance probs) because of stress.

I admit this past months have been very hard for me with all this thinking i might have MS along with work, university but i never know my body might answer this way.

Fab wrote: My family doctor told me that this might be anxiety and stress since i have a very stressefull and active life. My job is very stressefull and i also study at night in the university and workout at the gym and that keeps me very busy and may well be the problem like my doctor told me.


.

Fab,

The only comment I have for you is that you should run away from ANY doctor that decided your problems are due to stress. This is doctor talk for "I have no idea what is wrong with this guy".

gwa

She´s actually been pretty cool with me and gave this opinion on all the results of the exams i made.

Monday i will go back to the neurologist to see what he says about this.

Once again (as I do so-o-o many times!) I agree with GWA when she said

Fab,

The only comment I have for you is that you should run away from ANY doctor that decided your problems are due to stress. This is doctor talk for "I have no idea what is wrong with this guy".

gwa

I wish I could say things as well as she does!

I've had the "It's stress go home and sleep" from a neurologist. Fun fun. His reply to me asking that he do an MRI was "I wouldn't know what to look for". LMAO.

Few months later, different neuro, diagnosed with MS.

gwa wrote:
Fab,

The only comment I have for you is that you should run away from ANY doctor that decided your problems are due to stress. This is doctor talk for "I have no idea what is wrong with this guy".

gwa

^^^Good advice. I was convinced I could go into one of my neurologists with an ax in my head and she would say "anxiety".

Fab wrote:She´s actually been pretty cool with me and gave this opinion on all the results of the exams i made.

Monday i will go back to the neurologist to see what he says about this.

I stand by my original post. You will get smart like the rest of us here after you have aged some more.

So this doctor has told you that all of your symptoms are due to stress since she can't figure out the test results? Run away, young man, run away.

gwa

Have you ever heard of Lyme disease, it mimics MS and most of your symptoms are very common in Lyme!

haha axe in head, that was a true LOL

so anyway, while i agree that stress (of both the employment and athleticism variety) can have health consequences, definitely keep up your quest for answers!

as an athlete i imagine you pay a fair amount of attention to nutrition (not the whole picture of course but surely a fundamental component of health... seeing as without food, we die and all) but i'll post a few ideas up here for future readers just in case it's useful to someone down the road:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_q ... 14028/pg_2

Nutritional deficiencies are sometimes overlooked as a cause of fatigue. An athlete is going to perceive the effects of anemia, low magnesium, low sodium or low potassium that would go unnoticed by someone who is not stressing her body to the same degree.
One swimmer dove into the pool for her first race of a meet and immediately felt that the muscles in her arms were not responding. She found herself struggling to complete races in which she ordinarily challenged for the lead. Yet she did not feel sick and had just completed a good week of practice. A blood test revealed low magnesium, which is necessary to produce ATP the energy source for muscles.
Liebowitz says if the athlete feels tired or weak as soon as she hits the water, a metabolic abnormality like low magnesium may be the culprit. While a well-balanced diet should provide all the vitamins and minerals the average person needs, athletes should probably take vitamin and mineral supplements daily. Athletes should check with a sports nutritionist for the recommended amount of vitamin and mineral supplements, as the athlete's needs can be greater than the average person's, but too much of some substances can be harmful.
In addition to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, athletes may find they have less energy because they are not replacing carbohydrates immediately after a long, hard workout. While the use of diet to enhance athletic performance can be complicated-and controversial-many experts believe that ingesting carbohydrates soon after a workout can convert carbohydrates to muscle faster and minimize even normal post-workout fatigue.
Other nutritional-related causes of fatigue can include inadequate fluid replacement after a hard workout or on a hot day; hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, which is sometimes brought on by a diet high in sugar; an inadequate vegetarian diet; or caffeine withdrawal in the person who suddenly decides to give up "the Dew."

http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C76343.html
Levels of zinc and other trace minerals were determined in 66 men before and after a five-day period of sustained physical and psychological stress. Zinc levels decreased by 33% on average.

It has been observed that those suffering with any of the auto-immune diseases (such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis); atopic problems (allergy, eczema, asthma or migraine); or many of the inflammatory diseases (such as osteo-arthritis, ME or irritable bowel syndrome), have a consistent, and often severe, zinc deficiency, which is greatly benefited by a programme of zinc replacement therapy.

(nb. i am currently working to correct a confirmed zinc deficiency... let me get the file out... zinc level 8.6, "normal" range 11.5-18.5)

http://www.krispin.com/magnes.html#Losses
The following substances and conditions reduce total body magnesium

* Alcohol- all forms cause significant losses
* Amphetamines/Cocaine
* Burns- with large surface area
* Calcium- high levels block magnesium absorption
* Carbohydrates- especially white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour
* Chronic pain- any cause
* Coffee- significant losses
* Cyclosporin- extra magnesium can protect from side-effects
* Diabetes- magnesium spills with sugar in the urine
* Diarrhea- any cause
* Dieting- stress plus lowered intake
* Diuretics- even potassium sparing diuretics do not spare magnesium
* Insulin- whether from using insulin or from hyperinsulinemia
* Over-training- extreme athletic physical conditioning/training
* Phentermine / Fenfluramine
* Sodas- especially cola type sodas, both diet and regular
* Sodium- high salt intake
* Stress- physical and mental- anything that gets your fight or flight reaction
* Surgery
* Sweat

ps. i got these links just from a basic google search on athletes deficiencies. there's more about iron and so on but this post is already nice and lengthy :S

DIM wrote:Have you ever heard of Lyme disease, it mimics MS and most of your symptoms are very common in Lyme!

Yes, i´ve heard about it but i didn´t have any part of my body swollen and didn´t noticed a big red mark which is caused by a bug in the past months or since i started feeling this strange symptoms.

I also checked the Lyme symptoms and only the diplopia was common.

I first thought that this was caused by the amount of time i spend in front of the computer but now with this unsteadiness i´m having it seems it may be something else.

jimmylegs i admit my fruit and vegetables intake isn´t at pair with what i may need for me to keep up with this daily rythm...i don´t have much time to have a balanced diet also.

I don´t feel tired or something but maybe this is my body telling me to slow down.

Monday i will go back to the neuro to check more answers

if you have a receptive GP, you may want to ask for say, quarterly tests for some of the more common athlete/nutrition issues...

http://track.athletics.dal.ca/Nutritionalguidelines.htm
Common nutrient deficiencies in athletes:
- iron, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B12, calcium

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/conten ... 297~db=all
Strenuous bouts of prolonged exercise and heavy training are associated with depressed immune cell function. Furthermore, inadequate or inappropriate nutrition can compound the negative influence of heavy exertion on immunocompetence. Dietary deficiencies of protein and specific micronutrients have long been associated with immune dysfunction. An adequate intake of iron, zinc and vitamins A, E, B6 and B12 is particularly important for the maintenance of immune function, but excess intakes of some micronutrients can also impair immune function and have other adverse effects on health

Ok, i went to the Neuro this morning and he told me to rest a bit and to take an anti-depressant called Cipralex.
I already was planning to take Cipralex which my family doctor (i think you call GP in your country) prescribed but didn´t take it because i prefered to recover through other means (doing sport, resting more etc)

I spoke with the neuro about the balance issues and he told me that he already got people complaining about these kind of issues (the balance, the double vision) and they were persons who were very tired but that didn´t noticed how tired they were but it was nothing serious.

He also told me about alot of people that work in an airport had the same complaints and since i work in a airport and my job is pretty stressefull i want to believe that this is nothing serious.

I will take the Cipralex and go back to him when i finish this box to see if there is an effect or not.