This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hello,

I was recently diagnosed with MS during the month of July but believe I have had the disease for 10 years. The first occurrence happened in October of 1998. One morning I awoke with a completely numb right hand. Then, the numbness had spread up my arm down to my waist and then right leg. I lost total mobility and control of my right arm to the point where I was unable to do simple tasks such as brush my teeth or brush my hair. I learned how to use my left arm (obviously, I'm right-handed) thus, I have gained an added skill. I am ambidextrous! Anyhow, to continue, I had a CAT scan done that didn't show anything out of the ordinary. I had blood tests and everything was fine. I had an appointment with a neurologist but at the time did not have any health benefits so when I regained feeling on the right side of the body after a few months, I canceled the appointment. I thought perhaps I was bit by a spider because I had gone camping prior to this first occurrence. Then, I was fine for seven years. My husband and I purchased our first home down south Jersey. The numbness started again, on and off, each year, particularly in my feet. I went to the doctor about this. He thought maybe Lyme Disease because of the area. I went for blood tests and they turned out negative. I didn't do anything further. Then, I progressively experienced debilitating fatigue in the early afternoons where I just could not do my work. I would run to the Ladies Room at work and cry because I could not understand why I felt this way. I just couldn't move or concentrate. (This still happens to me everyday. I could feel it coming on, surrounding my head and me like a blanket. It eventually goes away by the early evening.) Also, I started to lose my balance when standing and would exerience vertigo. (This also still occurs and seems to be getting progressively worse.) My legs and back felt like they were on fire and burning certain days. (Still happens too.) I couldn't understand this and thought I was a freak! Finally, one day I heard on TV about a celebrity experiencing similar symptoms. This person was diagnosed with MS. I never knew what MS was. I'd heard of it, but didn't understand it. I finally researched this and went to the doctor. He sent me for a brain MRI, blood tests and a spinal tap. And, lo and behold, here I am. I never realized that I was not alone in this. I thought that there was no possible way that anyone could be feeling like I am. This is just too bizarre! But, now I know what MS is.

Wishing all of you lots of health and happiness.

Bewitched
Age: 40
Occupation: Regulatory Affairs, a chemical company (Hmmm! Maybe, that's why?)

hi tabi, sorry you have to join us here but it's the right place! hope you get the best answers you can

Hello Jimmyleggs,

Frow what I have read, you are a vitamin guru. I need your assistance/advice. I am suffering from major critical fatigue that is really interfering with my work. I love my work and am a very ambitious person; however, the MS fatigue is really killing me. I can't take it anymore. I can't do my job. My position is critical and I need to work. I can't keep awake. I go into almost a narcoleptic state where I cannot move. I've almost fallen out of my chair numerous times. It is really depressing. I refuse to take any Class A or B drugs. I think I take care of myself very well with a low-fat, low-sodium diet. I work out on the Bowflex (I haven't done so in two months because of all the testing that I have had to go through to rule out other causes). This has become my WORST complaint about MS. Can you offer any advice on what vitamins I can take to bring up my energy level? I currently take Vitamin B12 (I do not have a deficiency), Calcium (because I am 40), and Vitamin D (because it is good for you amongst other MS and Calcium benefits). Help?

awwwwwww shucks!
okay i will get into more detail later, but take a b-complex with your b12 (b6 and b12 work together well for antistress), and try magnesium for the fatigue. good food sources are the dark leafy greens, and nuts/seeds. also potassium is a help to mag absorption. try 250mg mag citrate to start then see if you can up it to 500mg. or even 750. take the 250 at bedtime to start. and i hope you like bananas, have one a day for the potassium to cooperate with the mag or you can try apricots, raisins, etc.. (i can't stand bananas lol)
as you up the magnesium dosage, watch out for the poops.
how are you sleeping at night? what time of day do you take your b12?
i am curious about your dietary intakes.. if you want to, pm me with a diet diary, say sample four week days and two weekend days over a two week period, might show up some intake deficiencies..
welcome again, hope we can sort you out a bit tell me about your job? sounds stressy, makes ppl pee out minerals, ie magnesium...

Thanks! I will take the magnesium into consideration. I love bananas and all kinds of fruit! I am almost vegan. I say this because I do eat meat about once a month. I love lobster and steak. But, seriously, I only eat vegetables and fruits and grains. I do not eat any dairy products at all. It has nothing to do with animals or PETA. I chose this because I think this is a very healthy way of living. I do not believe that this has contributed to MS. My MS has enoyed my company for a couple of years. I do have concerns that I may be malnuritied (can't spell it right now).

P.S. My job is HIGHLY stressful! I work for a chemical company. I have to analyze every product we put out into the market (the global market) and make sure that it complies with that country. I work with the EPA and DEA and every other country government regulation in the WORLD. I am gone about 12 hours a day from home. My husband is gone about 16. Our lifestyle is hectic! I really, really can't take it anymore.

hey there! have you read anywhere yet, that i was a vegan for 15 years? i'm pretty convinced malnutrition led to my ms. i revised my eating habits drastically since dx. now i try to eat a much wider variety of foods and not too much of any one thing. i have been found deficient in iron, b12, and zinc, low in d3, and spot on the ms average for uric acid. magnesium supplements have made a massive difference to my quality of life, although i have no lab test that backs it up (well i have a lab result but i didn't know what test to order when i asked for my magnesium level, so i didnt get rbc mag, and therefore my results are sort of meaningless). hope you can find some way to work out a less hectic life bw! those do sound like loooong days.