Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Support Group
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Hi I'm 35 years old and I have been on a Roller Coaster ride with symptoms for the past 4 years. I remember exactly the very first symptoms. Every night I would get a horrible burning pain in my legs, severe dizziness, numbness and tingling in my feet and hands followed. A host of other symptoms followed. I've always been a high anxiety person so I started having severe anxiety and panic attacks because of worrying so much. I also felt tired and fatigued a lot. I went for all the testing , MRI, nerve tests, blood tests etc. Everything normal. I changed my eating habits lost weight after a while the symptoms although never completely went away seemed more manageable. Things got horribly worse starting with an unexpected pregnancy and birth of my daughter last year. Anxiety, panic, unbearable dizziness and a diagnosis of tachycardia left me bed ridden the last 2 mo. Of my pregnancy. Since her birth I live with daily fatigue, dizziness, random tingling, tinnitus, and now the most scary , short term memory loss. I've had an MRI, spinal tap and tons upon tons of blood work in the last year. I see no other logical explanation than MS! The neurologist I saw said that if it was MS and MRI would have shown by now. I've seen several doctors and no one can diagnose anything at all wrong! I feel hopeless and sometimes wonder if it's all in my head but I know something is wrong! Can anyone offer any advice on what I should do next and do you agree I would have been diagnosed by now? Thank you :)
I am sorry you are going through all of this. Before you can obtain a MS diagnosis from your doctor they have to rule out all other diseases.
Lupus - with ANA test and gets worse in SUNLIGHT (not heat)
B12 cell level deficiency
Lyme's disease
High levels of toxic metals
ALS, etc
If all else is ruled out then docs use MRIs with & without contrast of both the C-spine & brain, OCT scan, etc to look into MS diagnosis.
The part where you are getting worse after your pregnancy brings up a few things. Progesterone and Estroil are high in pregnancy (research shows they can be neuroprotective)and decline rapidly afterward. Plus if you have high levels of inflammation you need more cortisol....pulled from progesterone therefore you have less of this hormone.
Low levels of magnesium can also contribute towards low progesterone. Low levels of calming progesterone can make one anxious. If you have low levels of magnesium this can also contribute toward low thyroid function (symptoms mental fog, constipation,etc).
High levels of stress and inflammation can be more root cause of the above.
Best wishes to you,
EP
PS I hope your baby is healthy
A second neuro looked at the exact same MRI and said, "Oh yes, I see white flashes on here." He did MRIs with and w/o contrast, and then did a spinal tap to confirm. And my pcp treated each symptom in a vacuum and never put them all together.
As for the pregnancy, I have heard that symptoms subside during pregnancy. If you got worse during your pregnancy, perhaps it really is something else. You just have to find the right doctor who will diagnose you properly. It can be a long and frustrating process. I wish you all the best.