The toe curling might very well be (I was JUST reading up on it, in fact!)

Thanks Anne, I just don't get these Doctors these days, and she is suppose to be a MS specialist. I just want answers, so tired of limbo land.

Well, the MRI's do subject us to radiation and nuclear medicine. I won't have them anymore than absolutely necessary. Most likely the toe cramping is part of the spasticity. The magnesium helps with this. I used to get some horrible toe craming and my calves used to about make me cry. Since I began with the magnesium citrate, I haven't had much of that at all. Several years now.

Hope this was something helpful. Be glad that your doctor is not quick to dole out testing and meds. Usually they are all out there pushing big pharma. I'm certain we really need more of a clean living regime than we do any additional tests and meds.

Hope you find some relief for the toe curling - I know it can be awful. If you try the magnesium, remember, the citrate or malate or citrate/malate type is recommended by the doctors and., you start off gradually. 200 mg between lunch and dinner, 200 at bed time, and give that about a week, then increase it gradually, mabe 200 mg more in the morning for a week and so on.

Thanks Lorrie, I will look into that. I'm just sick of no diagnosis, not knowing what is wrong is worse than the diagnosis itself to me. I'm just soooo tired of waiting to find out. (((hugs)))

there is no correlation between symptoms and how many lesions you have.
there are some people with tones of lesions and hardly any symptoms then there are people like me who have few and great disability.
so they only do mri's (there is no radiation from them according to my doc) once a yr or two.
they track and treat symptoms in between.
My doc said if you have symptoms you have symptoms.
you may or may not have new lesions
and you may have new lesions without symptoms.
so they only get so much info from them

I see a MS specialist that is the way they explain it to me.
having the symptoms you describe is MS have spastic muscles hands and feet.
beclophen can help for the muscle tightness
for the muscle that spasms the toes under
tegertol or gabapenten helps
I have the same symptoms but in my hands and that is what my MS specialist put me on
I would ask you doc about it.
I hope this info helps
my thoughts are with you
Kayce

Thanks Kayce, I agree with everything you said, my problem is that I'm still looking for a diagnosis, I can't get treatment without it. (((hugs)))

I totally understand where you are coming from. My neuro was oh it's just fibro. Then it's ms. Then you are a head case. Then I find out he had the mid done wrong, it was supposed to be brain and spine with and without contrast, and it wasn't, wasnt and now I'm supposed to go for a Neuro-psych eval. Oh, and I was also supposed to have a l.p. done too and it hasn't even been scheduled because he thinks its all in my head.
I had a follow up with my primary and she's furious because I'm getting worse and even without a properly done mri and l.p., she's 90% sure it's ms. I got more out of my primary in 15 minutes than several visits with him. Now I'm having trouble lifting my legs and walking , moving my head and generally walking, and she thinks its in my spine. She gave me a list today of neuros to look over and told me shed send a referal to whoever I choose.

Hi Mix, it is so frustrating isn't it? When I had my first MRI of the brain with and without contrast, the Doctor brought me into his room and showed me the pictures of the lesions, I asked him what they could be and his only answer was MS, now the other Doctor says no. Way to get me all confused guys geesh. All I know is that I'm suffering with strange and painful symptoms and it is narrowed down to MS or Fibro or both. Not enough tender points for Fibro the Rheumy said, and my lesions are old, they didn't light up on contrast so no MS. LOL...I guess I'm not a text book case. It's a shame.(((hugs)))

Bon, what a mess! I know how frustrating it is. I am still waiting, too. It's so hard because you have symptoms that could be treated, and everything you read says that MS does best when treated early. Well, it would be nice for Doctors to actually be interested in finding out if it is MS or not and getting it done quickly so that you don't end up with symptoms that could have been prevented or treated earlier. Such a pain.

I'm going to a university hospital to see the neuros there since my neuro said I just have "headaches" (yes, headaches definitely would cause clonus in my ankle!! lol despite the fact that I very rarely have a headache) I go the end of april so hopefully I will end up with someone that will be willing to look into what is wrong with me.

Are you able to get referred to a teaching hospital by your primary care?

Wendy, It is a mess! Well, I guess she decided to give me that referral anyway lol, do I have a schizophrenic neuro? Now I can get that new MRI, and see if there are any changes, and then I will be taking all my CD'S and notes to a new Neuro. (((hugs)))

about toe curling, you probably got tested to see if you had a babinski reflex, they run something along the sole of your feet, and your toes should curl then fan out.

if its abnormal, it means that you might have a nervous system disorder.

so if it's occurring on its own, that means a signal is being sent to your foot for a stimulus that never actually happened.

there are two types of lesions. gray matter, and white matter. ms is mostly diagnosed by white matter lesions, but gray matter lesions definitely happen in ms too. if your neuro isnt an ms specailist, i would try and see one because ms is still a possibility, even though they usually diagnose by white matter lesions if that makes sense

Thanks Malina, My lesions are frontal lobe white matter lesions. The Neuro I went to is a MS specialist. I'm getting a new MRI on Friday and going to take it to a different Neuro.

Malina, Here is what the report says: A moderate number of 5 mm and smaller focal high T2/FLAIR signal changes are seen predominantly in the frontal lobe involving the subcortical, deep and periventricular white matter bilaterally. Focal 1.7 cm mucoperiosteal thickening is seen in the posterior left maxillary antrum.

I have to apologize for my comment on here for anyone worried about MRI and radiation. Chrissy mentioned to me that her doctor said there was not any significant effect from the scan, no radiation to speak of. I checked that out just now and it seems to be the concensus. So, it appears that are no worries to speak of with the scans that I can find at the moment. Sorry if I mislead anyone there.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Risks/Benefits
MRI does not use ionizing radiation (high-energy radiation that can potentially cause damage to DNA, like the x-rays used CT scans).

There are no known harmful side-effects associated with temporary exposure to the strong magnetic field used by MRI scanners. However, there are important safety concerns to consider before performing or undergoing an MRI scan:

The magnet may cause pacemakers, artificial limbs, and other implanted medical devices that contain metal to malfunction or heat up during the exam.
Any loose metal object may cause damage or injury if it gets pulled toward the magnet.
If a contrast agent is used, there is a slight risk of an allergic reaction. MRI contrast agents can cause problems in patients with significant kidney disease.
Dyes from tattoos or tattooed eyeliner can cause skin or eye irritation.
Medication patches can cause a skin burn.
The wire leads used to monitor an electrocardiogram (ECG) trace or respiration during a scan must be placed carefully to avoid causing a skin burn.
Prolonged exposure to radio waves during the scan could lead to slight warming of the body.

http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/MedicalImaging/ucm200086.htm

I am like Lorri I worry about this stuff. While there may be no ionzing radiation there are huge magnets and I swear for a year after I have one I rip thru batteries like they are going out of style. My watch stops working, my mouse on my computer needs new batteries every week, and my hand held game controllers need recharge every couple of hours. I too worry about what long term effects so much dye has on our kidneys, brains, and circulatory systems.

right...toe curling. This could be several things. Magnesium, potassium or muscle fatigue. A banana should help or mag rich foods.

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/ for mag foods

http://www.algaecal.com/research/potassium-foods-list/ for Pot foods.

an epsom salt bath in warm water should help as well.

Building up your muscle strength thru gentle exercise like yoga or stretching should help release some of the lactic acid built up in your muscles. http://www.livestrong.com/lactic-acid-muscles/

This also CAN be an MS thing from the babinsky reflex. it would be rare for both feet to be involved, but if you have 2 lesions, it can happen.

I hope you feel better.