Does this sound like an MS symptom

[carrie235]

Hello,
I've been on here before but am again worried.  I've been diagnosed with Lyme through Igenex but still being monitored for MS at UCSF because of a ton of lesions on my brain (but negative for MS so far).

Anyway, I've been doing pretty good but the last few days I seem to be having something going on.  Today, my eyes felt as though the muscles were pulling my eyeballs up if that makes any sense.  It really scared me and then I felt really dizzy for just a minute after that.  I still don't feel completely right however, I'm able to continue working.  

At times, I will feel just my right eye pull like that but never both of them and it was bad today...oey

Thank you and I hope to hear from someone!!!!  as I'm kindof freaking out right now.

[jensequitur]

Lyme disease symptoms are often confused with MS symptoms. but there's a real difference between Lyme disease and multiple sclerosis. The appearance of the lesions is different, as is their placement in the brain. If your neurologist at UCSF thinks you do not have Lyme disease, he's probably right.

However, just off the top of my head (no Googling, I swear!) and without knowing your medical history, I would say that eye symptoms are more indicative of MS than Lyme. The parts of the brain, spinal cord, and white matter that are closest to the vascular spaces (blood flow) tend to be affected by MS first. Optic neuritis is a common first MS symptom.

One of my very first MS symptoms was a weird and crazy shake in my eye - it made it look like the room was spinning, but really my eyes were just flicking back and forth. Later I found that this is called nystagmus, which is an action tremor. Every time I tried to focus on something, my eye would shake back and forth. The only way to look at something was to try not to look at it too hard.

An eye pulling sensation could be a sign of clonus, which is another muscular problem caused by neurological damage. I get this in my legs and back. Sometimes I'll try to stretch my legs or back, and the leg will seize up and stay straight, and not want to relax.

[carrie235]

Hi JJ.

Thank you.  I do know that it could be a flair however, I still have my doubts as to whether I truly have lyme disease and not something else (as many of us do) especially given that many doctors don't believe that chronic lyme exists.  In-fact, my neuro at UCSF told me at my last year appointment "you do NOT have lyme disease!!!" and he was adamant about it.

So, I hope you can understand my frustration.  I only went off my meds for about a week or two before restarting.  I've been on constant treatment for several years now and my tummy is paying for it.

Just frustrated.

Thanks.

[supermum_ms]

Hey Carrie,

Take a deep breath......

Your anxiety started up again, around the same time as your latest Lyme fare up over a month ago and you've since started treatment again, right? Please consider the possibility, that your anxiety and fears of having MS worsens in tandem with the Lyme disease, and your cycle of doubts, sx's etc are interconnected to the treatment and or the Lyme disease itself.

Take a deep breath.......

There is no need to panic! It definitely doesn't help and will often just make everything seem worse than it other wise would, if you weren't so frightened. When you find your calm, contact your doctor and explain what's going on, including the point that your eye sight is not effected, the brief dizzy sensation etc. The alternative would be to make an appointment with a ophthalmologist or optomitrist, because there could still be a visual issue going on, even if your actual vision hasn't changed.

Hugs...........JJ
  

[carrie235]

I should add that I did not have any change in vision...just a very strong pulling sensation in both eyes....Felt like they were being pulled upwards...