Aerophagia & Multiple Sclerosis

I'm a 44 year old woman and have been diagnosed with MS for approx. ten years.  My prognosis was good as my first two attacks happenned about five years apart and were relativley mild.  1st numbness and tingling in my legs for three months with full recovery and the second attack was Optic Neuritis which lasted also about three months (this was the symptom that got me diagnosed).  I had a third attack of Optic Neuritis a few years ago with the same presentation and duration as the first attack of O.N.  

For the last four-five years I have been suffering from chronic pain.  I describe the pain like when one has a virus and the whole body aches-muscles, joints everything .  I have had this pain everyday for the last four or five years and have often told them "I feel toxic".  I have noticed this pain seems to be strongest at the center of my torso around my stomach and radiates out all over my body.  I hurt especially in the upper center of my back in the shoulder blades and sometimes in the front of my chest.  I had a zillion tests done and nothing was remarkable.  My neurologist said this was not a symptom of MS.  

About a year ago I started to notice some other changes.  My Optic N. is almost always present now (no-remitting) and really gets bad if I get very warm or stressed. Also, about a year ago, I started having some type of gastrointestinal problems.  Starting in Sept. 2007 I started feeling nauseous a lot and increasingly got worse for six months until by Feb., Mar. I thought I would have to stop working because I was becoming sick around the clock.  I had been seeing the gastroenterologist but they could not find anything wrong with me.  I lost 37 lbs. in these two months.  Weirdly, at the six month point I then noticed the symptoms were slowly starting to get better and in Aug. I had two unbelievable weeks with almost no pain or nausea.  I had completely forgotten what it felt like to feel this good.  This really proved to me how incredibly bad I have been feeling-I was shocked at the difference-like day & night.  At about two weeks of feeling great I woke-up one day and the nightmare started all over again only the pain and nausea were at an all-time high.  All this time the O.N was worse and pretty much constant.  I realized about a month ago that I've been having trouble swallowing for some time now but was ignoring it.  I don't have much trouble when eating, drinking or talking as would be typical with MS and concurred by researching the internet that I'm experiencing Aerophagia.  The gastro. doctor had me do a swallow test and I had very mild motility problems two out of six swallows didn't go down right.  I realized I am swallowing air pretty much everytime I swallow.  I can feel a little bubble like a pill go all the way to my stomach everytime I swallow.  Sometimes I can't swallow with my head tilted back even slightly.  I'm also beginning to have trouble getting pills down.  I couldn't get any answers from the doctors.  My neurologist took almost five days to return my call and said he doesn't know what to tell me.  I know Aerophagia is normally connected to stress but this just doesn't sit right with me.  I don't mind accepting symptoms as stress related but this symptom feels more neurological and is reeking such havoc on my body I don't know what to do or where to turn.  If an MS patient can have trouble swallowing in one way then why couldn't Aerophagia also be a symptom of MS?

[Dr. Daniel Kantor, MD]

Aerophagia and resulting eructation (belching burping) isa rare symptom of MS. In people taking glatiramer acetate (Copaxone(r)), it has been listed as a rare side effet.

Thank you,

Daniel Kantor, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology
Director, Comprehensive MS Center
University of Florida & Shands Jacksonville