ms or not?? what should i do?

[sally456]

Dr.:
need an expert opinion; obsessed with ms. I am female.. 39 in Apr. It started at age 21 with a bladder infection. Took anti-biotics. It went away. Shortly after, bladder was not the same. It felt like I had to go all the time, when I voided it sometimes still felt i had to go. Went to urologists..no one found anything. Went to neurologist he did brain/SPine MRI's. this was when i was 24. Tests were normal. One babinski relfes was found.(he scrapped the bottom of my foot rather hard though).Then went to Dr. Miller ms specialist at Columbia presbyterian. At this point my only symptom was the bladder, however anxiety from ms fears caused me to have tingling, arms falling asleep at night, burning sensations, strange sensations of crawling or dripping under skin all over body.  Never had these before. Dr. miller did  exam, spinal tap and blood work. All normal and he said i didnt have ms.  Took months to get over,still thought i had it, finally symptoms of tingling etc. went away.  Righta after birth of first child,bladder symptoms subsided age 27. Since then, ive hardly had an bladder problems. 5 years ago, i woke up to vision distortions and since then left pupil larger than right. More so in dim light, vision is streaky in both eyes when i wave hand in front of face. have many floaters for many years, hundreds & when i look closely they look like sperm swimming fast.Also at 23  had chicken pox. After a week vision was cloudy in 1 eye, dr said it was from the virus ..ms specialist said that could be true. Does my history suggest ms?
what should i do? Im scared of ms.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-PW]

I cannot give you a clinical diagnosis over the internet, so my advice is limited for educational purposes

Your history or tests as you describe do not suggest MS - the highest incidence of MS is in a persons 20s, so if you have not developed any firm evidence of MS at this point, you are even less likely to do so.

I do not know what testing you had for your visual episode - even if you did have optic neuritis most poeple do not go oon to develop MS, especially with a normal MRI.

I would try and not focus so much on a disease that you have little evidence of having to date - its not good for your health!

[Chlyman]

Hi Sally456,

I have had a numb toe tip for years!  Then is the last year developed paresthesia on one side of my body, then in June allergies, October muscle pain that comes and goes, December digestive trouble, then last week had episode with blurred vison and large pupil for an evening.  A lifetime of anxiety!  Right now it is really bad, so I know what you are going through!  I also had negative mri and lumbar puncture, and I am pretty sure that rules out ms.  I know anxiety can cause a lot of symptoms.  I think the medical field does not understand a lot of things that happen to the human body.  It is so complex.  It may be one of those things that is never explained and learning how to live with the uncertainty is not easy!  Good Luck!
Carolyn

[johnflox]

If you have taken cipro, levaquin, tequin or other fluoroquinolone antibiotics during all these years of continous bladder infections, you might be suffering an ongoing drug reaction with successive relapses that typically show up some months after every new round of pills. All the symptoms fit well but it could be anything else, so you have to discard first a toxic reaction, or hypersensitivity as doctors usually call it.
In any case anxiety, stress and anguish exacerbate a lot the symptoms.

[sally456]

thank you so much for your comments..i really appreciate hearing from somone going through my pain as well.  
I tell myself sometimes, ok, if you're still pretty much ok in 5 or 7 years...then you probably dont have it..what a way to live, huh?

What are you doing about your anxieties..? I am going to start therapy soon..i am on effexor, but i think i have to increase the dosage. and some days i forget to take it....

So after reading my post, what is your unprofessional opinion...?  you think its all anxiety related??? i hope the forum doctor agrees with you....

Thanks again. it made me feel much better.

[sally456]

thanks for responding..i have not taken anti-biotics for a long time, but did take alot of cipro back then...also when i went to a urologist about 7 years ago, every time he tested my urine there was a microscopic amt. of blood found...i guess its nothing because they did look inside my bladder to test me for a thing called interstitual cystitis and that too was negative.
thanks for your help.....

[sally456]

sorry, forgot to mention, tip of one toe on left foot is always a bit numb. And i believe i may have slight hearing loss..whenever i swallow my eyes make a cliking sound as well. Its been 18 years since onset of symptoms..i feel normal most of the time. I was working out doing nautilus equiptment and eliptical without any problems 3x a week, until i started focusing on ms again and became depressed. Ive been under severe stress (marital problems) for 2 and a half mos. and it brought on the tingling, burning in back of legs, crawling itching sensations once again. ONe other thing, had car accident at age 17. broke left ankle, had plate and screws put in, since taken out, however dr. broke drill bit when talking out screws and couldnt retrieve a piece of it. It is still in my leg..didnt know if this has anything to do with it or not.
Sorry its so long, but i am desperate for help.
i just wanted to know if it sounds like i have ms, does it sound mild, and can you have a mild case for life?
Thanks so much for helping me.

[johnflox]

You might consider having a look to the site
www.fluoroquinolones.org (not commercial, non profit org) in order to discard your reaction to the medicine.

[sally456]

Hi john..I went to the website and read through most of it...Its very interesting.. i have to go back and read it again.,It could very well be my problem..since my tests for ms were negative...

I know that I was given alot of cipro by differerent doctors and it never helped my "bladder problems".
I could have been given others, but i just remember the name cipro.

thanks for your help...you seem to be really up on all of this neuro stuff...I have to stop concentrating on ms..its driving me insane.

[zzzzzzzzzz]

Hi Sally. Well done for getting your question posted! Did you have to sit at the computer refreshing the page every few minutes? I was starting to wonder if thats what it would take!
Speaking as someone who admittedly got a little (OK - alot) obsessed with MS, I actually got to see a real live highly reputable Neurologist the other day - had to pay through the nose for it but I'm so glad I did! As you'll remember from my posts, I have classic MS symptoms, so I expected he'd want to do a spinal tap, evoked potentials and another MRI at least. But no. He Threw a few things into the mix that I hadn't considered.
He said, quite emphaticly, that while he would have expected MS from my symptoms, hes certain I don't have it becase with such severe symptoms, I would not have had a normal MRI - even if symptoms had resolved. So then he looked at other possibilities - which were stress (not in my case until symptoms got bad) Hyperventilation (apparently over breathing causes a chemical change that can cause all sorts of neuro symptoms - again, not in my case - I under breathe if anything) or complicated migraine. He thought I'd had this since I was 19 and never had CFS. I found it really hard to beleive a migraine could last 3 months and cause such havoc, so went away not entirely convinced - I wanted so much to beleive it, but just could'nt until I got on the net that night and found out all about it.
And yes, there it is - people who have the same as me. And as I have a history of migraine with aura, which makes it all the more likely, I can finally accept I don't have MS. WHAT A RELIEF! He's put me on medication to prevent attacks so heres hoping. Anyway, I'm not saying thats what you have, there are other options, but maybe its time you saw a good neuro to put your mind at ease sweetie. You've got enough going on without this. Maybe it might be worth trying some yoga breathing exercises and see if that helps it should if you are hyperventilating and also if stress is the cause. Be as nice to yourself as possible. And do something relaxing when ever you can - not easy when you're a mum I know, but since I've been looking after me a bit more, I find I'm nicer to be around.
Best wishes to you sweetie. And I hope you get a good answer from the neuro. x

[sally456]

Sorry...dr. but i was reading my post...there was a mistake..when i swallow my EARS make a clicking sound..or they kind of "pop". And with my vision..i also have many after-images...I did go to opthamologist with onset of symptoms about 4-5 yrs. ago and he said my pupils react the same as each other and found nothing wrong. He knew at the time I was scared of ms, and he said i see nothing that tells me you have ms.  DOnt know if he looked at my optic nerve or not.  And does chicken pox cause a vision problem like i discribed or do you think it more likely to be an "ms Attack"?

Thanks doctor.

[sally456]

Thanks for words of encouragement...im very happy for you....All that worrying for nothing..hopefully ill stop worrying..still too scared to go to dr. though.
I forgot what your symptoms were...were they just migrane? and what is auora???  

Good luck to you with everything!

[sally456]

zzzzzz,

I just read your post that talked about your symptoms..the numbness in your foot...what did the neuro say about it??  Do you still have the numbness??? I just noticed numbness in one fingertip just ever so slightly and its only in one little tiny area of the tip of my finger..but of course it bothers me because i am focusing on it..i also have numbness in the tip of one toe..which i think is always there..but it not totally numb..just some loss of sensation..so it doesnt bother me too much.  also, you said you had some bladder problems..like i have had..what did he say about that???
Well..im trying to settle on not having it.because i have never really have had attacks where symptoms come on and then go away after days, weeks or months..and if i had primary progressive...i beleive id be much worse by now..(18 years)> I hope the forum dr. read this too..and tells me his opinion. So if by chance i do have it  myst be mild..since ive been under so much stress for the past few months and havent gotten any worse..just alot of sensory symptoms which i know come on when i am very stressed....so from time to time, i can check up on you and you on me to see how we are doing...in really dont know how i got onthis forum..i just tried it one morning and got lucky.....thanks zzzz and take care of yourself!!!Oh, a please answer my questions..thanks!

[sally456]

Sorry forum dr. to ask another question, but its on my mind all the time..

If I do have ms..which i know you cannot diagnose..does it sound like it is a mild case of ms...where i havent had any "attacks" per say, and ive had "remissions" where I havent had any symtptoms...so i dont think it could be primary progressive..due to the fact that i dont feel i am becoming debilitated or getting progressively worse to any extent..and that i feel good or "normal" most of the time.. Alsom, since  i have been worry so much abut this and under much emotional stress from marital problems i have just noticed the tip of index finger on right hand has a small area which has become not really numb..but lacking a little sensation...also again my felling is that it points to ms..but i am again dignosing myself..please help dr..

thanks

[zzzzzzzzzz]

Hi Sal, Yes I still have numb toes - I have had them 24/7 for 6 months and it never seems to go away. The numbness just spreads up my foot sometimes. They also ache at times. The neuro didn't do much to explain why they're still like that or if they'll get better. I have read you can be left with some ongoing disability from long spells. Guess I'll find out more when I see him again which will be a long time away as I can't afford to pay him his massive (but well deserved) fee ongoingly so I have to go thru the public system. Migraine with aura is a condition where you get warning signs that the headache is coming - like blurred vision or zigzag patterns in your eyesight, also can get dizzy and clumsy and very tired. This generally ges on for 30 mins - 5 hrs and then bang - awful headache for anything up to 3 days, but usually just one. I did have the odd severe headache during the last 6 months as I normally would, but because my head didn't hurt the rest of the time, I never would have made the connection. But it turns out you can have migraine without the headache. That headache is just a symptom of migraine. And that you can get stuch in a severe aura phase for weeks where the blood vessles in your brain get so constricted that you get bad neurological symptoms - the type of symptom depends on the area of the brain so you can see how it could be confused with MS. Quite honestly, the thing I'm struggling with right now, is people saying "oh - its only migraines - there was nothing wrong afterall". Agggghhhh - I hate that, because then I have to try and make them see that I'm not having your average migraine and that this, while it may not be degenerative as such, is seriously affecting my life!. Anyway, thats my rant for the evening, I need to get to bed because apparently, I've got to try to get the exact same amount of sleep each night preferably at the same time as part of the severly restricting migraine prevention regimen. Take care chickie.X

[karetech]

I have the same type of problems; I've was given Cipro which is an antibiotic May of 2004. The nerve problems have gotten so bad its hard to write, type, drive, etc.
One of the MRI's showed deymelination but its not ms. Now waiting again for more tests. But there nerve problems from the some drugs. Which is irreversable, thats according to Bayer.

please feel free to contact me k_desalvo***@****

[sally456]

FORUM DOCTOR:
MORE IMPORTANT SYMPTOMS
Im sorry..this is the last one, i promise...Just wanted to tell you that I have had night sweats for many, many years. The gyno. thought it was from hormones. The night sweats do get worse during that time of the month..but i also get them almost every night. I also have some on and off joint pain in fingers and toes mostly and i also think I have the "tender points" of fibromyalgia.  If I just press down on my arm or neck with my finger..not too hard, it hurts.
My stomach is also very sensitive when someone presses on it. And, finally, i get out of breath very easily.

Ok, Im done,,sorry about all of the posts, i didnt want to leave anything out.

[sally456]

I am wondering if the forum dr. saw my other comments, other than the first post?? I wonder if that would have changed his coments..or am i obsessing again???


HELP!!! Someone please with knkowledge on ms let me know what you think...

[Gold24kt]

Hi! Have you began your effexor treatment? Keep in mind that there are no long term studies on the safety and effectiveness of these drugs. In order to implement the most mild treatment.. one may decide to "trial basis it" , possibly suggesting using only 5 days before your monthly cycle begins and note any improvemnt capabilities to provide more serotonin to your brain and eleviate mood swings. After personally viewing friends on anti-depressants vs. anti-anxiety drugs..there is a tendency to believe AD to be harmful. As long as the AA med is not denoting a depency and rarely needed -one is busiprone - extreme short term random use may be acceptable.It looks like effexor may be a O.K short term -however I personally would not use any of them every day. Yes theres debate about needing it to build up in your system to elict the ultimate response yet no definate, complete conclusions. Are you going to be one of the first guinne pigs. I wouldn't count on it. You know the answer if you have viewed my other E-mail to you.
Unless you are manic depressive or extreme Bi-polar -or having some extreme chemical imbalance you are best off not dabbling in much of any of those. Oh yes, the pharmaceutical business is BIG Money on your health ticket...
How safe & how effective is this bandaid and how long will it cover the ouwies? You may need it very temporarily if your marriage is irriparible (irreconcialable). Yet remember the side effects... you WILL have them and it may outweigh anything positive - long or short term. Enough said... I'm all for MD's and pharmeceutical intervention - being only a small slice of the big picture. Wow! This almost sounds like the Matrix talk.
Sally you know there is a huge void in your life and you are avoiding the ultimate fix.....You know where you need to go and what you need to do. Be brave...Fly with the eagles....
reach out to the only one who can heal you...The Lord Jesus Christ! Be bold... refuse to lose!  Praying for your complete healing.