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MS or Diabetes?
by hbananas, Dec 13, 2007 07:50PM
Fat, female, 50, fatigued, very heat sensitive. Father was a type II diabetic. I have a BMI of 31. One of my sons was nearly 10 pounds at birth. I walk half an hour most days. Can walk on a flat surface forever (as long as it's cool), but one flight of stairs gets me winded. Don't smoke or drink.
Lousy family history for heart disease. Recent nuclear stress test was fine. High blood pressure controlled by medicine, and Zocor for cholesterol.
Frequent urination, including 4-5 times at night. Had a UTI in September, my second ever.
Two months ago, the skin on one side of my stomach got numb and tingly. I chalked it up to a long plane ride and jeans digging in my waist, but it hasn't gone away. A week later, all my fingers and toes started getting the same thing. It's constant, but I notice it especially after a hot bath, or at night in bed.
I've only had a fasting glucose > 100 once, but <110. Most recent was 98. Never had a glucose tolerance test.
Scheduled for a sleep study and EMG next week, appt with PCP right after Christmas for results. EMG sounds scary because of the diseases that get linked to it on searches, like ALS. My physical therapist SisInLaw says sounds like MS, but muscles and nerves are her bag. The fatigue, heat sensitivity, paresthesia, frequent urination, and dizzy spells kind of go along with that, too. Don’t have muscle weakness, but feet cramp often, and I get stabby feelings in them sometimes.
Dr. Ramsetty on the Type II Diabetes board says it is unlikely I have diabetic neuropathy, but to ask for a glucose tolerance test anyway and maybe referral to a neurologist. Great. Am I going to get bad news in a couple of weeks? Does this sound like MS (or worse) to you? Thanks.
Lousy family history for heart disease. Recent nuclear stress test was fine. High blood pressure controlled by medicine, and Zocor for cholesterol.
Frequent urination, including 4-5 times at night. Had a UTI in September, my second ever.
Two months ago, the skin on one side of my stomach got numb and tingly. I chalked it up to a long plane ride and jeans digging in my waist, but it hasn't gone away. A week later, all my fingers and toes started getting the same thing. It's constant, but I notice it especially after a hot bath, or at night in bed.
I've only had a fasting glucose > 100 once, but <110. Most recent was 98. Never had a glucose tolerance test.
Scheduled for a sleep study and EMG next week, appt with PCP right after Christmas for results. EMG sounds scary because of the diseases that get linked to it on searches, like ALS. My physical therapist SisInLaw says sounds like MS, but muscles and nerves are her bag. The fatigue, heat sensitivity, paresthesia, frequent urination, and dizzy spells kind of go along with that, too. Don’t have muscle weakness, but feet cramp often, and I get stabby feelings in them sometimes.
Dr. Ramsetty on the Type II Diabetes board says it is unlikely I have diabetic neuropathy, but to ask for a glucose tolerance test anyway and maybe referral to a neurologist. Great. Am I going to get bad news in a couple of weeks? Does this sound like MS (or worse) to you? Thanks.
Get screened for diabetes properly with a glucose tolerance test will be your first step. You should also be screened for thryoid problems which can be an issue.
Being overweight can contribute to the heat intollerance. Tell your doctor your symptoms and concerns and get treated.
In the meantime stay as active as you can. Things can sometimes happen very fast in MS, but often it happens slowly..... but then, you're not diagnosed with MS and chances are this can be explained by other things.
Keep logging in here and let us know how you go with your PCP. Others here are also very supportive and will give you good feedback.
Before you see your dr. try to make a list of your symptoms and also when you noticed they started. It you want to post it here people can give you more feedback.
Take care.
Sally
Yes please keep us updated on what you find out.
Jazzy
My reading on the punctate paraventricular white matter brain lesions says glucose intolerance or prediabetes can cause them, as well as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. So only time will tell if they're vascular or MS, but coupled with the spinal ones and the return of symptoms, guess which way I think it's going to go. I've gotten a bit dizzy when out in the heat, but I haven't given it a real good challenge yet this year.
The sleep study shows I have very mild sleep apnea when on my side, but pretty bad on my back. I only slept on my back because the guy told me to, so I'm not too concerned about that. With high blood pressure, the doc thinks the mild one is worth treating, but I'm not willing to go the CPAP or tissue-trimming route without losing the rest of the weight first, and of course, getting the MS possibility settled.
It was after the normal EMG that my doctor started the MRI and MS route.
How's your fasting glucose, and do you have other diabetes-like symptoms? The people on this forum are awesome about explaining anything and everything. Good luck to both of us, indeed.
Holly
Mary Kay