Muscle Weakness?

[Qbaine]

Hi,

I was just wondering is muscle weakness generally one of the first symptoms of ms?  I have been having all kinds of weird problems, although I don't think it relates to this.  Nothing turned up on my MRI of my neck or brain, but I did have nerve damage in my arm on a conduction test.  I get a lot of tingling in the arch of my left foot and I get a strange feeling in my ribs, like there is something there that I want to cut out. My right forearm (ulna side) always twitches causing my hand to tense up and spasm.  I also get twitching and spasms in my left elbow.  As long as my imbalance problem doesn't stop me, I play sports with not too much trouble. Although it typically makes my arms worse after.

[Qbaine]

I had a bunch of blood tests that where done along with a host of other tests.  Never a specific vitamin test though.  My ENT just explained that my imbalance is stemming from a hypersensitive ear.  My left ear scored a really high number on my recent caloric test.  I have been trying different meds with not much luck.  In my case I have not really experienced muscle weakness, that's why I asked.  Also my imbalance doesn't go away; it has been with me for about a 1.5 years.  It just feels like my arms are getting worse and the tingling in my foot and elsewhere hasn't bothered me other than that.  Sometimes I get weird sensations like something is crawling on my skin and then nothing is there.  I might count that on the anxiety list though.

[wadeheather]

As a secondary thought, have you had your Vitamin D checked?  I go through a lot of weakness issues, but my most horrifying one was helped with Vit D supplements for 8 weeks. Like I said, it didn't fix the problem, but it sure helped when it was at it's worst!

Good luck, feel better.
Heather

[Ufrustrated2]

take the good advice from jensequitur.  i will add that the "chicken and the egg" issue always came up in my case at the VA. any time i had issues with weakness and balance i would then get anxious. who wouldn't with such symptoms! the VA though, said the anxiousness was causing my equilibrium issues and weakness(like your about to fall down).  so off to the shrink galaxy I went. been there done that. don't do that anymore, tests have proven the reverse of their version of the "chicken and the egg". don't get me wrong, shrinks have their place for services but in my case it just prolonged getting to the root cause for years and wrung my brain out! ;-)

the timeline is very important ... most of us here know that from experience by putting it off for years.

[Qbaine]

yeah I thought about keeping a diary about it.  It just ***** because the imbalance problem caused me to have anxiety, so typically doctors brush it off as an anxiety case.  I know my anxiety typically makes my symptoms worse, but it is not the underlying cause.  Thanks for the help.

[jensequitur]

Muscle weakness is not typically the first symptom of MS - it's usually paresthesias like tingling, burning, or creepy-crawly sensations.  I started with numbness and tingling, but quickly developed vertigo and muscle weakness.

So it sounds like you have something neurological, but at this point it's hard to say what's going on.  I would continue to talk to your doctor about what's going on - keep a timeline of your symptoms so that a specialist can help you analyze your condition.