MS?

[michaelkors]

I am a 25 year old male currently living in the Caribbean, however I am a caucasian from the northern half of the United States.

Approximately 5 years ago I was studying in the library and when I went to open my book, I noticed that the words on the page went entirely blurry. For the next few days (as I recall it was only 1 or 2 days maximum) when I would wake up there would be a donut in the center of my vision, however this would only last for up to 10 minutes maximum... and it would only occur upon waking up. So for approximately 3 days I had what appeared to me to be stress related issues from school. My first question is, does this sound like optic neuritis?

My vision has now returned to complete normalcy, although I would say my right eye does not have as good as vision as does my left eye, my overall vision is excellent. I do not wear glasses, and I have no problem seeing anything even from distance. My right eye has perfect vision with close objects, however, I do have a bit of blurriness with it from long distances. My left eye is great no matter the distance.

Now to the recent symptoms. Approximately 2 months ago, I had a bit of twitching of the muscles of my right eye, and this continued for approximately 2 weeks. Although it has completely resolved now. Shortly after the resolution, I had a terrible spell of diarrhea which took approximately 2 weeks to clear up. As soon as this cleared I developed a bad case of pharyngitis, along with constipation.

Towards the end of the pharyngitis, my right index finger began to develop a very slight tingling sensation which seamed to run along the C-7 dermatome, half way up my forearm. There also seems to be a bit of weakness/slight sense of tingling in my right leg, although neither my leg nor my arm are weak upon lifting weights. There appears to be approximately the same strength on the right side as there is on the left side.

I am curious if these could be early signs of MS?

[michaelkors]

Thank you very much for your responses. I may or may not (most likely not according to you kind folks) have MS... But I truly feel for those that have been diagnosed positive for the disease.

I personally am a medical student, and my research into this disease has made me want to become a neurologist and help those who have this horrible disease. I have never been touched by a particular community so much in my life.

God bless all of you and I wish you all the best.

[essdipity]

Hi and welcome.

This does not sound like MS to me. Your description of eye issues is not what others here report, and in any case lasted a very short time, which is not typical of MS.

Also, from some of the symptoms you report it seems that they have been quite minor. Early MS does not mean small issues that later get more intense---it usually means individual symptoms that multiply as the disease attacks additional parts of the central nervous system. Early MS can be quite severe.

If you continue to have eye problems, see a good ophthalmalogist.

Best of luck,
ess

[Lulu54]

Hi Michael,
I'm not sure if we've met yet, or not - so let me say welcome and get down to your questions.

Honestly, I am not a doctor or even skilled in things medical, but your vision episode really doesn't sound like ON to me.  You are right that ON is going to last longer and is not a come-and-go symptom like you described.

The twitching eyelid the diarreah don't fit in the MS category too neatly, though this is a disease that doesn't have a 100% right or wrong presentation.  It is possible that it could be related, but it would be unusual.  The usual digestive problem with MS is constipation - diahrreah is rare, but does occur.

The pharyngitis would definitely not come from MS.  This is a disease of the central nervous system and doesn't involve viruses.  Your sore throat may be responsible for the tingling sensations- we know a virus can cause that type of reaction and it will normally resolve on its own.

All of that said, my usual suggestion applies in your case- you might want to see you doctor and have a discussion about your concerns.  A quick neuro exam would be in order to see if everything is functioning in a normal way.


We have great health pages here - written by our own community members.  You can access them through the yellow icon on the upper right side of this page.  We welcome everyone to learn more about this MySterious disease and these HP's are an excellent place to begin.

If you have more questions, we're here for you.

be well,
Lulu

[michaelkors]

I've been looking up optic neuritis and it appears that it doesn't resolve as quickly as mine did?

The visual problem I experienced seamed to only be transient and in the first few minutes of me waking up. Could it have been possible that this was Optic neuritis?