What Form of MS Do I Have?

[cleo77]

How does a neurologoist determine what type of MS you have?

[cleo77]

Hello everyone.  I have been tested for thyroid - negative.  I don't have vertigo nor am I constipated - actually the opposite.  I have had a stomach scope - all normal.  Colonoscopy all normal too.  I have had a CT Scan of my abdomen and all normal except traces of fluid in abdomenal cavity and bulky uterus (probably due to fibroids).  The doctors have ruled out a gastric cause.  

Thank you for your answers, they really do help sort things out.
Cleo

[Quixotic1]

I ansered your post on your other thread.  I hope you see it!

Q

[jensequitur]

What Deb said... you've got lots of symptoms that sound neurological, but the nausea and weight loss do not sound neurological.  Quite possible that you have a thyroid problem as well as some neurological ailment.  Severe vertigo can also cause nausea, which would cause you to lose weight, but I think you would notice that.

[Deb61]

I know that Quix will get back with you, but wanted to add something while your waiting to hear from you.  She will do a much better job of answering your questions, but I do feel like there's some things that you've mentioned that sound kind of familiar.

MS can cause a lot of what you are experiencing.  Some of the symptoms, like the nausea, may not fit in the category.  However, MS may cause constipation, and with that comes nausea.  

Plus consider that for some reason, if your body is attacking itself in one autoimmune disease, your body is more likely to do the same with another.  I have more than one autoimmune disease.  It's possible to have, let's say, MS and ulcerative colitis.  I've had bleeding before from my bowels.  The GI never figured out if it was causing it, but he leaned toward colitis.  

What you've described are symptoms that I've experienced or what other MS'ers have experienced.  It's not uncommon to have emotional liability with MS or to be depressed.  

I don't know about the weight loss, thing.  However, my sister lost a lot of weight when she was in pain from her MS.  Plus she couldn't sleep because she hurt so bad.  

Also consider that sometimes people with MS have thyroid disase (some types are autoimmune).  You may want to check into that.  I have the opposite problem--I've got hypothyroidism and weight gain is a problem with that.  Do ask your GP or neuro about the possibility of hyperthyroidism.  Believe it or not, that little gland when it's not working properly, can cause lots of suffering.  I know this first hand.  Weight loss and sleeplessness can be attributed to this . . .

You've got a lot going on with you.  I hope you find some answers from this new testing and neuro.  I hope you're seeing a good one.

Deb

[Quixotic1]

Thank you for the information.  I have not forgotten you.  I have not had the energy to do a personal in-depth answer, which you deserve.  You are on my list along with a bunch of other new posters.  If I can get some of my ooomp back I will answer, but it will be as soon as posssible.  Sometimes when I am very tired I answer the posts that I can off the top of my head or I socialize.  That's why it may seem like I am passing you over.

Quix

[cleo77]

Hi Quix.  Thank you for your reply.  I haven't actually been diagnosed yet.  The radiologist says it is a possibility.  Please check my other postings for details.  

Have you ever heard of nausea and severe weight loss as symptoms of MS?  Are hormones involved?  I've had an association between my cycle and the appearence of nausea, feelings of hopelessness, crying episodes and loss of appetite.  I can't seem to shake it.  This is not like me at all.  I've have been through tough times before and this has never happened.  I feel like I am falling apart and this started way before MS came up (6 months).  I feel the worst in the morning, almosts always cry and then by late afternoon I am back to my old self again.  What is happening to me?  The doctors don't seem concerned about the nausea, loss of appetite or this hormone imbalance.  The fact that it has gone on for 6 months doesn't seem to matter.  I know it matters to me because I am falling apart and trying hard to hold it together for my family's sake.  

What about sleep disturbances?  I usually sleep like a rock, sick or not, troubled or not.  Sleep is my get away. lol.  But lately, the last 2 weeks, I will awaken at 4 or 5 am and lay away unable to sleep.  I usually live on 7 hours of sleep per day but now it's less because of this problem.  But I don't feel tired during the day at all.  I don't have a problem falling asleep at night but can't stay asleep.  I seem to be having a lot of dreams and my mind is always going.  I've tried to stay awake later to force my body into it's old routine but it makes no difference.   I don't like medication so I won't take sleeping pills.  Is this an MS symptom or me just losing it?

This is a quick history:
6 months ago
- had vaccinations - hepatitus A & B (twinrex), typhoid, flu  
- went to Mexico for 2 weeks
- the day we got back, I started to feel nauseous
- I had the nausea and loss of appetite for 3 months everyday, but then again it was worse in the morning and improved by evening (like morning sickness if I had to compare it)
- I lost 30 lbs and I don't lose weight easily
- Jan - I had a CT scan (with contrast) of my abdomen and a stomach scope and all came back normal

3 months ago:
- the nausea went away as fast as it started and I felt normal again.
- a few days later I noticed numbness around my rib cage and abdomen on my left side
- a few days later my thigh started to go numb but no weakness in the muscles.  If I pressed on it or stretched it, it felt like electric currents going through my muscle
- this stayed like that for 2 months and then started to go away.
- right after that the next thing happened

1 month ago
- I woke up to my perianal region being numb but still functional.
- at the same time both my feet went numb but it was a cold, burning pain on the soles of my feet - I could still walk but with pain
- right around the same time, one of my eyes suddenly developed an aura while I was at work.  Like a sheer veil hanging half way down one eye.  This lasted a week and went away.  I had my eyes examined under dilation and all was well.
- saw a neurosurgeon who tested to see if my bladder was emptying and it was.
- he still felt that what I had was a spinal problem and ordered an MRI but that would take 3 - 4 months in Saskatchewan

2 weeks ago
- set up my own appointment for an MRI in Calgary and paid for it myself
- MRI on brain and whole spinal column
- that's when the radiologist said to look into a demylenization disease like MS - I am waiting to see a neurologist at the moment.
- I also noticed the last two trips into Regina, I had sciatica pain while sitting in the vehcile for 2 hours.  The numbness in my feet worsened just then too but got better later.  My lower back hurt enough that I put something in the lumbar and beared the pain.  The pain went down my buttocks to my thighs.  I had sciatica about 10 years ago when I had an office job but I didn't know what it was at the time and didn't have it investigated.  As soon as I started my business and got mobile, it went away.

Now
- nausea for a week again
- emotional episodes with my period a few days away
- very shaky
- feet still numb and burning but better than they were
- perianal area still numb but also getting better
- still have lower back pain and pain in ribs

Quix, I feel lost.  This seems bigger than MS symptoms to me.  But I have a feeling that the doctors will just diagnose me with MS and blame everything on that in the future.  I am a business woman with 40 employees and a lot of responsibility.  It is a 24/7 business and I have had no problem handlling it for the past 10 years.  Now I feel like I am losing control of my health and feelings.  If I have MS, I will live with it but I just don't think the other symptoms I'm having are related.  You've heard a lot of stories what's your opinion?

Thank you.

Cleo

[Quixotic1]

Hi, Cleo Welcome!!  I gather you're newly diagnosed.  I haven't looked at your other post yet.  You can ask questions on the same thread so people have more info about you as they answer your questions.

I'm Quix, a Community Leader and Den Mother to the Forum.  I hope you find a good home here.  It is an active, but intimate group we have ranging from people trying to get a diagnosis to newly diagnosed and many who have had MS for months to decades.

The best thing to do right now is go to the Health Pages.  The link is toward the upper right corner of your screen and look for the article on "Categories of MS."  After you read that you will be able to give us more information and ask a more detailed question.  But, briefly, the majority of the diagnostic category decision is obtained from the history and physical exam.

There are also a lot of other articles on topics that might interest you.

Come back and we will talk.  Fridays and the weekends are sometimes a little slow.

Quix