frustrating symptoms

[Frustrated118]

Hi all,

I am a 22-yr-old female.  I have been having an unusual series of symptoms over the past year that make me think I have MS.  I have had the following:  severe nausea, tachycardia, muscle weakness/pain on the left side of my body, and lightheadedness.  Most days I only have one of these symptoms at a time, and there are a couple rare days when I don't have any.  At the moment, I am glad to finally have relief from my nausea and be able to eat again, but my arm and leg on my left side feel really weak and painful - like I've done wayy too much exercise in the gym (but only on one side of my body).  I feel as though I have a much lower tolerance for exercise and heat than I ever used to have.  For example, recently I spent only 30 min. in the sun and had an attack of heat exhaustion where I felt horribly nauseous and almost blacked out.  I've had a brain CT scan, heart monitor, echocardiogram, endoscopy, etc. and been prescribed a slew of medications, including Xanax, all of which did not help.  I just want to have my normal life back and not go broke from dr's appts.  What do you think my next step should be?

[Frustrated118]

Yeah, as far as the lightheadedness goes, it's not so much a dizzy feeling.  I more feel lopsided - like my right side is heavier than my left.  It gets worse when I walk around; sometimes I feel faint while standing.  I don't have the tachycardia all the time.  LIke, I'll get it for about a week, accompanied by shortness of breath, and then it will go away spontaneously.  It is too weird!  Julia 111 - I know exactly what you mean when you say you feel there is something else lurking.  It's a really frustrating feeling.  I have had a full blood workup - TSH, CMP, CBC, and MANY others...hehe - all of which came back negative.  I would be really curious to have an MRI.  Unfortunately, however, I have almost no health insurance and am already broke from all my other tests...  Jensequitur - what could cause an impingement of the spinal cord?

[julia111]

I have had most of your symptoms at one time or another - so I guess it "could" be Fibromyalgia.  I do get involuntary contractions in my muscles, but I'm not really sure if that happens w/ FM.  

Fibromyalgia still remains a mystery to me.  While I am glad I have a dx. to go with my symptoms and receive treatment for them, I have the gut feeling that there is something else lurking.

I had also been labled w/ possible Lupus and possible Mixed Connective Tissue Disease in the past.  

Have you had a full blood work up?  There are so many things that mimic MS.

[jensequitur]

Hmm...  The severe nausea is unusual for MS.  Unless it's caused by dizziness or vertigo - you said you were lightheaded?  Is this a 'drunk' feeling, or is it a dizzy feeling?

The tachycardia is also unusual for MS.  Is it an isolated symptom, or does it come with other symptoms, like being short of breath, or feeling coldness in your extremities?

Certainly I would go ahead and ask for an MRI of the brain, spinal cord, and neck with and without gadolinium contrast, just to eliminate the possibilities.  If your insurance will cover it, that is.  Be prepared to find something besides MS - an impingement of the spinal cord, for example, could cause your muscle weakness and spasticity.  It wouldn't cause the lightheadedness and nausea, though.

[Frustrated118]

Ya know, I thought about gluten intolerance as well.  I don't think it's that though because my symptoms don't get worse when I eat gluten or better when I eliminate it from my diet.  It's really weird because my leg has been weak and my thigh muscle aching for about 3 days now.  Sometimes the muscle has involuntary contractions as well.  Could this be fibromyalgia?

[julia111]

Hi.  Welcome to the forum. My dx. is Fibromyalgia and Gluten Intolerance.  I found this forum when I was researching my symptoms - many which sound a lot like MS.

Others will certainly be along to help too - but in the meantime I wanted to ask if you have been tested for food allergies?

Gluten Intolerance can cause an array of symptoms including nausea and neurological symptoms.  

The Health Pages located at the top right corner of your screen are a valuable resource.  

Also, you can search the archives of previous posts by searching the MS Community - type in "nausea" for instance.

Best wishes,
Julia