Strange symptoms

[AMC5]

Just over a year ago I experienced strange symptoms. I am 30 yr old, good health, don't smoke, don't drink.  One morning I started having trouble speaking.  Saying wrong words, couldn't read, could barely dial the phone, forgot phone numbers, wrote down wrong numbers when being told what numbers to dial.  About a half hour before this had visual problems.  It was like everything was jiggling.  Wasn't "dizzy", just everything around me was almost  like bouncing.  Whole visual episode lasted about 20 minutes, trouble thinking, speaking, lasted about 10 minutes.  Couldn't even get the names of my children right.  Was very concerend.  Went to ER, did CT-normal.  Weeks later had MRI  w/o contrast, US of heart, neck, thyroid.  All normal.  Blood work all normal except elevated Thyroid which later when re-checked was normal.  Neurologist thought possible TIA, then changed to possible Atypical Migraine.  No history of Migraines.  Had dull headache when all over.  Since then have had a few visual problems, and some dizzy spells.  Nothing like what happened that day.  Any ideas?  Does this sound more like a type of Migraine?  Thanks for your time.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Thanks to Ianna for the amen.  Yes, I am quite right about aspartame.  I don't claim abstaining from the stuff to be the panacea for all that ails ya, nor will abstaining help many of the unfortunate people here who are struggling with neurological deficits.  I simply offer the information for those who are wise enough to filter out the baloney about the substance fed by the shills for the aspartame industry, and bought and regurgitated hook, line and sinker by the "health news media."  I have little doubt there are at least a few people on this board who suffer various permutations of peripheral neuropathy, who have been thoroughly tested for dozens of ailments, to no avail, and categorized as MS or "MS-like."
       I have thought about providing a few dozen links to the wealth of information now available on the Internet about asparatame poisoning, particularly the most dangerous of its components, methanol (technically, methyl ester, but it converts within an hour to methanol in the body).  But I don't want to appear to be a shill for a particular group taking up the cause.  Suffice it to say that anyone with a decent search engine (Google will work just fine) can type in "aspartame +dangers" or "methanol +aspartame" or any number of similar combinations, and find a wealth of helpful information.
      I don't need to prove anything here.  I simply offer this simple suggestion to those who have grown frustrated at having negative MRIs and EEGs, yet who still suffer real headaches, vision disturbances, muscle cramping, spasms, numbness, paresthesias etc., particularly bilaterally and in both upper and lower extremities, and in the face.  I.e. for those with a generalized, systemic neuropathy that cannot be clearly identified as caused by a demonstrable cause.  My suggestion is a simple one.  IF you use aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), quit the stuff for 60 days -- completely, cold turkey -- and see what happens.  What do you have to lose?  Why must you even be "persuaded" first?  IF you are desperate enough, and I can tell there are a lot of desperate souls here, why not try it?  At worst, you will be no better.  I dare you.  Prove me wrong.

[Ianna]

...and yet 'the Stranger' is quite right about aspartame...

[misaki]

Sorry for the delay, this is my last week of exams >_<

It's not very common to find silent nodules in the thalamus, but if it hasn't caused symptoms your doctors are probably right about it (i can't say much more because i haven't seen the MRI myself, but here it goes). The thalamus is a step station in the brain and very little lesions on it produce serious alterations, the only thing that would explain  having a lesion and no clinical correlate is that this nodule were congenital. Lots of people without neurological issues have abnormalities in their MRIs. This has been studied and I myself have seen it.

I hope it helped, but keep in mind that i'm student ;) I'm very interested in neurology (i wanted to be a neurosurgeon but the dx changed my choice to neurology) but I'm only learning. I wish you best of lucks.

I won't post here anymore about aspartame. Paranoids of the world, you can say aspartame killed president kennedy if you want. My exams are more important than that.

[Lady Jay]

Mind if I sit on the curb and clap when you pass by to collect your hero "doc"-ument?  I hope all has gone well concerning your exams... "as part-a me" believes that it has.   That is the last time I'll poke fun at the term.   Let's get back to the subject containing many hallways with doors that open neurological arenas brimming with opportunity.

Go for it.  Become an elite "detective."  I'm always ready to occupy curbspace and cheer.

[lmroswell]

Misaki:  Thanks for your response.  I hope your exams went well.  

[Lady Jay]

"As part-a me" identified with the title of AMC5's thread... and "as part-a me" clicked it open because "inquiring minds" have always graced these hallways during all 4 1/2 of my registered "want to know" years-of-participation, I am outraged by what I have witnessed... not only here in this thread, but in numerous others as well.

I applaud every single solitary "change" that has been made by the staff here at Medhelp.org since my participation began in late 1998.   Physician participation used to be a full-time job because they would dedicate themselves to the job and it wasn't uncommon for them to reply 2, 3, 5 or even more times in one single thread.  The last forum "Doc" to subject themselves to such dedication was CCF Neuro MD., RPS.   Many participants were more-than-a-little perturbed when this was stopped by the staff and the system of one (1) physician reply per question came into play.

I do, however, reserve the right to express my deepest thanks to the staff for allowing Doc RPS to be my crutch of support on my way up the "craniotomy hallway" because the term "basket case" applied.   A trio of specialists removed half my forehead and chased networks of neurofibroma and schwannoma throughout my left temporal lobe and my orbit... all the way down my optic nerve to my deep cavernous sinus.   Oh... there was one in there too!  After I'd healed for 6 months, Doc RPS became another crutch.   Stereotactic Radiosurgery and its "one-time" shot blasted "it"... and I'm alive today.   Both procedures were done in 1999... and my journey presses on.   I do not "post" anymore... I lurk and read, posting very few replies.

Peace2U... there is a truly "strange symptom" regarding your headache.   Your reprimand is successful up to a certain point... then something mysteriously strange occurs.  (quote):  "I don't think I need to be subject to being degraded by someone who hasn't even finished med school yet.   Sounds to me like "we" are a case study, only she can't bear to sit quietly in the sidelines and study."

Will Rogers:  "We all can't be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by."

Misaki?   I'm like you... tired of aspartame.   It is clearly evident that a mysterious stray has indeed advocated the aspartame mumbo jumbo to the point of being classified as mysteriously stranger than fiction.  You said, "I try to stay as up to date on MS as I can, so I regularly browse the internet for news, and I swear I get mad everytime I find a certain DOC XXXX who claims to have to ultimate cure, or all those sites which blame aspartame for causing lupus and multiple sclerosis."

You have been bashed by an advocate, not only here in this thread, but in many others lacing this forum as well... for pleading, "Come on!   Give it a rest!"   We all know what happens when one protests against an advocate.   They just "focus" harder, adding injury to insult... and wonder why their obsession is eventually passed over and treated with such disregard?

Does aspartame and its partners trigger autoimmune disorders?   Or genetic deficiencies?   I had the Guillain Barre Syndrome back in 1972.   It paralyzed me from head to toe... after I rolled up my sleeve in a line at the office in a company-wide flu shot crusade.   And out of 2000+ employees, the healthy gymnast went down with GBS at 18 years of age.

Here's a good question for women who suffer the tingles, muscle pain, back pain... and any pain that is deep-seated in their bodies from the "waist down"......

Did you have an epidural during labor before childbirth?

Were you "stuck" once?  Twice?  Three or more times for effect during the same delivery?

I know many who have... myself included.   I was stuck once, had a C-section and no problems.  I did not have to "bear down."

I know many who "had" to be stuck more than once.   Think about this real hard.   If there are "so-called" bad physicians... why in blazes should we stop there?   What about bad anesthesiologists?  ("anesthesiology-gone bad")  After all... this is "the spinal cord" we're talking about, isn't it?

And... should epidurals be used at all during normal deliveries?  It seems to me that there is WAY too much movement and weight going on at the "stick" site.   In C-sections, there is no movement involved.  

Think about it.

[Mr Ali]

my brother who's 31 is presently lying in hospital and has been there for the last 6 weeks, his symptoms sound similar to methonal poisoning which you mentioned. he started off with severe body ache, unsteady gait, malaise, lack of sleep and also dry/hard/cracked fingertips. he's also had epilepsy since the age of 8 and a brain tumor which was removed 6 months ago, i've been told his epilepsy & tumor are unrelated???? but since the op his fits have stopped. back to his present condition; since he was admitted the doctors cant seem to find whats wrong. a week after his admission he came home but he got worse and went back at which point he was hallcinating, stiffness including the neck, severe abdominal pains and extreme pain when urinating what little he could although his fluid intake was high, shaking (parkinsons like), jerking, loss of memory, swinging temperature, loss of speech, unaware of his surroundings etc, at present he is in a coma like state with some breathing problems. after several weeks of eliminating the doctors think he may have tb meningitis (he is asian)and is being treated for it although they cant be sure cus they r unable to do a lumber punchure as he also has regrowth in his residual tumor and it could be fatal. (neuro-surgeons do not feel his condition is a result of the regrowth) As the doctors r only guessing, please feel free to do the same.. any info will be appreciated... thank you all. please ask for anymore info.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Given the history of epilepsy and tumor (you didn't indicate what type), any number of possible causes come to mind, but your brother's situation sounds very complex and difficult to understand.  FYI, there is good reason to believe epilepsy can be at least aggravated by the neurotoxins in aspartame, and methanol poisoning can indeed cause some of the symptoms your brother has.  But you didn't answer the obvious question that comes to my mind.  Has your brother been a user of aspartame and if so, what amount of consumption of the stuff are we talking about?  WIthout knowing whether he even consumed it, it would be speculative to think about methanol poisoning.
     My heart goes out to you and your brother.  I hope his physicians are able to identify the cause of his problems.

[Mr Ali]

hi just a quick message to say thanks for your response and no, he's not a user of aspartame and his tumor is not the cancerous type. at one point they suspected that he may be having a continious seizure but a wave scan proved not. i've only posted on here as the doctors are running out of ideas and to see if anyone has alternitave sugestions??? i understand his symptoms are unusual and its difficult to say but i was just hoping someone reading this may have seen or read about similar symptoms. even your wildest sugestions cant do any harm as i will only relay it to the doctors to see if its a possiblity etc.... thanks again.

[lmroswell]

Thanks for the response.  My neurologist didn't have an explanation for the disappearance of the linear focus.  I did have an MRI of the brain done, twice.  Both showed a nodule, non-specific in the left thalamus.  How common is that?  Two neurologists were not concerned about it.  Said it did not look characteristic of a lesion.  That it is possible that I was born with it.  I wasn't aware that there are people that experience one episode of demyelination.  But, you are right.  If this is a disease process, time will tell.

[misaki]

When serial MRI studies are performed every two weeks on MS patients, demyelination focus come and go. Most of them remain silent, but since they are anatomo-pathologically (huh, spelling?) equivalent to those who cause symptoms, it's very likely that lesions with a clinical correlate can appear in MRI and later disappear as well.

Only time can tell wether the episode you describe was a first MS relapse or just an isolated process (i'm sure your doctor has told you that). If you'd said you had an optic neuritis, and the periventricular lesions (i assume you've been done a brain MRI), and so on I wouldn't lie to you. But fortunately this is not your case. There are lots of people (more than we think) out there who suffer one single demyelination episode in their life. What causes this isolated attacks (as well as MS) remains unknown, it could be a virus, but the truth is we don't know for sure (although autoimmunity plays an important role).

(Sorry, I know my English is horrible!)

[Peace2U]

Well,hello...this is my first post to this group. I just had to say that I could never handle all the back and forth bicker in the level of pain I'm in...and I really can't imagine how anyone hurting could participate in such banter.  I had to skip past most of the posts in order to find one that wasn't SCATHING.  If we all know everything, then why come here to ask questions and gather information??? I guess if this is just a place where people are so insecure with who they are and what they know that they have to put down others in order to build themselves up then I'll go elsewhere.  I had a bad enough headache before I joined this group,thank you.  Besides I don't think I need to be subject to being degraded by someone who hasn't even finished med school yet. Sounds to me like "we" are a case study, only she can't bear to sit quietly in the sidelines and study.  I think I'll find out who moderates this group. I'm quite sure I read in the guidelines that this type of behavior is not permitted.

[lmroswell]

Because you are studying medicine and you have a personal insight on MS, I was wondering if you would give your opinion on what may have caused a "5mm linear focus of increased signal at the T11-T12 within the thoracic cord" and then disappear after 7 months.  My foot tickled and tingled for months constantly, and then very slowly went away.  I still feel the sensations, but rarely.  Can the lesions caused by demyelination heal and disappear?  Or do you think this was some transient inflammatory process?  Or virus?  Just wondering what you thought...All other tests I had were normal; emg, evoked potentials, lyme, lupus, HIV.

[Lyllian]

hi lmroswell,

Over ice, not over ice tis not the question! :)
even a bit, I mean a tiny bit of that carbination will send my tongue into a hissy fit!  :)   Thanks for the advice anyway.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Physician (to be), heal thyself.
     Or at least be open-minded enough to withhold aspartame on an experimental basis for 60 days.  What have you got to lose?  You'll obviously benefit from stopping the process of leeching calcium from your bones when you knock off the consumption of the phosphoric acid in the diet cola.  Sorry, I must reiterate my prediction.  You will try it.  You can't be that stubborn, and since there is no other therapy for your MS, you might as well give it a shot.  At the end of the 60 days, you can post here and brag about your anecdotal experience disproving any link between your aspartame consumption and your symptoms.  I think you will try it.  You know you will.

[misaki]

I wasn't replying to you, lmroswell. My post came after yours because I've been busy with my exams, but i wanted to reply to our Mysterious Stranger, not to your post ^_~

[lmroswell]

Thanks for interjecting.  I thought it was going to be another insult.  As for drinking the sodas, I always drink them on ice.  It dilutes the carbonization.  Hate to drink out of cans unless there is no other option.  Good luck with your edema problem...

[Lyllian]

I just thought I would add my two cents worth..... apart from not knowing anything about diet soda's and their so called bad effects... I only want to be a litte humorous to lighten the talks here.... I do not drink any soda's let alone diet ones... not because of some so called bad side effects... but.... because....all my life (just like my dear mother) I cannot drink any soda (because of the carbonisation) sorry about the typo...the soda's sting my tongue so bad.... that I cannot stand the feeling on my tongue..its like a bunch of needles picking at my tongue.. so for all the soda drinkers out their....HOW DO YOU DO IT?????? have a nice day...
   I was only in the medical site looking for edema... which I do have ... but only recently... Of course it cannot be because of soda's..... I DONT DRINK THEM !!!
                          :)

                  Everyone have a nice day, and now.........
         continue on in your debate..... bye
                               Lyllian Sapp

[lmroswell]

Pathetic predictions?  "Who" is prediciting "what"?  I am not in support of any particular theory on what has caused my neurological symptoms.  I personally don't have an answer from my neurologist, so naturally, one keeps searching for possible answers.  To keep an open mind, and to keep searching.  Something has to be causing these neuro problems that many people are experiencing, for which there are no answers for.  That is all I was trying to convey here.

[lmroswell]

Ouch!  Hypochondriacs?  One could only be so lucky.  My guess is that most people that post questions on this board are facing potentially life changing medical diagnoses and are desperate for additional information.  No, I don't think they're hypochondriacs...

[misaki]

Hey, Nostradamus, I'm not going to reply to your pathetic "predictions". Go find someone ignorant enough to care about yout opinion.

It's very easy to talk about things you don't know. I'll only post one more reflexion... Why is it that this weird theories are always supported by mysterous strangers and not by scientists?

[tomy7]

This is my last note, just to say that my post still stands because it is common sense.  The kind of nonsense you are spitting is fodder for the hypochondriacs that post here....

[Mysterious Stranger]

Well said.

[lmroswell]

After experiencing strange neuro syptoms, I have read a lot on neurological maladies.  Some of the reading has come from medical books, and some from the web.  Of course you can't believe everything you read on the web, but I would not discount any theory of what may cause neuro symptoms, especially when the cause is unknown.  Medicine is not an exact science, but an evolving one.  I have the utmost respect for medical doctors and those involved in the medical field.  However, numerous times the FDA has  has given its approval for consumption of a product, only to revoke its approval later.  I am not saying that what is on the web about Aspartame is true, only to keep an open mind.  That is how solutions are found.