ms vs pinched nerve

Hello - I am new to this forum (forums in general) so I apologize in advance if I am creating a new thread instead of adding to an existing one already. I'm just looking to see if anyone else is (has been) in my shoes and looking for possible answers.

I am a 31 year old female who has a family history of MS. My mom died from complications of the more aggressive form of MS and my dad was diagnosed a year to the day of her death with MS, although his is more in the remission state than active, and his mainly affects his legs. I had been asking to be tested for MS for years because of this and was told by every doctor that I was too young (my best friend of 25 years was diagnosed two years ago and we are only six weeks apart in age), and that MS was not hereditary or genetic. Mind you this quest of mine was started several years ago before a lot of research was placed into MS.

Finally found a doctor willing to refer me to a neurologist.

MRI of the brain and neck originally showed no lesions/plaque/shadows. We did find out that I have herniated discs in the neck from c3 to c7. year later C-spine was done to check the herniation and not a surgical candidate and found out i have herniated discs in lower back..L5-S1. insurance then decided to not cover any more MRI's.

last neurologist thought i may have had a minor attack for the following reasons:
-numbness and tingling in left side of face for 3-5 minutes randomly and has caused slurred speech in those minutes
-tripping with left foot and dragging left foot, especially when walking and/or running (they think this is due to the herniated disc in lower back)..was diagnosed with "gait disorder unspecified"
-random numbness in right arm and temperature change in right arm. I am right handed and even during use, my right hand will go ice cold while my left hand is room temp or warm. also have trouble sometimes holding a pen and feeling it in my hand to sign my name or write..have also dropped objects thinking i had them.
-ENG was done in both right arm and left leg - no disturbance in nerve conduction
- was sent to ER and diagnosed with cervical strain (now thinking possible pinched nerve). woke up to go to the gym, stepped out of the bathroom and all of a sudden severe pain (10+ on scale) hit in the right side of my head, neck, right arm, chest. whole room went spinning and got that warm and fuzzy feeling just before vomiting/passing out. had no range of motion in neck except to look left. ER said cervical strain pending pinched nerve, and both resident and attending were concerned and in awe of family MS history and referred to new neurologist. mini mental status and grip tests were normal.
-Vitamin B12 deficit and oral supplements do not work so on a shot once a month. not a vegetarian or on dietary restrictions.
- Vitamin D deficient...low dose supplements did not work; had to be on 50000 units once a week for a month and levels came back up to normal range and this was never followed up on even though i asked for it to be.
-have had loss of vision suddenly where i can only see directly in front of me to where there is a black space and i have to look up or below the center of my sight focal point (this was 4 times)
- have had little gray "sparklers" in my vision at random times. i cannot figure out how to explain these..they look like little sparklers that shimmer between shades of gray and look like little squiggle marks. these happen for no reason at any time of day and can also happen when in the shower and look up or down. dr did not follow through with referral to neuro-ophthalmologist as supposed to.
- while in the shower, if looking down or up, my legs will start to have a tingle feeling in them, but cannot recreate it any other time.
-this morning woke up and had pain in my chest almost like when you need to pop your neck or knuckles. went away after a few hours, but just felt like pressure of something pressing and releasing. it did not feel like it did when i would have an exacerbation of asthma.
- still do not have full range of motion in neck without pain from first week of March 2014 when diagnosed with the cervical strain

anyone else have symptoms similar and also having a pinched nerve (possibly)? my new neurologist is aware of all of the above and cannot quite tell if it is the pinched nerve or possible MS...or something mimicking the MS. i am scheduled for a new set of brain and C-spine MRIs (with and without contrast dye) next friday. it has taken a full year of fighting with the insurance company because they refused an MRI even after all the new symptoms and the cervical strain with 4...yes, 4 doctors requesting an MRI of the brain and neck. new insurance finally approved the MRI so here's to a new hope for answers.

I was told by 3 separate Neuros that MS IS hereditary and skips a generation. I wonder why you were told otherwise. I tend to not believe what doctors say anyway, and this thread is a case in point.

During my first MRI, my paper report showed a T4 herniation, but my first Neuro said I didn't have one. From there I went to 3 more doctors (not neuros but chiropractors and such) where they said a T4 could cause tingling and weakness in the hands and from the T4 down. I know when I sit at my desk at work, my hands feels much worse. When I stand up, I instantly feel better and relief. So... I believe a pinched nerve can do much more than what we commonly think. Also, do a search on blood-spinal cord barrier, you will be amazed at what you find. After more research I will be convinced that a disk herniation came first, left untreated, traps items in the spine and eventually in the brain, and those items become lesions/plaque. Just my thought process.

No one knows what causes MS, so if a doctor says otherwise, ask for proof. The prevailing opinion is it is genetic, although that has yet to be proven. That is why the prevailing demographic trend of MS patients are Caucasians with a middle to northern European lineage.

I believe genetics determines the vast majority of health outcomes. You can smoke 2 packs of cigarettes a day, eat a pound of bacon every morning, and live a sedentary lifestyle...if your genes say you'll live a long life, then you will (barring accidents). I have an uncle that is the perfect example--he smoked, abused alcohol, and never exercised for 60+ years...and he is still going strong at 85. I'm sure we all know people who somehow defy the odds.

The same for the person that eats right and exercises daily...if their genes say they will have a heart attack before 50, then it will be so. Eating right and exercising may add a few years of life, but it is your genes that will be the major determining factor. Typically, eating right and exercising will mostly determine your quality of life, not the length of it. I eat healthy and exercise because I prefer the quality of life it provides, but I feel my genes have already determined my natural lifespan.

The theory is not just for people who live in Northern Europe, but also those that have ancestors from there...i.e., it's a genetic factor.

I would be interested in the studies of animals with the same genes--they must be clones--because clones are the only example of genetic copies (even twins are not genetically exactly the same).

I have heard the claim before that diet is the key to treating disease...I just don't buy it. There is too much evidence otherwise...like my uncle. There are millions of examples like him. He has eaten fatty/high cholesterol foods all his life and his arteries are fine. I switched to the Paleo diet because of Dr Wahls' testimony. She had symptoms very similar to mine so I was naturally hopeful. And while I do agree with the science behind the Paleo diet, I (unfortunately) have not seen any improvement in my MS symptoms. If diet was the cure to all disease, I'm positive the FDA would have confirmed it by now.

I agree--eating right, exercising, and reducing stress all make sense. I just can't bring myself to call those things "cures" for diseases. It gives people false hope.

I am not talking about curing MS or giving people false hope. It would be very sad if people didn't have any hope of getting better. If Dr. Wahl had not of tried the diet she would still be in a wheelchair. Changing diet is successful for some people. They only way to find out if changing diet works is to try it. Some people find giving up dairy and gluten can be helpful. Many find increasing the amount of vitamin D can be helpful. Do not see any harm in experimenting with diet or supplements with the chance of getting better. Think it is up to each of us to try different things until we find out what works for us. If we keep doing what we always did nothing is going to change. If diet hasn't help you hope you can find something to help.

I have not been diagnose MS. Seven years ago I was at a dance and developed double vision and a dizzy spell. I was taken to an emergency room and they suspected a stroke. One of the doctors did a reflex test. He said I showed signs of MS in my lower body. They could not find anything wrong with me. My symptoms were real. My other symptoms were muscles spasms, pins and needles running up my arm, dead feelings in my toes, nausea, CFS, and insomnia. MY PCP told me later that it was just old age and I would have to learn to live with it. I could not imagine living with these symptoms for the rest of my life and googled MS to find out what it was and if there was anything I could do. Found that MS is hard to diagnose. Sometimes people are told they have MS and later find out it is Lyme disease. Sometimes one doctor tell the person they don't have MS and another doctor tells them they do have MS. Since I did not have access to the drugs I had to find something else. I found Dr. Swanks diet and thought eating a healthy diet made sense. After about one month I was not getting better so had to look somewhere else. The thing which seem to apply to me is the mercury poisoning. I had a mouth full of mercury. Had seen information that some people with MS who have their mercury fillings replace sometimes get better. I found a detoxification program by a dentist Tom McGuire. After doing the detox program within two weeks all my symptoms went away. My belief is the high concentration of vitamins, minerals and supplements allowed my body to detoxify the mercury from my body. I found a mercury free dentist and had the mercury removed from my mouth. We need to pay attention to our bodies and do what makes sense. To me it makes sense to eat healthy, get proper sleep, get exercise and prayer and meditation. These four things are beneficial in treating all disease. Think each of us must figure out what works.

Ali,

Welcome my new Welsh friend! Thank for joining us. I'm glad you posted. I hope to hear more from you!