Symptoms of MS?

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone with MS has any of these symptoms? I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but I've recently been wondering if my fibro diagnosis is correct, as I have new symptoms and some symptoms have gotten worse. I am going to talk to my doctor, but I think she is going to say it's just fibro and/or anxiety. These are the symptoms I've had over the past year and a half:

Constipation. Diagnosed with severe IBS-C.
Abdominal pain
Headaches. Had chronic daily headaches for 3 months, which then went away. They returned a few weeks ago.
Blurred vision. Went away after headaches went away, but came back about one month ago.
Waking up out of sleep with heart racing and lightheadedness.
Heart palpitations.
Insomnia.
Very poor, light, unrefreshing sleep for the past 2 months. Most nights I don't feel like I fall asleep at all.
Fatigue. Tired most of the time.
Back pain. Mostly mid and upper back.
Neck pain, usually on the front of my neck.
Chest pain. I've been diagnosed with costochondritis a few times, so I believe this is what it is usually.
Pain in my ribs and breastbone.
Cough (worse at night) and throat clearing. Probably from GERD (I was diagnosed in 2009).
Mild asthma (from GERD and probably allergies).
Bloodshot/red eyes. This has only been a problem for the past couple months (probably from lack of sleep).
Twitching. I had an eyelid twitch for one month and then random twitches all over my body.
Pain in my extremities (both arms and legs). Usually worse at night and they're dull, achy pains. Sometimes though, they feel like gnawing pains. They come and go; I can't tell if it's muscular, skeletal, or my joints.
Sciatica-type pain and numbness in right leg/hip a few times.
Heat intolerance.
Sore throat (could be from allergies or GERD).
Petechiae (tiny purple or red dots on skin). Usually develop after I get my blood pressure taken or lean against something).
Feeling out of it. I don't know how else to describe it.
Brain "fog".
Some anxiety, but only at night. Usually when trying to fall asleep and often is about falling asleep.

I also have eosinophilic esophagitis and moderate scoliosis.

Tests I've had done:

MRI of head (Results: Minimal punctate FLAIR/T2 hyperintensities are present in the subcortical & deep white matter of the cerebral hemispheres. Otherwise normal. Doctor said I had/have migraines).
CT of abdomen and pelvis. Normal.
Colonoscopy. Normal, except redundancy of my sigmoid colon.
Endoscopy. Positive for eosinophilic esophagitis.
Abdominal X-Ray. Normal.
Chest X-Rays. Normal.
Echocardiogram. Normal.
30 Day Cardiac Event Monitor. Normal, but did have one brief episode of SVT and numerous PACs noted throughout recording.
Allergy testing. Tested positive for some allergens.
Blood tests have all been normal, EXCEPT: low vitamin D level, slightly low potassium level, ferritin is on the lower side.
CRP and ESR both normal.
I have NOT had an ANA test or any tests for autoimmune diseases. Also, I have NOT had a Lyme titer test.

Some of my symptoms have improved, while others have worsened. Some have just developed a couple months ago. The pain in my extremities, sciatica-type pain, and severely poor sleep are most concerning to me and have been going on for 2 months (and headaches returned). I really don't know if this is just fibro and would appreciate any input. Thanks in advance!



*Cross posted in the Anxiety, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyaglia, Lyme Disease, and Lupus forums.

Snoopy said...
Hi Slee17,

Some thoughts based on the information you provided:

A sleep study would be appropriate based on your unrefreshed sleep, fatigue, twitching, pain, brain fog and migraines. A sleep disorder can cause many symptoms and should be ruled out.

Since you have back pain it would be a good idea to rule out mechanical back problems (bulging/herniated discs, stenosis, ect.). Pain in legs, arms, sciatica, back/neck pain can be caused by mechanical back problems.

Your blurred vision appears to be associated with your headaches/migraines, this can be very typical for migraines. Visual disturbances (auras) can happen with and without the actual headache/migraine.

This will give you more information:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/migraine-with-aura/multimedia/migraine-aura/vid-20084707

Anxiety can cause heart palpitations, heart racing, lightheadedness, chest pains, insomnia/sleep difficulties, abdominal pain, constipation/diarrhea. If your symptoms go away once your anxiety is treated it's a good bet that those symptoms were based within the anxiety.

As far as Multiple Sclerosis --- MS has a diagnostic criteria, The revised McDonald Criteria.
http://www.va.gov/MS/articles/2010_McDonald_Criteria_Revised.pdf

At this point the only test you have had that might point to MS would be the brain MRI but it appears the findings indicate migraines as the cause and not demyelination. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the Central Nervous System(CNS) this includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves, and is a demyelinating disease.

I can't tell you if you have MS or not, that would be up to a Neurologist after testing and exam. I would certainly consider the sleep study, anxiety treatment and mechanical back problems.

Best wishes on your diagnostic journey.

Thank you for your feedback. I actually did see a sleep specialist one month ago; unfortunately, I did not like him and the appointment was not of any help. He seemed to think that my problem was delayed-phase sleep disorder, which I do agree with; however, he did not suggest doing a sleep study because I'm not sleeping (and you have to be able to sleep during the study). Anyway, I still wonder if I might have sleep apnea or some other sleep disorder that I'm unaware of. I know that mechanical back problems could be causing some of my symptoms, but I would be surprised if I had a herniated disk or spinal stenosis (I'm 24). However, it's not impossible. Anxiety can definitely cause many physical symptoms, but I don't think that all of my symptoms are due to anxiety. I might have some underlying anxiety that I'm not completely aware of, but I do think there is something else going on. Although the neurologist did diagnose me with migraines, the radiologist's report of my MRI did say this: "Minimal white matter signal changes as above, a nonspecific finding which can be seen in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patient populations. In symptomatic patients, differential diagnosis includes infection, inflammation, migraine headaches, small vessel ischemia/vasculitis, demyelination, and very rarely neoplasia". While this very well could be due to migraines, I'm not convinced now that I've developed pain/numbness in my extremities and severe sleep problems. I do need to bring my concerns up to my doctor, but I feel as though I am starting to come across as a hypochondriac. I know I am not, but it may seem that way to my doctor. Thanks again!

Hello,

I saw this post on the internet while I was searching and I was kind of bothered by the comment that "For most, MS symptoms do not come and go." Not True.....

This statement really should not have been made. I think we have to be very careful about what we say because people come looking for a friend or helping hand about their symptoms they are struggling with.

I personally am now 13 years into my struggle with MS and my symptoms DO come and go on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. Everyone's MS is different and symptoms vary, therefore, the word "MULTIPLE."

I do want to say to the friend looking for answers, do not give up and keep on with your search for an answer. Sometimes it can be a long road and talking with others definitely helps and you can find very useful information as well.