I have a few ?s about ms

Here is one thread where some of your questions might be addressed:

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=32&m=342663

If you had not already had the MRI which found the lesions in your brain, I might have suggested that you see a specialist -- an ear-nose-throat doctor (or ENT) to be tested for some infection or problem with your inner ear.  That certainly still could be something you want to do as a sort of second opinion.  I don't know if inner ear problems can cause lesions to appear on the brain, however.

If indeed you do have MS, yes, it can cause dizziness. And unfortunately, almost any symptom of MS can stay for a long time, even forever.  The shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat go together, and are a sign of anxiety. The meds you've been given seem to help with that.  Naturally you're anxious, being diagnosed with a chronic illness, and having some concern that you might not be treated correctly, or have the right diagnosis. That may dissipate in time as you come to accept what might be ailing you.

While spinal taps are "old(er) time medicine", if there is any doubt about what is wrong, often the doctor will request that you undergo a spinal tap as yet another tool to confirm MS, or perhaps lead him in another direction as to what is wrong with you.  Clearly there is something wrong. Doctors generally don't like to diagnose something until they're pretty certain what it is, and it sounds like neither you nor the doctor are convinced that it is indeed MS.  If you read the thread I provided, you'll see that while some of your symptoms could be MS, they're not the "typical" sorts of things that a doctor looks for, to make that diagnosis.

You might do some research to see if inner ear problems can cause lesions to appear in the brain.  If so, then certainly explore that option.  If not, then you need to be sure that you and the doctor are confident about the MS diagnosis, and proceed from there.

 If I do ask for an antibiotic for lyme what one would be the best to ask for from my doctor?

Hi deep3,

The reaction that violets is talking about occurs in most people with Lyme disease when they start taking antibiotics.  It's called a herxheimer reaction.  You should be able to look it up on the Internet if you want to pretty easily.  In short, it's a worsening of the symptoms that you already have, plus probably some new symptoms.  You just feel extra crummy after the antibiotics and then start feeling better.  It goes in cycles along with the life cycle of the bacteria.  Most say each time they come out of a "herx" they feel a little better than before.

With Lyme disease a higher dose of doxy would most likely be needed to get it built up in your system enough for killing bacteria.  If you want to test it out, talk to your doctor to make sure you're taking around 400 - 600 mg a day.  If that's more than s/he prescribed, talk to him/her about maybe trying out that dose for a week or two just to see.

Good luck with everything.  Take care of yourself!

Alexia

Hi Deep3,

Yes, what you've been going through definitely COULD be Lyme bacteria being stirred up by the doxy.  Talk to your doctor about it so you can figure this out no matter what it is!  Make sure you tell him/her how you've been feeling different after the antibiotics.  You might even want to consider doing a second Lyme test now - it is speculated that one of the reasons the tests can be unreliable is that the bacteria can kind of hide in your body.  If that is true in your case, you might have them mad and stirred up.  My doctor had me take a few days of doxy before the test for this reason.  There are some Lyme labs that are more reliable. Igenex in CA is one. Bowen is another. 

I hope you figure things out soon!  Be your own best advocate and make sure they rule out other possibilites!

Alexia

Hi Deep3 ,
Have you checked out the lyme threads on this site? You might be able to ask more questions and get more responses in regards to lyme on those posts. Just a thought since this is the MS forum and most of us don't know anything about lyme. You are welcome to post though! :)

Hi Deep,
I do get frequent headaches and a band-like sensation at times. :)

deep3 said...
I'm just looking for reasons why I have these strange feelings in my head.
I'm new to all this. I've been Ill now for 7 months.
I can't get used to this dizzy feeling and ringing ears I have every day.

Have you been back to your doctor with this question?  If he's telling you that it is because you have MS ... which is quite possible...there really isn't much to be done for it.  MS is a chronic life-long disease, not something that goes away.  If it is affecting your inner ear (which can cause the dizzy feeling and ringing ears), that could indeed last for the rest of your life.  Over time, you'll figure out ways to deal with it, cope with it, and not dwell on it, as it may be there for a long time, measured in years.

If the dizziness is so severe that it affects your ability to function, you should ask about meds to treat it. Inner ear disturbances are notoriously hard to manage, however, as the ear is a very intricate "piece of equipment" and lots of things can go wrong with it.

 It's been a while since I posted.

Heres whats going on now.

i ran out of antibiotics at the end of august.

My doctor would not give me any more because my tests for lyme came back neg.

I felt fine for the whole month of september.The best I've felt in 9 months.

Anyway the symtoms are slowly returning now.Everything( pain in back,neck,pressure in my head,rapid heartbeat at times,anxiety attacks,painful bumps under my skin on my head and neck but the dizzyness has gone for now.

My ears never stopped ringing but I still felt good.

How long would it take for lyme to build up again and attack my system after the 30 days of doxy?

My infectious disease doctor is now running a battery of tests to find out whats wrong.

Does anyone else get bumps under their skin that are painful when touched?