Does this sound familiar

I have some question about MS i have read alot about it on web sites but i have some symtoms that lead me towards MS, shakey hands, sorry to be gross but mild loss of bowel function, some days severe back pain i don;t even want to get out of bed, moderate headaches etc, i take 10mg of baclofen twice daily not a whole lot of help but t3 for pain and oxycodone if really needed. Sometimes lately have noticed muscle twitches just alot of weird stuff. I want to talk to my doc about getting tests done. He seems to think that i simply strained some muscles and wants me to go to pysical theropy. If u have any input as to my post please respond thanks Twiggy2

Twiggy2 said...
I have some question about MS i have read alot about it on web sites but i have some symtoms that lead me towards MS, shakey hands, sorry to be gross but mild loss of bowel function, some days severe back pain i don;t even want to get out of bed, moderate headaches etc, i take 10mg of baclofen twice daily not a whole lot of help but t3 for pain and oxycodone if really needed. Sometimes lately have noticed muscle twitches just alot of weird stuff. I want to talk to my doc about getting tests done. He seems to think that i simply strained some muscles and wants me to go to pysical theropy. If u have any input as to my post please respond thanks Twiggy2

I think, given the symptoms you describe, it would be a huge leap to assume you have MS.  That's the problem with a lot of neurological and metabolic problems -- they may look alike from the outside, and from a layperson's or patient's point of view, but there could be lots  of causes of the symptoms you describe. And MS would be pretty far down my list, if I were a doctor, diagnosing you.

You'd probably best start out with the physical therapy your doctor recommends.  The pain, shaky hands and even the mild bowel problems could indeed be related to back problems, depending on how it is you might have hurt your back.  If the physical therapy really doesn't seem to be helping (I'd probably give it at least 3-4 sessions), then I'd be back to the doctor and ask for an MRI, or maybe a CT scan of your back, to see if there are more serious injuries there.  Only then, if that doesn't show anything, would I start to think that perhaps there is something more serious going on.

But even then...MS wouldn't be high on MY list.  Headaches, the severe pain you describe, aren't typical for MS, especially in the early stages.  Sounds like there might be something else going on there.

I hope you find some relief, though! Back pain is awful...seems like when your back hurts, everything hurts!

Twiggy2 said...
Thanks for your posts, i will keep in touch and let u know how things are going, id thought u heard that headaches were part of MS but maybe in later stages of the diesease sorry about that, i have had pain for quite some time and going though the frustration already off and on. Pain wise some days anyway i thank u again i will kepp in touch Twiggy2.

Folks with MS do get headaches, to be sure. I'm battling one this morning. Generally for me they are related to the interferon drug I inject every other day, to slow the course of the disease. But then, ordinary folks get headaches, as do folks with a host of other ailments.

But headaches are not a "presenting symptom" of MS. That is, if I went to the doctor with chronic headaches, he would not first think "maybe it's MS!".  However, if I went to the doctor with weak legs, or complaints of balance problems, he might indeed think "maybe it's MS!", as the weak legs or balance issues are "presenting symptoms".