Going crazy

[NLay]

I was dx with MS in 2008 and felt great except for the last year. I'm 35 and it seems like daily I feel worse. I have cog fog almost all the time, dizzy all day , high blood pressure since last year and as of the last month I'm losing my hair in patches. Neither my pop or neuro know what's going on but so tired of hearing it's just MS really?? So this is how it's gonna be my whole life?? I really feel like I might have something else wrong but not sure what? Any suggestions? I feel like I'm going crazy!!

[BadAttitude]

MS didn't give me high blood pressure or make my hair fall out.

When is the last time you had your thyroid function checked? And given how you feel, maybe you don't have the energy or motivation to work out...but what kind of physical outlets do you have?

[poohb3ar]

HOLD TIGHT NYLA!

no wonder you're going crazy! that's a lot to deal with at once!

unless you're doing some new treatment or on new drugs, i've never heard of high blood pressure and/ or hair loss as a symptom of MS.

thank goodness you've being doing well since 2008. is this the neuro who dxd you? if so, did s/he run a boat load of tests on you?

if not, if it were me, i'd be hunting a new neuro who will take this seriously and find out the cause of these symptoms. if a dr doesn't listen to you, he's not worth it. there are good ones out there, you just have to hunt.

try your local MS Society chapter. you are your best advocate! keep asking until someone gives you answers.

in the meantime, try some deep breathing. if it's pretty where you're at, sit outside for about 15 minutes in the mornings. all this should help you be calm and more peaceful. which will help all of you, but especially that blood pressure.

praying that you find a good dr. to help you!

God bless ya!
poohb3ar

[pennstater]

Dizziness could be MS, but could be your blood pressure, stress, and/or meds.

I have never heard of hair loss or high BP as a direct MS symptom. Before attributing anything to MS, they should run tests to make sure nothing else is the cause.

Aside from thyroid and medicines, stress can be a culprit. Alopecia is another autoimmune disease, which cause hair loss, but it would be all bodily hair (eyebrows, arms, legs, etc..).

If your doctors are aware ofvyour symptoms, I am disappointed. Is your neuro an MS specialist? I would make sure the doctors explain their rationale for "it is MS" and walk you through why they ruled out other causes.

Feel better.

[NLay]

well I have had my thyroid checked last week, and it's normal. Oh and I'm anemic. I live on n an area with not so great selection of Drs. No ms specialists.
But got blood work back last week and said all was good except my iron was a little low. ?? I have not lost eyebrows or lashes just patches in hair. But no one knows they ran bloodwork and are like "I don't know"

[SNOOPY]

Hello NLay,

If you are on any medications it would be a good idea to research side effects. Many times Physicians overlook the possibility of medications as a cause to symptoms.

Many of the DMDs/DMTs list hair loss as a side effect. Some of the other side effects of the DMDs/DMTs also list side effects that can be symptoms of MS which can make it difficult to know if it's actually the MS or the medication side effects.

As pennstater mentioned stress can cause hair loss.

[twain]

Hello NLay,

If you are on any medications it would be a good idea to research side effects. Many times Physicians overlook the possibility of medications as a cause to symptoms.

Many of the DMDs/DMTs list hair loss as a side effect. Some of the other side effects of the DMDs/DMTs also list side effects that can be symptoms of MS which can make it difficult to know if it's actually the MS or the medication side effects.

As pennstater mentioned stress can cause hair loss.

Snoopy\
Which DMD list hair loss as a possible side effect? I've never seen that before.

[rdmc]

Before attributing anything to MS, they should run tests to make sure nothing else is the cause.

This is the best advice.

Sounds like you're having trouble getting your Dr. to look for other causes. If that's
the case, maybe a new Dr. is in order.

Getting a symptom checked out for other causes before attributing it to MS is important. But with that, I will say that I have BP, heart arrhythmia, and respiratory issues, all as a direct symptom of my MS.

I have a lesion in the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) place to cause MS symptoms that result in dysfunction of my autonomic system which includes my bp, heart, and breathing. But I had extensive testing of my heart before attributing my arrhythmia to MS, same with my BP spikes and chronic hypertension, and my breathing at night.

The good news is even though they are a result of my MS, there are meds to treat these problems. It took some trying because the "normal" meds for BP didn't seem to work, but my Dr. worked with me to find meds that would help. Same with heart arrhythmia, normal treatment (an ablation) wouldn't have helped, but we found a med that did. And breathing issues were solved, once again I had the sleep study to figure out what was wrong, with a bi-pap machine I wear every night so I don't stop breathing from central apnea.

Is your doctor investigating your BP issues, or are they at least trying to control it with meds?
I wore a 24 hour BP monitor that recorded my BP over the course of a day so they could get a real
picture of what my BP was doing. Sometimes Dr.s just prescribe BP medicine until they find one that works for you...and if that's the best you can get, then it's a place to start. You can start investigating this yourself by getting a home BP monitor and checking your BP at home, then keeping a log to show your Dr.

Well, sorry for the length of this. Hope you get these issues figured out, and NO, you aren't going crazy...not everything is MS.

P.S. I meant to also agree with Snoopy. When I was on Betaseron, I had a problem with thinning hair. Meds can affect that.

[NLay]

I appreciate reading all the comments. With the bp it is only high when I'm having other ms issues like lightheaded or pain. I am on a 5 mg tablet once a day. The bald patches and dizziness are fairly new to me and I'm having a hard time dealing with it. I have kids that help me out a lot but lately I feel like it's all the time. I was in ER last week with dizziness and racing heart rate they gave me steroid and valluim I felt like I was in medicine coma for days. Had head ct and they said all was fine?? Just so frustrated

[loopey]

Dizziness and hair loss

I have been dizzy all day every day for over 3 years. My neuro says there is nothing that can be done about it and I even got a second opinion with the same answer.

I take Aubagio and one of the side effects is hair loss. Mine was thin to begin with and now it is awful but I haven't had any new lesions so am sticking with it.

I had other medical problems starting at the beginning of the year and had so many tests and even surgery so now I know that my problems and symptoms ARE MS related and that sucks!

The stress and inability to cope is driving me crazy so I have started seeing a therapist and doing daily meditation. Not much improvement yet but I am still hopeful.

[NLay]

Avonex

I know everyone is different. About 4 months ago I started losing lots of my hair about 60% by now. Have been seeing a dermatologist as well as my neuro. It is the avonex. My neuro gave me a 3 month break to find a new meds. I couldn't believe it since I have been on it 3 years and just recently started to have problems.