I posted my first introductory post elsewhere on the board (not sure where lol) but today I found this spot for "Limbo Landers" and decided to put a new post here.
Now that I've been reading up on MS, I'm wondering about whether or not symptoms I've had for many years could possibly be related. I've had chronic pain issues which range from a general achey all over pain to specific joint pain to a tired/burning muscle kind of pain to a sharp out of the blue intense pain that lasts a few seconds and goes away and comes back off and on for a few hours at most. Most of this I've ignored. I honestly didn't think much of it, and I still don't know what to make of it.
I've also dealt with fatigue, weakness, lack of stamina, etc. and just figured I needed to get in better shape.
In the past year, some major digestive problems have come up so in order to try and alleviate that I've been following a gluten free diet and that seems to have helped that area.
Last May I started having attacks of uveitis (also called iritis) in my eyes that has been ongoing. I take the prescribed steroid and antibiotic eye drops, the inflammation quiets down, then flares back up again. There have been times when I have purposefully not treated it in order to give my body the chance to fight it off on its own and it has just gone away, but still comes back. My left eye is the worst, but it has also shown up in my right eye.
A few months ago I began having strange sensations in my left leg, as if I was purposefully tightening my calf muscles, and I would get an intense tingly feeling as if my leg was asleep but more intense than that. That lasted for a week or two, then went away.
In late December last year, I had a fairly significant attack of vertigo. I have had one other attack probably 3 years ago. It lasted all day, but then it was gone. I thought it was a weird stomach flu. The attack last December was much like the first attack I had but didn't last as long...maybe 2 hours...but to this day I continue to have little mini bouts of the room spinning, but it just lasts a few seconds.
I've also noticed that my short term memory has been getting very bad. I'm also finding myself saying things like, "The taco meat is in the cupboard" instead of the refrigerator. Or I go to the wrong cupboard to get a dish or I have to think really hard about which cupboard to put the dishes in when I'm putting them away.
My regular doctor had tested me for lymes disease, thyroid, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, etc. Found an elevated sed rate and vitamin D deficiency. After taking vitamin supplements and watching my diet (gluten, dairy and sugar are common culprits for inflammation), those issues have been pretty much resolved, at least as of November.
The vertigo and uveitis prompted my doctor to refer me to a neurologist, who suspected MS.
She ordered a visual evoked response test - that came back normal. She ordered an MRI - no lesions, but it did show enlarged ventricles in my brain.
So she ordered a lumbar puncture, which I had done this morning and I was so incredibly nervous about it, but it turned out just fine.
I am just now starting to detect a little bit of a headache, so once I finish this I will go lay down. The dr doing the puncture did tell me that my pressures were good (13).
So now, with all the ordered tests having been completed, I'm settling into limbo land.
Sorry this is so long - I was told to drink a lot of caffeinated beverages to prepare for the LP LOL
Has anyone else had presenting symptoms like I've described? I'm curious about the enlarged ventricles - doesn't seem to be a common MS symptom, but it can be a symptom from what I understand.
Thanks for being here. It is so helpful to talk to people who understand.
Now that I've been reading up on MS, I'm wondering about whether or not symptoms I've had for many years could possibly be related. I've had chronic pain issues which range from a general achey all over pain to specific joint pain to a tired/burning muscle kind of pain to a sharp out of the blue intense pain that lasts a few seconds and goes away and comes back off and on for a few hours at most. Most of this I've ignored. I honestly didn't think much of it, and I still don't know what to make of it.
I've also dealt with fatigue, weakness, lack of stamina, etc. and just figured I needed to get in better shape.
In the past year, some major digestive problems have come up so in order to try and alleviate that I've been following a gluten free diet and that seems to have helped that area.
Last May I started having attacks of uveitis (also called iritis) in my eyes that has been ongoing. I take the prescribed steroid and antibiotic eye drops, the inflammation quiets down, then flares back up again. There have been times when I have purposefully not treated it in order to give my body the chance to fight it off on its own and it has just gone away, but still comes back. My left eye is the worst, but it has also shown up in my right eye.
A few months ago I began having strange sensations in my left leg, as if I was purposefully tightening my calf muscles, and I would get an intense tingly feeling as if my leg was asleep but more intense than that. That lasted for a week or two, then went away.
In late December last year, I had a fairly significant attack of vertigo. I have had one other attack probably 3 years ago. It lasted all day, but then it was gone. I thought it was a weird stomach flu. The attack last December was much like the first attack I had but didn't last as long...maybe 2 hours...but to this day I continue to have little mini bouts of the room spinning, but it just lasts a few seconds.
I've also noticed that my short term memory has been getting very bad. I'm also finding myself saying things like, "The taco meat is in the cupboard" instead of the refrigerator. Or I go to the wrong cupboard to get a dish or I have to think really hard about which cupboard to put the dishes in when I'm putting them away.
My regular doctor had tested me for lymes disease, thyroid, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, etc. Found an elevated sed rate and vitamin D deficiency. After taking vitamin supplements and watching my diet (gluten, dairy and sugar are common culprits for inflammation), those issues have been pretty much resolved, at least as of November.
The vertigo and uveitis prompted my doctor to refer me to a neurologist, who suspected MS.
She ordered a visual evoked response test - that came back normal. She ordered an MRI - no lesions, but it did show enlarged ventricles in my brain.
So she ordered a lumbar puncture, which I had done this morning and I was so incredibly nervous about it, but it turned out just fine.
I am just now starting to detect a little bit of a headache, so once I finish this I will go lay down. The dr doing the puncture did tell me that my pressures were good (13).
So now, with all the ordered tests having been completed, I'm settling into limbo land.
Sorry this is so long - I was told to drink a lot of caffeinated beverages to prepare for the LP LOL
Has anyone else had presenting symptoms like I've described? I'm curious about the enlarged ventricles - doesn't seem to be a common MS symptom, but it can be a symptom from what I understand.
Thanks for being here. It is so helpful to talk to people who understand.
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