I am a 20 year old male. I have been having these symptoms for about a year, in march they suddenly got better/improved then they got worse again.

- Seeing flashing spots in front of eyes when blinking sometimes
- seeing floaters or what looks like worms in the vision running around at times
- chronic fatigue/ feeling of generalised weakness
- sometimes air hunger/feeling breathless for no reason
- poor appetite
- muscle weakness
- reduction in the sense of touch
- tingling/pins and needles all over the arms, legs, head, and other parts of the body
- poor short term memory/difficulty remembering
- cold hands
- heart rate feels like its sometimes alternating fast with slow
- pulsing sensation in the neck and in the stomach
- hard to exercise/tolerance to exercise diminishing where as before i was able to exercise easily.
- mood alternating with good to suddenly feel suicidal
- sometimes feeling like i cannot speak (although this has been not very frequent)
- bowel movements all over the place


I have hashimoto's thyroiditis and am being treated with armour thyroid.

Am wondering if these symptoms are consistent with MS?

Im about to do EMG and nerve conduction studies with my neurologist also. My regular blood work has also always been generally normal.

I did a CT scan of the brain which showed posterior cortical atrophy abnormal for a patient of my age. Rest of the brain appeared normal.

I also have a moderate thoracic kyphosis. I sometimes when i lie on my back get numbness in a leg and a whole leg can go numb and feel very weird tingly for a minute and then it goes away. I was getting a massage the other day and when the masseur was massaging along my spine they pressed a bit harder with their elbow and i had really bad tingling down both my arms and legs, after i felt a bit disorientated/weird.

Also i have low IGF-1 levels 19 (24 - 102) nmol/L

It appears this itself (GH deficiency) can cause these symptoms... which GH could relieve.

So i am trying to figure out if this is being caused by MS or IGF-1 deficiency.

Hello, MetalMX.

It's hard to say if your symptoms are MS, some could be others I would have to say no. There are just so many things that have similar symptoms as MS. Has your neuro mentioned MS?

Hi MMX,

You sound like you're going through the mill and for that, I am sorry.
I can't give an MS opinion. I don't know enough about it myself yet.

But reading your other posts are interesting (if too complex for my fried brain to follow).
Perhaps if you could put an idiots guide to supplements for ms and fatigue that you know about.... ??? sorry, it's all about me tonight.

Thanks for the support, Yes symptoms suck, plain and simply. I just don't know if they are caused by MS yet or not.

I could certainly put up a thread related to supplements that can help with fatigue.

I could name a few: NADH (Active B3), Ubiquinol (Active Coenzyme Q10).

http://products.mercola.com/coq10-ubiquinol/

http://www.smart-drugs.net/ias-NADH.htm

These two would be the best ones since they work directly on the electron transport chain in the krebs cycle to facilitate mitochondrial functioning.

Another one would be Coenzymated B Complex. These are Coenzymated B vitamins in their active forms, they are also potent methyl donors.

http://vitanetonline.com/description...al-Peppermint/

Off the top of my head since MS is causes a destruction of the body's myelin sheath the coating on the nerves - Methylcobalamin would be another excellent supplement which directly builds/supports the nerves.

EFA's (essential fatty acids) are required by the body for lots of processes as well as nerve functioning and growth. Best source for these is Hemp seed oil, Udo's oil and extra virgin coconut oil.


I know people have cured their MS with helminthic therapy (which is purposeful infestation with a helminth "worm" in your intestinal tract which bonds with the host "you" and helps to alter immune responses and reverse auto-immunity). People with auto-immune conditions have had success with this. Chron's disease, ulcerative colitis and others.

If i was sure i had MS and diagnosed i would try helminthic therapy.

It is hard to tell and you would need follow up with your dr.

A lot of the symptoms you describe could be related to you thyroid condition. I would definitely ask the dr to run not only the standard TSH but get your T3 and T4 tested as well.

Secondly, have you had any X-rays or testing of any kind on your back? A herniated disc could cause the pain you experienced while getting a massage.

In the meantime, hang in there. For some the road to an MS diagnosis is long. Keep a health journal of both diet, symptoms, and things that trigger symptoms.

Let us know how you are doing and what the out come of your EMG show.

Go to NMSS.org and find tons of support, info and help.

I am so sorry you are going through so much. it sounds like alot to carry. There are more than 100 things that can mimic MS. Its a process of ruling things out. Blood work to check your B12 and Vitd. Lyme, Lupus, and infections. Then you need MRI to check for lesions in the proper places, and a spinal tap to check for remnants of mylin being eaten. its not a quick process, even for those with glaring symptoms, and big MS centers looking after them. You must have 2 clear periods or disease activity with at least a 2 month to 2 month break inbetween relapses for most to qualify. There are some that qualify without meeting that critera, but its rare. It really is a huge laundry list of things that can, and do mimic such events. I wish I could color code the world.

I want eyebrows to change color when we are sick. If you have heart disease, your eyebrow turns red. MS it turns orange. Lyme is green, and so on. Wouldnt that be great to go to the MD and say "hey! my eyebrow is orange, what does this mean?"

hang in there. Make sure you get a team on your side, and keep a journal. Keep track of what tests you have had done and what the results were. Going to an MS center can help. the NMSS.org has a list of ones close to you.

Till then, pull up a chair and hang out. We have folks in every stage of this awful disease. From limbo island, to PPMS. your in good company.

I have been on helminth therapy for about 8 months or so - have had 3 doses so far - one more planed in a couple of months. I take it do lupus/sjogrens. I friend of mine with Hashimotos is considering it. Not sure if this was a confirmed diagnosis for you, but seemed to be indicated? Can you provide a further update about how it has gone for you in the longer term? The one year on update sounded very promising.

Hi MetalMx,

Sorry if I missed this, but have you been tested for a B12 deficiency?

I was dx'd with B12 deficiency about ten years after my Hashimoto's dx. Many of the symptoms I had were very similar to what you describe. I'm happy to say that fixing my B12 deficiency resolved my symptoms. Be sure this is checked, and also request a copy of the lab result and be sure you are in the upper range. Lab lows are typically set around 150, but neurological damage can occur in patients with levels as high as 400 or more. My B12 level was 294(150-1100)... AFTER 3-5 years of progressive symptoms.

Here is a list of the symptoms I had and more info on B12 deficiency.
http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com...ciencysymptoms
http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/b12deficiency

Gluten sensitivity/celiac disease can also cause symptoms that mimic MS, through both immunological means and through vitamin deficiency.

Cara

Hi Cara,
Excellent idea. I had B-12 deficiency after the birth of my third child. I had weekly shots. I don't know the b-12 count, it was a long time ago. I had 6 pregnancies. The shots continued for a long time, then went monthly.

He then he put me on oral b-12. I have taken that for eons, still do. I take 1 gram a day and my tests show around 980 now. High, but normal.

I couldn't get off of the couch after my third child. I was glad the GYN was knowledgeable to these conditions. I had low Thyroid back then too but was taken off the med after 10 years, by a doctor who said my Thyroid tests are fine. Yes they were fine because I was on the Thyroid med. Duh!

Now with a goiter and many nodules later, I tested hypothyroid with a new doctor.

The Pharmacist and Endo doctor, told me what to take and not to take with the med. Gave me a list. No food one hour, no iron or antacid tablets for four hours and many other no-no's that do not agree with the Thyroid meds. Birth control and HRT affect it too. I didn't have that knowledge when I took it years ago. Hmm

I might have had a B12 deficiency but i was using sublingual methylcobalamin 5mg so this helped with certain b12 symptoms i had.

I have been seen by a neurologist and he has done EMG and nerve conduction studies and apparently something is wrong with my nerves, their is some damage their. He notes to the peripheral nerves.

We don't know what is going on yet but he sent me to do a Brain MRI, Spinal MRI, and blood tests. He also wanted to exclude MS from these tests.

One question i have is it always necessary to be injected with MRI contrast when doing brain or spinal MRI's? can these tests be performed without these dyes?

I did a pituitary MRI last year and was injected with a contrast containing gadolinium this also made me break out in hives. I did a hair analysis (to check my mercury levels) and my gadolinium is now elevated so i don't need any extra heavy metals added to this and i refuse to be injected with radioactive dyes of any kind. Gadolinium is a rare earth metal it is never meant to be injected into a human being