Iraq vet with questions
 

This is my first post so I just wanted to say hello to everyone and I was also wondering if my symptoms sounded familiar to anyone. So here it goes, I will sum it all up in a few sentences.

I am a 2x Iraq vet who came back from my second deployment with elevated CK levels around 800 I believe and I had blood in my urine. The doctors thought this was from me working out with my unit. I was clearing at this time and hadn't worked out in a few weeks. I explained that to the doc but I think he was puzzled. Fast forward 4 months and I am in the hospital with a 13,000 CK level after a 4 mile ruck march. I wouldn't have even gone but my legs were cramping so bad I couldn't walk. The ER docs flushed my system and got it down to around 400 in about 5 days. a week later I was checked and it bumped back up to 1,200.

By the way I was not on any supplements or meds at this time. For the next few months they tested my blood and urine almost weekly and the average Ck was about 800. They also found small traces of blood in urine and liver enzymes. Was sent to a Neurologist and had a EMG (needles in legs and arms) and everything came back normal. I just had muscle biopsy about a month ago and I am getting results from that in two days.
I know this was a shotgun blast of info and I know no one can tell me for sure what it is but I would just like to know if this sounded familiar to anyone. I also forgot to say that I have had muscle twitching mostly in my legs my whole life and recently it seems I have been losing some muscle mass and I am tired all the time. My blood sugar has crashed a few times in the past 6 months as well. Sorry for the shotgun blast !!! thanks in advance.

Hi,
I moved your message here, to our New Members forum, I think you might get more replies or suggestions to start you in the best direction.

I hope our members can be of help.

Thank you , I appreciate it.

Just to be more clear..(ck level) creatine kinise and I remember cramping really bad when I was a child. I would scream and cry and I couldn't walk. I only remember this happening once or twice.

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

Are you still in the service?

There are genetic disorders of the muscles, but they are rare.
Mitochondrial disease is one. I assume your biopsy is for this.
I have a mito thread that begins with explanations about mitochondria:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...t=mitochondria

But there are other possibilities as well.

Did this flare up in Iraq? How often did you have muscle pain before that? The reason I ask is that the Anthrax vaccine, given to soldiers right after 9/11 is suspected of causing problems because of an additive (adjuvant) that was in it.
This could trigger autoimmune disease.. meaning antibodies attacking yourself.

Can you explain about your blood sugar "crashing"? Was it HIGH or LOW ? A "crash" typically means low to many people.

If your symptoms only occur when you exercise, you may need magnesium supplements if you are not eating foods that provide adequate magnesium.
First off you can try taking a bath in epsom salts, which contain magnesium sulfate. 8oz in a warm bath and soak for at least a half hour. If this helps, then moving on to oral magnesium is next. You'll want a chelate form, like glycinate, gluconate, citrate or malate. Aim for 200mg of elemental daily which is 1/2 the RDA. Do not use OXIDE as it never reaches the muscles. It is not absorbed much at all.

This may help the cramping. Also another thing that may help is
natural Vitamin E. Chose one that has all the forms of Vit E in it...alpha and gamma. You have to read the labels. Some products only have alpha, and some are synthetic.

Magnesium and Vit E will improve the circulation to your legs.
Magnesium also reduces cramping.
Severe cramping can come from high calcium levels in the blood, and also very low blood sugars. So I hope you are having blood tests for both of those possibilities?

If your blood sugars are HIGH, then you need a good doctor to diagnose you and fix that ASAP. A glucose tolerance test is typically done for this. High glucose in the blood causes fatigue, and when ignored can lead to lactic ketoacidosis which is very serious.

If your muscle biopsy comes back positive...you need to find a specialist who can handle this uncommon problem. I don't think the military has the facilities for this.

Welcome OpieK

Glad you found NT. It is a great place for support and information.

Isn't MrsD great?

Lots of info to digest and discern. You can have more than one problem to deal with here.

I suggest you keep a dairy, especially when adding or taking away from your normal daily routine, taking new supplements, keeping up with test results, ADLs, pain scale, etc. It may help over time.

Thanks for your service. It is great men and women like yourself that keep us safe.

thank you guys for actually taking the time out of your day to answer my questions and i also appriciate the support. I am actually about to see my neurologist right now so i will update you guys soon. thans for all the advise.
just to answer a few questions. YES this did flair up after Iraq after a rollover vehicle accident, i was banged up pretty good. Yes i had several anthrax shots, more than i was supposed to because they lost my records. I also read that the dust in Iraq has a lot of bacteia and metals and caues neurological problems. I also was around a lot of burn pits and around a lot of human waste. My blood sugar gets low. once again thank you, sorry if i missed anything , i am on a tablet. i will report back in few hours.

Hello OpieK
 

Welcome to Neuro Talk. I first want to thank you for service to our country. I hope that you can get checked out for auto immune problems. I am a Navy Mom, and my son experienced trouble with this kind of problem. May be related to the injections you received. I hope the doctors give you the very best of care, and can find out what is wrong. You found the right spot for questions, and I hope alot of folks will reply to you. Again, welcome to Neuro Talk. We will be here for you. ginnie:hug: