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I suspect I may have MS, unsure how to proceed.

I have been dealing with many health issues for the last several years. I suspect it may be MS. A doctor told me that if I were not careful with nutrition and lifestyle, I could potentially be looking at MS. That being said, I live a relatively healthy lifestyle, but have bouts of really feeling horrible. I experience fatigue that can be crushing at times, numbness, tingling, weakness, blurred vision, eye pain and pressure, headaches and migraines, muscle cramps, toe cramps, digestive issues, memory loss, confusion, dizziness, nightsweats, sleep disturbances. These symptoms come and go, and vary in intensity. Today was a particularly awful day. I find that when I increase my activity I will crash. I started exercising again this week, and had a couple of really busy days. Today, from the time I got up, I felt like I was wearing a lead suit, had a headache, dizziness, sore all over, internal body tremors after my nap. The last couple o days I experienced memory issues and wicked toe cramps, and some leg pains. The leg pains are like sharp pinpoint pains in my thighs. I've also found that my grip slips and my hand strength is weakened.

So, I know a diagnosis is difficult, and I tend to lean towards natural healing methods. How would you recommend I proceed? What do y'all think?
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Avatar universal
I agree with Supermum about your doctor's comment. Nutrition and lifestyle have not been proven as an indicator of MS. Find another doctor!

My advice would be to see a neurologist and have that doctor determine if you should have an MRI to look for the telltale brain lesions. Although they are not always present, if they are, the diagnosis is much easier. Then if MS is confirmed, you can start on a disease modifying drug (DMD) right away and hopefully slow its progression.

I was diagnosed in 1990 at age 22, so I have been dealing with this disease a long time. The first doctor I had thought my double vision was from working with a computer! When I refused to accept such a dumb statement, I found a good neurologist.

I hope that you don't have MS, and instead are dealing with something current curable, but whatever the case...stay strong and don't give in to it!
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987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi and welcome,

Firstly, "A doctor told me that if I were not careful with nutrition and lifestyle, I could potentially be looking at MS"  there are many reasons for a dr to mention nutrition and lifestyle but to prevent MS is usually not one of them, this type of comment isn't based on medical science or factually true......you would be better off with a better educated doctor if that's your doctors understanding of neurological conditions like MS!

If diet is restricted, larges and or nutritionally imbalanced it will effect your health in numerous ways, lifestyle will too but it depends on the extent of what your doing or not doing on if it could be impacting your health or not....

IF the symptoms you are experiencing is all over your body, in all peripheral limbs, etc it is 'less likely' to be caused by a neurological condition like MS 'basically' because MS is caused by brain and or spinal cord lesions and doesn't cause a widespread symptom pattern like more common medical causation's do eg vit B, iron deficientcy, viral, dehydration, Lupus, vascular, sleep related conditions, peri-menopause, menopause etc etc.  

The process would usually be to first get blood tests and a basic neurological assessment can be done by your GP, consider getting the health of your eyes assessed by at least an optometrist or ophthalmologist and possibly a sleep study done, this will help rule in and out a lot of the more common causes and help isolate potential causes, if there is anything suggestive of a neurological causation you'll need to see a neurologist.

Natural remedies are fine for additional medical assistance but for neurological conditions like MS, it's the disease modifying drugs (DMD's) that have changed the history of MS, DMD's slow down and alter the disease course, and there are various treatment options for all the different symptoms but there isn't a cure for MS....yet!

Hope that helps.....JJ
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Avatar universal
I would stick with your naturalpath for sure,  but also make an appointment with a neurologist, the sooner the better Cause seem MS is hard to diagnosed
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