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What's going on??

Hello to all of you,

In the past 8 years,i used to have some symptoms and cannot understand what's really happening.
In 2007 after a prolonged period of heavy stress i started to experience some strange sings.
The first one was a brief moment that i felt really anxious and i was unable ta talk(lasted about 5-10 seconds).
After this(which was pretty terrifying) in about 2 months,used to wake up one day and felt REALLY tired(i remember ever the moment that this happened).
I do some tests at that time and didn't find anything pathological(mostly blood tests and cardiac tests).
I also used to have fainting episodes(due to hypotension i guess),mostly after expressing extrem emotions.

Also felt a bit fatigue after warm baths(it was summer at this time).
Time after time i have became hypochondriac. :/
So i read in the internet about MS,which make me think that i have this illness(due to my symptoms).
I was checked by a neurologist(physical examination) and didn't find anything(at time my fatigue was in a much lower rate).
I read about the lhermitte's sign in the internet and i start to perform the test.
At the begining,wasn't feeling anything(i think) but day by day i started to feel a strange sensation(buzzing) in my feet(toes mostly) when bending my neck.

My fatigue at the moment(2008) has been gone but used to have some visual disturbances.

At year 2009 i began to take wrestling classes(greco roman) to became stronger(btw i am a big fan of combat sports) and felt really great.
No symptoms and no fatigue in the training seasons(which was REALLY tougth).

At year 2011,i had the opportunity to perform some tests to check things up.

That includes VEP(normal),EEG(not perfect but not pathological eather),MRI of brain(normal,with a little bit of an empty sella syndrome) without finding anything.

BTW that was the first time i checked my B12 and my folic acid.
B12 was at 455 pg/mL(i read that this might be low) and folic acid at 4.3(with a normal range of 3.1-20).

My training seasons in wrestling steel going on without a problem,alhtought i used to stop at 2013 because of my job.

Anyway,let's talk about today now.
Some days before,after a hard day with helping a friend that move out,the next day i felt really tired(last for two days) and started to have paresthesias at my feets and hands.

Also the lhermitte's is still here when i bend my neck,but i want to ask something on that.

Because i am working very much at the computer,the lhermitte's is present ehen i bend my neck and also have my back a little bit bended.
When my back is straight and perform the test,i didn't feel anything,why this is happening?

Is it possible the paresthesias and lhermitte's(if this is a lhermitte) to exist because of B 12 deffisiency and folic acid(after i stop training my diet is not the best)?

I mean is it possible for my levels to fall even more,and that's would be the reason of all this??

Please i want to see your thoughts.
Thanks in advance and sorry for my english.

Chris,30
7 Responses
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987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
If you acknowledge you have anxiety, and you tend to obsess about your health, you need to understand that you could actually be dealing with a genuine medical situation eg health anxiety, conversion disorder etc. If a psychological condition is at all possible, this will be effecting your self checking and online health related behaviours, driving your thought patterns, generating symptoms as your anxiety and fears grow etc so it truly is in your best interest to be proactive about this potential medical issue if your anxiety is centred towards worrying about your health!

It is unreasonable to be worrying about your B12 levels after finding out 4 years later they might of been low back in 2011, sure if your diet is poor today you could be currently low in iron, B12, folic etc but it less likely to have 'continued' to drop since 2011 without you being very obviously ill over those 4 years without treatment, so it's not even worth thinking about...if your diet is poor now, get a blood test and change your diet appropriately.

I understand that you are scared and worrying about MS because of what you have assumed is the same as Lhermitte's sign but honestly, from what you've stated, you only started experiencing this sensation after continually checking if you had this particular symptom or not.....

"I read about the lhermitte's sign in the internet and i start to perform the test. At the begining,wasn't feeling anything(i think) but day by day i started to feel a strange sensation(buzzing) in my feet(toes mostly) when bending my neck"

Lhermitte sign is typically a sudden transient electric shock like sensation that extends down the spine triggered by flexing the head forward and whilst it is a sign of MS spinal cord lesions, it is most commonly due to a structural disorder such as compression of the cervical spine (the spinal cord within the neck) but what you describe would not usually be consistent with Lhermitte's....

a) it didn't exist until you kept repeating the neck tilt posture until you believed you'd recreated the Lhermitte's phenomenon
b) it's not consistently the same, now progressing to include hands-feet
c) It's not when ever you tilt your head down but 'only' whilst sitting
d) It's not sudden, unexpected, startling but a recreated sensation from inhibiting peripheral nerves when you perform a specific curvature and held position of your spine.

What you describe over the last 7 or so years, doesn't sound even remotely consistent with a neurological condition like MS imho.

I would strongly suggest you consider the potential of a mental health condition driving you to worry unnecessarily about your health and assume more than is reasonable under the circumstances. If it is a 'possible' explanation, it is in your best interest to focus on understanding how your anxiety effects your overall health and well being, whilst seeking medical assistance in this area, so you can change your tomorrows!        

Cheers.........JJ  
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5265383 tn?1669040108
Chris, from medicinenet.com

"The causes of Lhermitte sign include multiple sclerosis (MS), radiation damage to the spinal cord, cervical spondylosis (degeneration of the disc spaces between the vertebrae), herniation of a cervical disc, a cervical spinal cord tumor, and subacute combined degeneration (caused by vitamin B12 deficiency)."

Both B12 deficiency and spinal issues are something you have already mentioned, so looking into these things would be a good idea.  At this point there are a lot of things to investigate before ms.  I am NOT a doctor however if it was me, and the l'hermittes I experienced was dependent on my posture, I would guess it would be a disc issue and would try to get my spine re-imaged for that purpose.  Four years of poor posture may have exacerbated your disc issues.

Something to consider :).
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Avatar universal
EEG and not EGG*
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Avatar universal
Hello,thank you for your comment :)

1)That is true,but now i'm mostly concerned about my health...

2)I' m concerned about b 12 deficiency because back in 2011 no one tells me(from the doctors) that a 455 pg/mL could be a low level.
I spoke to a friend of mine recently(he is a pathologist) and told me that in many European countries and in Japan,the low end of b 12 is 500-550 pg/mL.
I also check it on the net by myself.
And just think that at 2011 my diet was(as i remember) ok,maybe 4 years later with(and especially since my diet is poor for quite some time),my b 12 decreased even more.
And maybe even my folic acid too(since in the first was in a level of  4.3,with a normal range of 3.1-20).

3)About the lhermitte's is what scares me the most,because is a clasical MS symptom.
I just want to know if anybody else experience what i wrote above and by that i mean to feel buzzing sensations in hands-feet when the back is curved and have a bad posture and then bending the neck BUT if you try it with a properly posture(a straight back) and perform it,nothing happens(no buzzing,no paresthesia,nothing)...
I just hope that if this is a lhermitte's sign,it's from b 12 def. and not MS... :/

4)What other causes can have as a result general issues of the spine?
Back at 2011 i also do an MRI at low back and the results was a small disc herniation.
Ι have also did some x-rays(not MRI) in neck and thorax who was ok(althought i read that aren't definitive and must be considered together with physical examinations).

5)And one other think i want to ask(to you and to all).
Is it possible for someone who have MS and didn't know it,to train hard with no fatigue(even if his body temperature sky's up) and haven't no balabce problems,no strenght problems e.t.c?
Wrestling is a tought sport and i have never had a problem...
Is that says anything?
My symptoms by the time that condition begins at 2007 was:
i)one episode of panic and aphonia(last a few seconds)
ii)fatigue(last for some months i think)
iii)fainting episodes(due to blood presure fall i believe)
iv)paresthesias(in 2007 in my left knee for a while,and now that i'm writing in both hands and feet)
v)visual disturbances and some green shadows in vision(althought at 2011 my VEP was ok as was my eye examination)
vi)I used to have brain MRI(negative,and that's why they didn't perform any spinal tap test)),low back MRI(one smal hermi disc),EGG(not perfect but not pathologically),TSH at 0.60,b 12 455 pg/mL and folic acid at 4.3,all od this back to 2011...

By the time i began to wrestle(2009) i used to have no fatigue,no fainting episodes or paresthesias(actually paresthesias i have now in all my extermities for fisrt time) or anything like that...

Cheers to you too! :)
Chris
Helpful - 0
987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi and welcome,

I would highly recommend you consider consulting with a psychologist, because you seem to be saying you have a tendency to obsess about your health, to the point that you will start to experience symptoms of the medical condition you have focused on and have been reading about.....

"Time after time i have became hypochondriac...So i read in the internet about MS, which make me think that i have this illness(due to my symptoms)........I read about the lhermitte's sign in the internet and i start to perform the test. At the begining,wasn't feeling anything(i think) but day by day i started to feel a strange sensation(buzzing) in my feet(toes mostly) when bending my neck. "

I am a little confused why you are concerned about a B12 deficiency from back in 2011, are you not assuming that your levels will still be low 4 years later, when they could be perfectly normal now?

If your saying your diet is poor and if you're also no longer physically fit or been active for years, it might actually explain your recent low energy experience after helping your friend move house and both are areas were you would be better focusing your attention on improving.    

Q: "Because i am working very much at the computer,the lhermitte's is present ehen i bend my neck and also have my back a little bit bended.
When my back is straight and perform the test,i didn't feel anything,why this is happening?
A: It sounds too situation specific than Lhermittes imho, possibly more related to the affect of an over curvature of your spinal column at the neck, commonly created from looking down at the computer, smart phones etc basically it temporarily affects the peripheral nervous system but its not the same causation as when it's due to MS spinal cord lesions.    

Q: "Is it possible the paresthesias and lhermitte's(if this is a lhermitte) to exist because of B 12 deffisiency and folic acid(after i stop training my diet is not the best)? "
A:  Paresthesia is associated with B12 deficientcy and Paresthesia (presenting like an electric shock sensation) is associated with Lhermittes, generally B12 deficientcy and Lhermittes are two separate medical issues, but severe vitamin B12 deficiency can also be a 'rare' cause of the Lhermitte's sign, there are usually other more common causes though.

If you believe there is a possibility that your B12 is low again and could be a potential explanation for your low energy and paresthesia, you should make an appointment with your family doctor for a basic blood test.

You've also mentioned that you were taking wrestling classes(greco roman) and work at the computer, it's possible that this type of training and or your working posture has caused some general structural issues to your spine, which could be another possible explanation to speak to your doctor about.

Cheers........JJ
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667078 tn?1316000935
The only thing I can tell you is to see a neurologist. They are the only ones who can diagnose MS.

Alex

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Avatar universal
Anyone...?? :/
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