Hi my name is david and i am a 40 year old man. i want to tell you a little about me before i ask my question
So many years ago i developed a cold and then it got severe and i ended up bed bound for 6 months or so it weakened me so badly that i developed a chest infection that nearly killed me.
gradually i improved but was still in pain and suffered with fatigue and weaknes. after a year i was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. needless to say it was impossible to hold down a job.
as the years went by some times i was better other times worse.
then about 4 years ago i developed double vision due to a squint returning that i had as a child and some tingling in my face
i went to the doctors, they thought the tingling odd and refered me to an eye clinic. the double vision went away.
3 years ago the double vision came back with avengance and made me feel sick most of the time so i ended up with frosted lenses in my glasses. eventually i had an operation to allign my eyes, but the doube vision came back once my eye recovered.
about a 8 months ago i developed tinnitus in one i was given a hearing test and was told it is one of those things.
then 2 months ago i developed a tremor and different pain, my muscles ached like they had been over used and feel tight. so i went to the doctor who told me i have an intention tremor and ran lots of blood tests which as usualy showed nothing except low vitamin d levels. i was put on suppliments.
While i am sitting down the tremor feels internal (no one can see it but i can feel it) but when i am active or stressed the tremor runs away and i have burnt myself a few times. most of the time if i focus and make myself calm the tremor quietens down.
Anyway finally my question is, is it possible for MS to present its self in a strange manner.
my symptoms led me to this site, but from what i read eye problems or tremor are usually the first symptoms of MS.
My doctor wants me to try vitamin supliments for another month to see if they help (they dont) then i will be going back to the doctors with my wife to demand an MRI scan ( i am to easy going and the doctors just walk all over me)
Hi David and welcome (I’m assuming your name is David).
Some of your symptoms do seem to be MS-like and I can see why you are worried. However it’s also possible to have very MS-like symptoms caused by other problems… and low Vitamin D levels is one of those problems.
I think your doctor is right in waiting to see if the vitamin suppliment will resolve the problems… it may well do.
If it doesn’t then, yes, I would say that seeing a neuro should be the next step (it is a neuro who would then refer you for an MRI).
For the time being wait and see if the Vit D works. Vit D is actually not a vitamin at all but a hormone which, when deficient, can have very bad affects on the body… so don’t assume that it’s nothing important and couldn’t have caused your current problems. Deficiency of Vit D can be very serious.
Vitamin D levels and MS have also been linked. Lots of people with MS take Vit D supplements. In Scotland they are thinking of adding it to milk to try and lower the high rates of MS they have.
But one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other… in other words, you can be Vit D deficient and not have MS.
It’s a case of wait and see… but really I do understand your concern and think you should definitely follow up with neuro visit if things don’t improve soon.
I’m not sure I’d be as patient as Pat, but this is because of your previous symptoms rather than the more recent muscle problems which could easily be due to your vitamin D deficiency. So, I would be going back to the GP and asking for a referral to a neurologist. Of course, there is every chance that the double vision and the tinnitus have non-MS explanations, but I think I would be a lot happier if a neuro told me that, if I were you.
Vitamin D supplements can take quite a long time to make a noticeable difference (months, not weeks) so don’t despair if you haven’t seen a change yet - there is still time for them to work.
i am a very easy going person, and up till recently i have put up with pain fatigue and weakness and remained positive.
then the double vision i accepted also, and the tinnitus. but when the other symptoms started i thought to myself this is enough.
i think i will wait another month providing nothing else happens.
i guess i just wanted to rant a little and get a second opinion.