Do I Have MS

Hi All

I joined here because I may have MS.

I’ll start off introducing myself and would like some opinions, please.

My name is Derek and I am a 48yr old male living in Edinburgh.

Thought I might have been too old for MS.

In 2011 I went for an MRI scan to check my pituitary gland due to a low testosterone level.

The pituitary gland was fine but an abnormality in the white matter signal was found indicating the possibility of MS. The year previous to that I all of a sudden had difficulty walking. I would start to walk and my legs would be all over the place, I’dhave to stand for 30-30 seconds until what I felt like a small electrical pulse going through my legs. Then I knew I could carry on walking

I am a type 1 diabetic for 19yrs now and severely overweight (17 stone). When trying to lose weight by walking I would walk for 15 mins and my legs would get weak and I’d start tripping up a lot.

Up until 2011 I could walk a lot longer easily and I weighed 23 stones, weighed 12.5 stones in 2000 but that’s a different story lol.

For the past year I have been getting a really tight feeling in my back. Started as a dull ache where the left kidney is. It then started spreading round my waist like a tight belt. I thought it was my kidneys due to dehydration.

One night a month ago I was reading in bed and before going to sleep got up to visit the toilet and my back was agony, I could hardly move. It was ok when I lay on my back.

I have an appointment for an MRI today for a full spine scan and head.

I am really hoping it comes back clear. I am used to being told every ailment I suffer is because of my weight and I thought these symptoms were due to my weight. If I hadn’t had the scan in 2011 I would still be thinking it’s because I’m too fat and unfit.

Sorry this is so long

Kind regards

Derek

ps I used to only wear glasses for reading and tv but the past 5 years have been wearing them full time. When I take the glasses I can harly see anything. I put it down to my eyes being used to wearing glasses, but could it be a symptom of MS?

Hi well, yes it could be MS, but it could be a whole batch of other things too.

I spent 14 yrs in and out of a PPMS diagnoses and ended up with a different one.

My mobility, bladder, bowel problems are all very PPMS like.

Id wait for your scan and results, before trying to think` it is MS.

I`ve never had any eye problems. When did you last have a eyesight test?

I told my optician that I could have MS, so he did an extra long investigation and said my eyes are healthy…except i need glasses to read close to.

By the way, you`re not too old for MS. Although folk often begin with problems at a younger age, MS has no age discrimination!

luv Pollx

Hello Derek and welcome to the site :slight_smile: Obesity can cause all sorts of problems so it can make diagnosing things more difficult. Add diabetes to that and I can imagine that some doctors would write everything off as one and/or the other so it’s good to hear that you’re having an MRI. The scan you had before may have shown something consistent with MS, but there are a surprising number of conditions that are similar to MS including things like vitamin deficiencies and migraine through to genetic conditions so it’s important to keep an open mind. As Poll already said, MS is not age discriminant (nice phrase Poll :-)) - the youngest person diagnosed that I know of is 2 and the oldest in their 70s or maybe older (my memory sucks!). There are loads of other conditions that can start in middle age too though so unfortunately your age doesn’t narrow things down to just a few options. Re your vision: it is absolutely normal for vision to noticeably deteriorate once we hit our 40s, but if you are concerned you could ask your GP to refer you to an ophthalmologist. I hope the MRI went well. Let us know how things progress? Karen x

Hi

Thanks for your replies and sorry for taking so long to reply.

I never had settings to subscribe to any posts I made to see replies, so thought nobody replied.

Had a head and full spine MRI last wednesday. Don’t know how long it takes to hear from consultant.

When I seen the consultant at Royal Infirmary, the same one I seen in 2011 at Western General she done some tests and reckoned it was pretty safe to say I had MS.

She asked me to stand against a wall and walk toward her one foot in front of the other. I thought , yes, easy, I was all over the place.lol. We had a wee laugh abvout it.

Have a good day today and every day

Derek

Hi ,

Sorry for not replying for over a year. MRI and muscle/mobility tests confirmed I have MS.

Have had 2 MRI scans since then and waiting to compare last years MRI with one I had in May this year to fnd out what dosage of medication to give me.

I have seen the tv programmes interviewing MS sufferers who describe their excruciating pains and I never had these pains, only a tight feeling around my waist and signal from brain to leg problem (unable to lift right leg).

Have woke this morning with the upper leg joint of left leg feeling like I twisted it and agony if I step/move the wrong way.

Is this pain the type I have to look forward to as an MS sufferer?

Are there any support groups in Edinburgh?

Thanks and kindest regards

Derek