Re: Fibro and MS

[Guest guest]

MS is an autoimmune disease in which the myelin sheaf that covers the nerves in

the brain and spinal cord become damaged, much like when the rubber coating on

an electrical cord is damaged, causing a wide variety of symptoms. Fibro does

not cause that type of damage but many people with Fibro experience symptoms

that are commonly associated with MS.

Personally, I went through the whole MS diagnostic routine with multiple MRIs, a

spinal tap and other tests over a period of a couple of years in the late 90s.

The symptoms that I had that were most MS-ish were L'hermitte's Sign where you

have electrical shocks zip through parts of your body along with dizziness,

nausea, etc. and weakness of my legs to the point that I had to use a cane. My

tests were not normal but were not abnormal enough to result in a diagnosis of

MS. MS came up again in 2004 when I developed vision problems and an MRI of my

eyes showed spots in the brain similar to those with MS. Again, I didn't have

" enough " spots and was told I might want to have another MRI in six months or so

but I never did.

So many people with Fibro have these symptoms that books in the 90s on Fibro

suggested that Fibro was an early stage of MS but that did not prove to be the

case. Others have wanted to call Fibro " atypical MS " but it doesn't make sense

because Fibro simply does not cause the type of damage to the nerves that MS

does.

Both Fibro and MS cause widely varying experiences and symptoms for the people

with the diseases. MS " starts " in a zillion different ways and is still a very

difficult disease to diagnose even for doctors with years of specialization and

with a lot more than a single MRI. Having gone through the terror myself, I

would encourage you to go to a neurologist and be checked out. Personally, I

went 5 hours away to the Cleveland Clinic because I wanted answers that I could

trust.

Fibro symptoms are so wide and varied that they overlap many different diseases

like MS and lupus. Since people with Fibro often get treated like we are

hypochondriacs or worse, and told that it is " only " Fibro and not a " serious "

disease, we can unconsciously desire a diagnosis that is more in line with the

impact the disease has on our quality of life. I know that is what was going on

with me but having had Fibro for almost 20 years and being on disability for it

since 2005, I KNOW how bad it can be!

I understand your fear and shared it for a long time. I truly do " feel your

pain " and hope with all my heart that you find the answers that you need. I

hope what I've written here has helped in some way.

Blessings to you,

Margie

>

> Hi, does anyone know if there is a relationship between fibro and MS? I have

fibro but i've been getting some different kinds of health problems. They are

scarily similiar to those in the early stages of ms. I know its a very hard

thing to diagnose and you really need an MRI but i was just wondering if there

was a connection? Or if maybe someone on here has MS and how it started?

>

> Thanks so much.

>