Sounds familiar, I have been to see a gastro, actually before the TM, and
he did not find a thing. This is what has made me wonder about the TM
causing it, because like you at times it seems muscular and I can sort of
massage it away. I need to lose about 15 or so pounds to be back to my
ideal weight (thanks to steroids and not being able to do aerobics and
weight training as often). Other times it seems as if my lungs are not
opening fully. I had bronchitis in January, they thought it might be
pneumonia (did X-rays) but everything was OK, but when they gave me the
little thing to blow in to I had very little air to blow. Thank goodness
it got better after about three weeks (I guess maybe it was a viral thing
going around town). Anyway, my lesion is at C2-3 (neck area) and that
makes me wonder even more if the swallowing problems, indigestion (?), etc
are related. Who knows???? My neuro has been great lately, I think he has
relaxed a lot and feels more comfortable now that I understand a little
more about TM and MS. At first he thought cancer which I think made him a
little nervous about what to say to me. But, since tests have come back
normal (protein levels, etc for cancer) and I only have one lesion and
diagnosis has been TM and he has given me time to adjust, he is a little
more open about discussing future possibilities. Now, at his request, I
send over a fax every week and a half to fill him in on symptoms and how I
am feeling. It is a good thing because if he has any comments, he just
jots them down and faxes them back.
If it ever stops raining around here (Austin, TX), I have decided to put on
my rollerblades and go skating in the parking lot of my apartment complex.
I might fall on my rear but at least I will have fun doing it!!!
Nicole
At 10:12 AM 4/3/97 -0500, you wrote:
>In a message dated 97-04-02 18:34:56 EST, you write:
>
>> I have
>> not had many problems with dizziness, except a few months prior to
>> diagnosis (May 96), I thought I had an inner ear infection and felt drunk
>> and was falling all over the place. No sign of ear problems, now know
>that
>> it was probably associated with the TM. Do you ever have problems
>> swallowing or breathing? What about chest pains in the morning (feels
>like
>> either severe indigestion or someone is stabbing me with a knife)?
>
>Dear Nicole,
>
> I've had problems with dizziness for years and was told it was low blood
>sugar because my blood sugar was low even though I'd eaten. This was years
>before TM. I've noticed it does seem to flare up when I've had a lot of
>sugar (like Christmastime...) and when I'm tired or something stressful is
>going on, even a good thing like getting the house ready for company to come
>visit. Avoiding sugar, eating more protein, getting enough sleep seem to
>help. But the first couple of weeks after TM I was very dizzy -- don't know
>whether it was the stress of that time or the TM. Now sometimes when I'm
>lying down with my eyes closed, I feel like I'm floating until I open my eyes
>and focus on something.
>
> I've also had problems with chest pain and severe indigestion. I really
>think, for me, the indigestion is probably due to being overweight. I've
>wondered about ulcers, hiatal hernias and such (sometimes it feels like the
>food actually has trouble getting past a certain point) but haven't checked
>on that. I did mention it to my primary care physician; he told me to
>schedule an appt. with a gastroenterologist (I think that's it). But I
>haven't yet. I've wondered about the chest pain; sometimes it goes away with
>the indigestion after lots of Tums, but sometimes it seems muscular -- feels
>better when I massage the area -- so I've wondered about it being related to
>TM, although I didn't have it at first.
>
>Barbara
>
>
>