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have had constricted feeling in throat , difficult to swallow and pain ,for afew years, muscle twitching in lower extremity for about 6 months, dizziness off and on for about 2 yrs. I have had mri and they found white spots in the gray matter. It was repeated 8 mo later and was the same . Nothing has ever been solved Jennifer.

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Female , Age: 33

Already Tried:
decongestants, MRI, Magnesium and calcium supplements, eye excersizes for the dizziness, ear and hearing checked.

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I MAY HAVE ACCIDENTLY DELETED THE ANSWER THINKING IT'S JUCK MAIL, SO NEEDLESS TO SAY I DID NOT GET IT

Ms L,
It sounds like there has been some investigation already. Describe your problem in as much detail as you can think of. Please also list all studies and findings to the best of your ability. Also list all other medical conditions that you have.
--Dr. Sun

Reply to ASun's Post: It all started with sleep study to find out why i can't stay awake--this has been an ongoing problem since about age 13. sleep study revealed borderline Narcalepsy without cataplexies. Sleep Dr. also wanted MRI to rule out other things. The MRI showed white areas in the gray matter. I was told this could be from old head injury or severe whiplash or a number of other things OR MS. He wanted to do MRI about 6 mo later to check for any changes. 8 mo later I started having dizzy spells wher any movement of my head or eyes would cause dizzyness. I had eyes checked--fine. I had ears checked-- fine but possbly need to improve eye and brain coordination so i did excercises. Prob still exists. The throat issue has been ongoing for about 1 1/2 yr ( guessing ) and I have had blood work done and taken decongestants. It feels swollen inside or consricted and sometimes is very difficult to swallow. I know I have drainage and allergie problems but none to bad to bother me much. I take meds for depression and anxiety ( wellbutrin 300 mg. ) I take Topril for tackycardia( which i had been complaining of for about 3 yrs and had halter moniter which showed only a few periods of tackycardia but none to concerning., and anxiety.My blood preasure is usually 90/60. My legs started twitching about 6 mo ago and I was told by Dr. to try Magnesium supplement and that has not helped at all. My second MRI did not show any change so possibilty of MS was dismissed and white areas in brain were thought to be old injury( bad car accid. in 92 with no apparent head injury but many broken bones, and head injury as a child fell head first off top bunk bed and went to hospital with major external swelling. I hope this is enough info --if not i can try to give more

Ms L,
There seem to be two main problems for you right now that may or may not be related. I will try to tie them together.

1) swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). The key factors that will help distinguish the reasons for this are the time course (sounds like it is intermittent), and whether it is both liquids and solids or only solids (both?). In this case, an esophageal spasm or motility problem may be the factor. If this continues to be a problem, you may want to see a GI doctor for more evaluation. If it does not cause significant problems, then just keep track of it and watch for changes.

2) The night time leg spasms may be a sign of iron deficiency (Restless Legs Syndrome). Ask your doctor for a ferritin lab test to check your iron level. If this is very low then you will need some supplementation and a GI evaluation for a possible source of the iron loss.

Finally, to tie it all together, I would suggest that you may have a source of iron loss in your esophagus that would be the source of both problems. This should just be a working hypothesis that you will work with your doctor to confirm or reject.

--Dr. Sun

A reliable free resource for patient directed reading on health topics is Medline Plus (medlineplus.gov). Search "your topic" to get some more information.

If this helps, please click the accept button. Leave some feedback and let me know if you have more questions.

Reply to ASun's Post: Makes sense except... I had blood work done several times and all was fine, and the leg spasms are all the time, I don't mean to be so difficult but this is why i am asking b/c I haven't been able to solve it. If the same possibilities apply then, okay I will check this out from that approach thank you Jenn

Ms L,
Same comments apply, but to clarify:

1) confirm that you had a specific "dysphagia" work-up. This usually includes a GI consultation and an EGD if it is necessary. Because you did not mention these items, I assume that you did not get them.

2) Please confirm that you had specifically "ferritin" checked. There are many different items that can be ordered in blood work--hundreds--so getting blood work does not mean you necessarily had your iron level checked.

--Dr. Sun

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