Am I a hypochondriac?

Hello, if any one could help me that would be great,

I’m a 24 year old female and for years I’ve had joint issues, especially my elbows, shoulder, neck and sometimes my hip. Often it’s not much of an issue but sometimes my neck likes to kick up a fuss and I’ll be bedbound for a few days until it eases off.

My shoulder often has pins and needles and will go numb, my feet too get pins and needles but they burn and are so painful for 10-20 minutes, I have to keep moving them to distract myself from the pain.
My mind seems to sometimes go fuzzy and I’m finding it harder and harder to think of words in sentences often coming out with another completely random word in it’s place.

I have always been unsteady on my feet but it seems my feet want to walk a different place than I tell them to, this often ends up with me walking into walls or stumbling. I’ve never fallen over as of yet anyway.

I don’t know if this is realated or not but my jaw never stops clicking, and I always have tinnitus that I don’t think goes away.
I went to the doctors a week ago but they seem to be more focused on my joint complaints than the dizziness and other problems. I had a blood test taken a few days ago and this morning I woke up to weakness in my hands, I know sometimes you can get this from sleep but this still hasn’t gone away completely, although it is much better now.

When I was eating my dinner last night my fork just slipped out my hand, I didn’t drop it my grip just went.

If anyone could let me know if these seem like MS or something else or am I being irrational and is it all in my head?
Thankyou :slight_smile:

I forgot to mention my gait is very off, my leg feels like it wants to stiffen the knee and my left arm does never swing like my right. I usually hold my dog’s lead or a bag in my left since it looks really weird if I just leave it hanging.

Hi there Clo. you’re not a hypochondriac, but a lot of your symptoms may indicate MS. This can only be confirmed from MRI scans results.

Each case is different and no two patients are the same. In fact out of almost 70million residents, less than 150thousand have a type of M.S so that’s rare.

The journey to finally reach a definitive diagnosis is long, but the tests are thorough. We’ve all probably thought ourselves hypochondriac and allow the powers that be to concentrate on one area. Not joining the dots from other appointments. Keeps notes if you can and ensure everyone medical you see joins up the dots.

Most of all, Good Luck

Chrissie x

Hello

Well, seeing your GP is the right thing to do. It could be that they are testing initially for an inflammatory type of arthritis eg Rheumatoid Arthritis. Assuming that is negative, you could ask for a referral to a neurologist.

We can’t tell you on this forum whether your symptoms do or don’t sound like MS. You should be aware that MS presents differently for everyone, so while your symptoms don’t sound particularly like MS to me, (because some of them seem to come and go so rapidly), seeing a neurologist would put your mind at rest.

What a neurologist would do is a series of physical tests and if s/he thinks it’s needful, will refer you for other tests, including an MRI.

Sue

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Thank you very much for your reply, I’m going to try and ask for some scans when my blood results come back. I felt a bit silly going into the doctors with such a long list of issues, they’re all pretty minor, apart form the neck pain and I’ve never really thought they could be connected.
Thank you again :slight_smile: xx

Hi there, to me this sounds like an uncommon and quite unknown condition called Hereditary Neuropathy with Liability to Pressure palsy (HNPP) however this can only be confirmed by a neurologist / geneticist. There is a great woman on youtube who has HNPP called Jessica (Jessica out of the closet) It might be worth having a look at her videos about her disabilities where she talks about HNPP in more detail. Either way go and see a doctor as they will be able to help you put more :slight_smile: Best wishes, Alice x

Hi there, to me this sounds like an uncommon and quite unknown condition called Hereditary Neuropathy with Liability to Pressure palsy (HNPP) however this can only be confirmed by a neurologist / geneticist. There is a great woman on youtube who has HNPP called Jessica (Jessica out of the closet) It might be worth having a look at her videos about her disabilities where she talks about HNPP in more detail. Either way go and see a doctor as they will be able to help you put more :slight_smile: Best wishes, Alice x

Thank you all so much for your input, I’ve had a look at the lady on YouTube. I suppose I’ll have to wait for my go to do done testing and then take it from there. It’s horrible not knowing though add I’d rather not waste any ones time if it’s all in my head especially as the nhs isn’t in the best shape. Both of my arms are so painful today, and they feel like jelly, weak and slow. It’s a really strange sensation. If I find anything out I’ll let you know, thanks for all you responses :slight_smile:

Hi

I think the best thing you can do is not to get hung up on your symptoms being maybe caused by any one thing, not even that it’s neurological or autoimmune or anything else.

Don’t consult Dr Google about your symptoms, he’s a lousy doctor and before you know it you’ll have a case of galloping plague, or smallpox or leprosy.

Try your best to put worry and stress about it out of your mind (easy said, harder to do I know). And let your doctor do his/her job. If they fail to do it very effectively, then is the time to start considering how else to get a diagnosis of whatever ails you.

You say the NHS is in a bad state; in some areas that’s true, but in others it is still the best healthcare system in the world. I understand that’s putting your faith in a system that’s a bit of a postcode lottery. But, until it fails you, believe it will do its job. So far it’s not failed me, and I’ve lived in several different parts of the country, had two different autoimmune conditions, had MS for 21 years and been very well served by the NHS.

Try and have a worry free New Year, and plan on getting something sorted out in early 2018.

Sue

Thanks, you’re right about google, I’m not going to delve deeper as I can’t stop thinking about it now. I’ll just wait for my gp to do his thing :slight_smile: I didn’t mean the nhs is bad, I meant I didn’t want to put it under any more strain when there’s people who need the service more than myself. Most doctors and nurses are wonderful Hope you have a lovely new year too, take care. :slight_smile:

Hi everyone, I took your advice and didn’t research any more. My results came back from the drs that my vit d and fox acid levels were low. I got vitamins and told to take them once a day. I thought things would improve soon, however on Wednesday night around half six my right foot began to twitch. Weird, maybe it just needs to be relaxed bit it didn’t matter what I did. Half an hour later I had to go to work. It moved from my foot to my calf, then my knees just painful extreme cramps and my knee cap would spasm up and down when stood still. While I walked my toes they’d curl down wards and my knee began to be driving to straighten properly. I finished work, which was exhausting and got into bed. I don’t know if it stopped or not but I’m presuming it did add I named to get some sleep. I got up, and climbed down my ladders, it had a desk at the bottom where I do painting, almost fell off and walked downstairs. It hasn’t gone away, but hadn’t really gotten worse. I rang the Dr who told me to stop taking my meds, too late for that day anyway. Then around 10 in the morning it went crazy, it would bang against the floor moving about a foot or more. If I stop it moving it tell be still for a few seconds then have the worst spamming I’ve seen, kicks in the show. It’s crazy I can’t really explain. After slot of faff of an emergency drs appointment I got told to go straight to a and e I’ve spent the night here and have been told I’ll spend the weekend here too. They stayed me to try to stop it which showed it down but apparently I had a bad reaction to it and struggled to breath, I can’t remember though. I’ve had two different tablets that was supposed to calm it but it hasn’t, they just make me tired. The word thing is if I raise my left leg above the right one the spasm Woo go into that one instead? It hasn’t stopped from Wednesday I’m exhausted my muscles are screaming in pain but I have no control over it. I can walk but my legs are stuff and fell like lead, it’s a struggle to sit myself up in bed. The drs have no idea what it’s is but I’m waiting to have a Mri, and a CT. Sorry for any spelling mistakes as I say I’m really tired I couldn’t sleep at all the night before and my leg won’t stop bouncing, it’s making sores and bruises on my legs :frowning:

Blimey. I don’t know what to say to that. How extreme. And extremely frightening too.

I do hope you’ll be OK Clo, the difficulty is that an MRI will be difficult if your legs are still spasming like crazy.

I call that kind of spasm ‘Riverdancing’. Not necessarily in time but utterly unstoppable. You have my sympathy.

There’s not much else to say, except I really hope they find out what’s wrong, and stop it!

Oh and it seems to me that you have been proved to be most definitely not a hypochondriac!

Sue

Thanks sue, yes I supposed kit title was proven. I got to the mri but my head was moving too much from my legs. I can barely stand up now and can’t walk any more. It’s just getting worse as I’m lied here… the Dr is coming but I’m not sure what he’s going to do :frowning:

Clo

Keep in your mind that if it is MS, that kind of relapse has happened to other people before and they have mostly recovered from it. Me for one. I had a terrible relapse where I just went completely numb all the way down my body. And this was after years of MS damage, so I had less musculature to fall back on.

And whether or not it’s MS, chances are the doctors know what they are looking at / for. They just don’t always tell you. Sometimes because they, misguidedly don’t want to scare you. They don’t realise you are already scared sh*tless!

With a bit of luck and some decent drugs (eg, IV steroids if what’s caused it is some form of inflammation) you will recover.

Keep on telling yourself that. Over the weekend in a hospital is the worst time, because while doctors do rounds, they’re not usually the consultants. And meanwhile you’re laying there wondering what the F is going on.

I hope you’ve got good friends and family to support you. And I also hope you’re on a good hospital ward, with other women who are sweet and kind. And nurses who are human. I know that when I’ve been in hospitals, I’ve been on wards where in the main the other patients are kind of ‘all in it together’, so are friendly and supportive even though strangers.

Let us know, I’ll keep on popping in to this forum over the weekend, so just shout if you need help. Even PM me if you’re in need of a friendly few words.

Sue

I need help to understand something please. I had a lumbar puncture done in September 2017 and doctor told me there were low levels that could be MS. Had another lumbar puncture done early December 2017 and now waiting to see doctor for results. I have had 3 years of going to the doctors to be told they can’t find anything wrong with me. Over the last 3 years I have pain in legs when walking,legs tighten up and I have difficulty walking,falling over, and burning sensation in feet, severe back pain,tinnitus, pressure in the head, dizziness, itchy on legs and arms, firstly full body numbness now mostly just face, head, arms and legs. Loss of strength in arms and legs, and more so on my left side. Unable to think of right words in sentence when talking(was always quick witted prior) Brain fog and fatigue. Very very low libido. Nausea,chest pain and sharp pains in ribs area. Deterioration of eye sight over the last 12 months(3 new sets of glasses). These things would come and go but more so now they are staying much longer or are staying permanently. Any help understanding this would be great full.

Thank you so much for your kind words, it really means a lot to me. I’m glad to hear this might go away as I’ve gone from some one who loves walking their dogs to having to be wheeled into the bathroom. The nurses and doctors here are very nice and I’m being well supplied with cups of tea! My hands feel a bit funny again today and my right one just cracked up like a claw, that was fun. It feels on verge to do it again when I do something fiddly , I was unknotting headphone wires, pesky things! My family are very supportive and my work friend is coming to see me tomorrow. Thank you really for your help I’ll keep this updated, :slight_smile:

Hi Keza

You might be better off starting your own new thread rather than joining an existing one. To do this, you hit the box marked with New Thread, give it a title and post your queries and questions.

Meanwhile, I must say that having two lumbar punctures in such a short time is extraordinary. Are you sure they were lumbar punctures?

Meanwhile, there’s no one on this forum who can say whether you have or have not got MS based on your symptoms, only a neurologist can diagnose MS, after physical examination, MRI and possibly other tests, maybe including LP.

Hopefully you won’t have too long to wait for your results.

Sue

Sorry I’m not much use with your question but I hope you get the answers and are feeling better soon

Hi everyone, this is just an update. I still can’t walk and in still in hospital. Yesterday I had to be sedated completely for an mri and the result came back clear so no ms. So they still don’t know what is wrong with me. I’m feeling so tired lately but I think that’s due to the muscle relaxants I’m on which is the only way I can sleep. Some times during the morning I will drift off only for my leg to kick violently when ever I’m going to sleep. My hands are a lot better today and have only cramped a few times. My right foot has about half an hour of sever cramping though which sets of my legs to tremble. I’m really fed up being in hospital for a while well with no results and not even a clue what is wrong with me. A neurologist is going to assess me but apparently there’s only one in the whole hospital so I’ll have to wait NY turn. They’re going to do an ecg or something to see what brain waves in emmiting? I’m not quite sure. The legs themselves have not stopped at all and only stop when I’m asleep with the pill. They get worse if I force them still or if I try to walk or do anything they don’t like. I wish I knew what was wrong with me

Aw Clo, I don’t know whether to be glad for you that it’s not MS, or sorry that an answer hasn’t been found yet.

My thoughts are with you while you endure this horrible trial.

Sue