Basically, I’m probably scaring myself but I’m worried I’m going to have a diagnosis of MS. My symptoms are: for the last couple of years increasing periods of vertigo, particularly when eating, which last only for 5 seconds or so but I’m getting it a lot more frequently than I used to; my hair is suddenly not growing very fast, after it grew 2-3 inches in 3 months last year but having had it cut again in August it’s grown the same amount and that was 7 months ago; increasing numbness/pins and needles in various parts of my body, particularly my upper back, feet and hands. It’s got to the point where I can’t read a book in bed for long because my hands start to fall asleep. The sensation never lasts long, but it’s starting to affect how long I can sit in one position for.
I’ve had blood tests and I’m waiting for the results. I suppose what I want to hear is that these aren’t necessarily symptoms of MS; I can only find out so much from the Internet. Sorry, I am just scared because this pins and needles thing feels like it’s on the verge all the time and it’s causing me anxiety.
First of all hello. Im sorry to hear you are having a hard time of it. I cant tell you if your symptoms are related to MS or any other condition, but i do know that anixety can make things a lot worse than they need to be.
You say you are waiting for blood test results, this is a positive sign that something is being looked at. When you have results you will know in which direction to look. Talk to your GP, explain about anxiety there are lots of things things that can help you. Try not to fixate on every little thing - whatever is going to happen will wether you worry or not.
Have a look round the site for reliable explanations about MS and feel free to ask questions, people on here are very understanding.
Thank you for your reply. I will look round some more. I have to wait till a week on Tuesday for results so I’ll try not to worry too much before then. It’s quite hard not to, though!
A dx of MS cannot be made from blood tests. You would need to have a MRI scan, and other tests and sometimes a LP. Please, please don’t trawl the net, you can imagine you have any illness by doing that, you’re being investigated, wait for the results of the blood tests which will either show if something else is wrong. If not further tests could well be requested. So be patient and try not to stress out worrying. Hope you hear soon.
As far as I know, MS doesn’t affect hair growth so, if this is related to your other symptoms, I doubt very much that it is MS.
I’m not a medic, but your description of your symptoms suggests to me that it is much more likely to be something that affects the whole body, e.g. thyroid, vitamin deficiency, hormones, etc. The good news, if I’m right, is that these kind of things tend to be fixable or controllable with meds - so fingers crossed that the blood tests reveal the culprit and all is well very soon.
