I am getting more and more concerned that I could have MS. I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis in April last year aged 33. I didnt realise I had psoriasis until the rheumatologist mentioned i had some in my scalp. My symptoms were swollen digits, morning stiffness, back pain. Negative bloods for rheumatoid arthritis. The back pain has been a big worry for me as I have had it for a few years and feels like its getting worse. I have on one occasion had what feels like spasms in my spine. I cant remember how long it lasted but felt like at least an hour. It was extremely painful. I also get electric shocks in my spine, sometimes its when I have been ironing and also when i have bent over. I get pins and needles in my hands that feel like hot needles. I had that an entire day recently. I get foot cramps occasionally whether lying in bed or sitting on the sofa. My morning stiffness is getting more and more harder to deal with too. I have been booked in for an MRI on my whole back and sacroilic joints (as they are extremely sensitive). The rheumatologist thinks it could be ankylosingspondilitis. Previous xrays came back clear. Not sure whats happening. But looking at ms symptoms online makes me worried.
HI MUMMY3,
WHAT A TERRIBLE WORRY THIS MUST BE FOR YOU!!
I THINK YOU ARE CERTAINLY DOING THE RIGHT THING BY GETTING THINGS CHECKED OUT. WHAT I WOULD SAY TO YOU IS THAT THERE COULD BE ANY NUMBER OF EXPLANATIONS FOR YOUR SYMPTOMS SO DO TRY NOT TO PANIC TOO MUCH. I DO UNDERSTAND THE ANXIETY AND WORRY THAT NOT KNOWING CAUSES, I WAS IN THE SAME SITUATION MYSELF NOT VERY LONG AGO.
HAVE YOU BEEN GIVEN A DATE FOR YOUR MRI SCAN YET?
SARA
Forgot to add I often jumble my words and sometimes struggle to get words out or find the right words.
I’VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR AGES, EVEN BEFORE I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH MS. IT COULD BE DOWN TO STRESS, BEING TIRED OR ANY NUMBER OF THINGS.
HOW ARE YOU FEELING IN YOURSELF?
I am constantly tired. It varies day to day how bad the fatigue is. My mri is booked for 21 Jan x
Not sure if my message is waiting to come through. I struggle with day to day fatigue but it varies in how bad it is x my MRI is on 21 Jan x
Another thing, I had something happen a few years ago that makes me think it could be an MS hug. I have only experienced it the once and never want it again, I got this pressure all over my back and front. It felt like someone heavy was sitting on me. Paramedics were called (I was out), and they said my blood pressure was sky high (its normally good) and my heart rate was really fast (over 200). I was kept in hospital over night where I ended up fighting a fever on top of it all, and a heart monitor attached to me. I was fine all night and a follow up heart scan was fine. Reading around here I wonder if that was the hug you all talk about. I actually though I was having a heart attack!
I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN ABOUT THE FATIGUE AND CAN TOTALLY RELATE TO YOU SAYING THAT IT VARIES, I’VE BEEN EXPERIENCING THAT FOR QUITE SOME TIME. TODAY, FOR EXAMPLE, IT IS QUITE BAD BUT I AM HAVING A BIT OF A RELAPSE AND SO MY ENERGY LEVELS ARE REALLY QUITE LOW.
I’LL KEEP EVERYTHING CROSSED FOR YOUR MRI SCAN.
I’VE EXPERIENCED THE HUG AND IT IS TRULY THE MOST DEVASTATINGLY FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE I’VE EVER HAD.
XXX
Whether I did indeed have the hug or not, I never ever want a repeat! From everything I have read, it could be what I experienced. Today and yesterday I have really struggled with the fatigue. I wake up not feeling rested and totally shattered. Its so depressing!
MUMMY3, MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU.
JUST A THOUGHT BUT HAVE YOU CONSIDERED M.E (CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME) OR FIBROMYALGIA? MY MUM HAS THIS AND SOME OF WHAT YOU’RE DESCRIBING MATCHES HER SYMPTOMS.
KEEP POSITIVE.
XX
No I have briefly looked into it. I know my arthritis can cause fatigue but the back pain and pins and needles is what made me read more into MS. Then I remembered that possible hug… Do you know how long after mri results come in?
IT MUST BE A TOTAL NIGHTMARE!!
I HAD TO HAVE A COUPLE OF MRI SCANS AS I WAS MUCKED AROUND BY THE FIRST HOSPITAL I WENT TO, THEY MANAGED TO LOOSE MY RESULTS AND THEN WHEN I MOVED HOSPITALS AND THEY SENT MY FILE OVER, MY NEW NEUROLOGIST DISCOVERED THAT MOST OF MY NOTES WHERE MISSING AND THERE WAS SOMEONE ELSES NOTES IN MY FILE. ONCE HE GOT ON TOP OF THINGS AND DID THE SCAN, IT WAS LESS THAN A MONTH BEFORE I GOT MY DIAGNOSIS.
Hello Mummy3
I started with Psoriasis in 1990, just after my father died. They do say stress can trigger it. I was diagnosed in 2007 with Psoriatic arthritis and had to give up my career in nursing.
Last August I was diagnosed with MS, I’m 57 now.
I have cervical spondylosis (worn out neck bones) which could have a lot to do with your symptoms. Try not to panic too much. Its good that your booked in for an MRI scan.
Have you read up on Psoriatic arthritis, it causes quite a lot of physical problems/disabilities…I can understand why your thinking it might be MS. I myself get quite confused now about which condition is giving me the most problems.
Take care, I hope things get sorted for you soon
[quote=“Blossom”]
Hello Mummy3
I started with Psoriasis in 1990, just after my father died. They do say stress can trigger it. I was diagnosed in 2007 with Psoriatic arthritis and had to give up my career in nursing.
Last August I was diagnosed with MS, I’m 57 now.
I have cervical spondylosis (worn out neck bones) which could have a lot to do with your symptoms. Try not to panic too much. Its good that your booked in for an MRI scan.
Have you read up on Psoriatic arthritis, it causes quite a lot of physical problems/disabilities…I can understand why your thinking it might be MS. I myself get quite confused now about which condition is giving me the most problems.
Take care, I hope things get sorted for you soon
[/quote] Since diagnosis of the arthritis I have read a lot on it. I was wondering if there was a connection between psa and ms…
There is no connection between PSa and MS. Although people with one autoimmune disease or with a family history of autoimmune diseases can have a tendency to develop additional autoimmune disorders. There’s quite a few in my family with immune disorders and my daughter is also affected…not with ms though, thankfully. Hope this as helped a bit. Take care 
[quote=“Blossom”] There is no connection between PSa and MS. Although people with one autoimmune disease or with a family history of autoimmune diseases can have a tendency to develop additional autoimmune disorders. There’s quite a few in my family with immune disorders and my daughter is also affected…not with ms though, thankfully. Hope this as helped a bit. Take care [/quote] Autoimmune disease run down my mums side of the family. My aunt has vitiligo (I suspect my youngest has this too), my mum has an underactive thyroid, my daughter has Coeliac Disease, I have PSA and an underactive thyroid.
Can I ask, is insomnia a part of MS? Its driving me crazy. I was so tired yesterday all day, yet when I went to bed I just couldnt sleep. Probably why I get so tired! Lol.
Interestingly,’ my daughter has to follow a gluten free diet. Fatigue is aways with me too. I go to bed tired and wake up tired. I do sleep better though…the drugs I take at night knock me out. Have a word with your gp about it. Take care
Ive seen the gp a few years ago about my sleep issues but she refused to give me anything for it. Ive tried melatonin and new sleeping tablets I bought. The tablets apparently tske two weeks to work which is no good to me!
Try and do something that relaxes you just before bed. Have a milky drink and two paracetamol…worth a try!! Sometimes the combination of the two is very relaxing. Good luck