Hey mssociety. I’m a 22 years old male. I’m writing this because I’m going out of my mind, and I can’t focus on everyday matters because of my anxiety. Last thursday, when doing a project I was sitting with my left foot on it’s tip toes. Suddenly, it started twitching like crazy. Being the health anxious person I am, I started googling, and when I found out that it’s a normal reaction from our bodies, I managed to read some articles about Multiple Sclerosis and brain tumors. The next morning(Friday) when I woke up, I had this tingling feeling in my fingertips. I shook it off a little, but it kept going the whole day. The tingling wasn’t really noticeable until I paid attention to it, like if I were to compare it with the tingling of a blood rush in hands after walking into a hot room from a cold wintery outside, then it really was nothing. Of course I kept reading about the different causes, I’m scared about MS (and a brain tumor) the most. After going to sleep on Friday, I woke up at 4 AM with my right thumb, pointer and middle fingers numb, like I slept on them. I shook the hand off, it went away and I went back to sleep. After I woke up, I started googling even more, and I found out that this 3 finger numbness might be indicative of a carpal tunnel syndrome. However, the tingling was there the whole Saturday as well. It was in both hands, and I think it only affected the fingers excluding Pinky, which is another indication of a carpal tunnel. And it wasn’t a constant tingling - I felt it on intervals, like 1 second tingle, 4 seconds nothing, 1 second tingle and so on. Like it came and went with my blood flow. It mostly subsided yesterday and today, but I’m experiencing some tingling on my arms too, and when I look at the places where I feel the tingle, I see that my hairs are standing up there. Also my nose itched for like an hour yesterday without an apparent reason, but it happened in the past too. I’m going to my GP tomorrow but I’m losing my mind, I’ve got an important project to work on today night, but all I think is that I might be really sick. Right now I don’t feel the tingling anywhere on my body, but I feel like something is off with my hands. They aren’t numb, there’s no pain, but I’ve just got an unusual sensation on them. I hope it’s just my mind playing tricks on me. Anyone help?
Hi,
Nobody except a consultant neurologist can diagnose MS or any other neurological condition.
Perhaps you’re getting anxious about the important project you’re working on.
Best wishes,
Anthony
Well, I’m not really looking for someone to diagnose me online. I’m just asking if anyone had similar symptoms, or if mine appear less likely to be MS based on his knowledge/experiences.
I couldn’t help picking up shades of Woody Allen; your anxiety really is getting the better of you and you are always assuming the worst. This sentence really jumps out ‘The tingling wasn’t really noticeable until I paid attention to it’. Your mind literally amplifies quite minor sensation if you focus in on it. Relax, see the quack, but dont simply think yourself ill.
hi mostu
from my own experience i can tell you that getting all stressed out will just make your symptoms worse.
what you need to do is calm yourself down and then see your gp.
don’t tell him/her that you’ve been consulting Dr Google, just let him/her listen to what you have to say and take it from there.
to be honest, i doubt very much that you have ms.
SEE YOUR GP ASAP!
carole x
Ok I’ve just seen my GP. She told me that there might be multiple causes for this, like lack of Vitamin d12, carpal tunnel syndrome, anxiety and many more. I asked if she thinks that it’s MS, and she said that it surely isn’t, and that is starts with optic neuritis, and if there are any sensory problems, then its likely numbness and tingling in legs and feet, not tingling in fingertips. Also, she said that during her 40 years career, she only had 1 case of MS, so that kind of cooled me down. I’ll keep updating!
Dr Google is a very bad doctor. Google symptoms and you can consider that you’re about to die when maybe all you’ve done is sleep funny.
Then again, although your doctor is right by saying that you could have a vitamin deficiency (for which I hope she referred you to have your blood tested), carpal tunnel or a whole load of other things, she’s wrong to say that MS always starts with optic neuritis. It doesn’t. And my very first MS symptom was a numb finger. It soon developed into numb legs and feet, and it stayed with me for days and days, it didn’t come and go (which is the important thing). If what you’ve been experiencing was MS, your symptoms would last at least 24 hours.
If I were you, I’d start keeping a diary of what is happening to you. It’s completely understandable to be worried about things for which you have no answer and no understanding of. But try not to google your symptoms. If you become worried about MS, look on this site (hit the About MS tab) or look at the MS Trust website.
And don’t forget that once you start to focus on something like strange feelings in your fingers, it’s easy for your brain to fall into a panic mode and for it to feel like it’s getting worse.
(Plus, if your GP hasn’t arranged for blood tests, ask for them!)
Sue
Hi Mostu,
I’m a biomedical student and I thought you might be interested in something my lecturer said. Think about this, you can feel your surroundings, you can feel when a splash of water falls on you or when you touch something. Now think, can you feel your clothes? Do you think about your clothes touching your skin all the time? No, because our brain is amazing and can ignore the consent sensation. In the same sense, you said you can feel the tingling more when you focus on it, and that’s probably because the tingling has always/been there a long time but your brain is ignoring it. Because you are worried something may be wrong with you, you are focusing more on small things that may always happen. Of course, if it gets worse or even if you are concerned, speak to your GP again for reassurance. Just like they say don’t take advice from google, also take advice with caution from Internet strangers, always seek proper medical attention who can discuss your symptoms in more depth. Personally, from what you’ve said it sounds like anxiety. If your anxious, your heart rate and blood pressure often increases so keep that in mind. Vitamin D deficiency can also cause strange symptoms, so I’m sure there are many less serious reasons for your symptoms. I sure hope that’s the case for me as well (I am not yet diagnosed).
Best wishes,
Emily
Brilliant advice Emily.
Sue
Thank you very much. I thought that I’d update here because I might’ve just found a reason to all of this. Right now, I don’t have any symptoms anymore. Yesterday when googling though, I found out that Vitamin B12 deficiency may be caused by heartburn medication. I’ve recently been diagnosed with silent reflux and for two weeks I was taking a drug called Dexilant. Even in the leaflet it says, that it might cause Vitamin B12 deficiency! Now I’m guessing that it was either due to anxiety or Vitamin B12 deficiency, and I’m taking the vitamin from supplement pills just in case. Crazy how quickly anxious people jump to assumptions and conclusions…
ask your gp if you can have B12 injections.
very effective.