So confused ms or something or anxiety? Hi new here, hope u can try to give me an answer Ok 6 weeks ago i was walking home from the local hotel (band night) had a lot of beers and was staggering a bit, and was about 30 meters behind my wife and friend! Then my left leg gave out, i could not stand on it! No pain had felling but no strengh in it! My wife called an ambulance, hospital did a few basic tests and 3 hours latter i was walking out the hospital! Doctor there, said toooo many beers! Woke up the next day and my hip was so sore. (I also brought a new bike that week and a lot kms into it cycling). My wife took me to her doctor he cheeked me over and then sent me to a private hospital where they did a complete check over (hammer, feather and pin test, strengh, walk on tiptoes and heels, heel to toe test, eyes with torch etc) and bloods etc, did MRI of my lower spine, found very low sliped disk but not bad. Then he talked about MS in the family, i said no one has it. He said dont be worried its just a question that had to be asked! Went back to my wifes Dr, who sent me for a CT scan of the head to look for stroke or simular, came back good saying no signs or grey or white matter etc! But since that day i cant get MS out of my head! I have read about it so much, i am beginning to get symptoms that come and go! Tingling feet, thumb, etc. Main problem is dizzy of foggy blocked head, my ears are popping non stop, also have a funny feeling on my spine below the shoulder blades! Last 3 weeks i have been to see 3 different Doctors who say stop reading about it, nothing wrong, its not MS but Anxiety!!! I asked for an Mri of the head but he said no need! (4 years ago i did have an ear infection (dizzy) that went on for 3 months. Saw a ETN specialist who did mri of head and neck, found nothing) its driving me Crazy! I get cramp in my calf and i read about it, get out of bed toes are sore then i google it! My Wife is sooo over me talking about it! Do i see another Doctor and demand an mri? My head is blocked all day, but i sleep well! Can easily go to bed straight after work tired! Even now both hands and forearms feel warm and tight, writting this post! And my calf just below the knee feels like its been pulled and tight hamstring same leg! But its the left hand side of my head not dizzy but strange all day and popping ears (both) all day. If i lay down with the radio on or read on my ipad in bed most of the head issues go away! Dose ms effect arm, foot ,calf, fingers? forearm, head dizzy (but not dizzy strange feel blocked) all at the same time? Sorry about the long story What do you people think? Cheers and happy new year to all
Hi,
I hope you wonât mind me saying, but from your post, you do sound excessively anxious, and it canât be ruled out that this is a major contributor, if not the root cause of your symptoms. Three different doctors in three weeks (all of whom have basically said: âno cause for concern - live your life!â), and now considering a fourth. Thatâs rather a lot, donât you think?
Personally, I do not believe reading still more, seeing more doctors, and demanding MRIs is likely to help you.
Nothing you have said about your symptoms points glaringly to MS. They are vague enough and general enough that they really could be anything - including anxiety and/or some kind of ear or respiratory infection causing the âblocked headâ and dizziness feelings.
If it hadnât been for the unfortunate question posed by the hospital doctor, would you even be considering any of these symptoms as serious, I wonder, let alone be preoccupied with them being MS? My bet is that if you werenât actively on the lookout for them now, you probably wouldnât even have noticed. It is focusing on things being the matter with you - and then rushing off to Google them - that is making it appear so.
In the (to my, completely unqualified mind) âunlikelyâ event you did in fact have MS, the thing to remember is the truth will out - but in its own sweet time, and NOT by obsessively worrying about it, Googling everything, and seeing a neverending succession of doctors, until you find one who backs up your theory.
An MS diagnosis is a process, not an event. IF you did have it, eventually something would happen that makes the situation a lot clearer, and canât be so easily explained by anxiety, or a whole host of other things.
For the time being, though, you donât have that âsmoking gunâ.
I wonder what (if anything) would satisfy you that you didnât have MS? If you were to successfully press for an MRI, and it came back clear, would you think: âThatâs good, I can forget about it and get on with my life!â, or would you think: âThey just havenât found it yetâ?
It is interesting that when you are sufficiently distracted, âmostâ of your problems go away! Although I do think distraction can be a useful tactic in dealing with REAL MS symptoms, I donât think itâs usually so successful that it makes them just go away! If it were that easy, none of the diagnosed people here would need drugs for symptom relief. So the fact you can get very effective relief by distraction alone suggests thereâs definitely a psychological aspect to this.
It also suggests that an effective plan of action might be to increase the amount of distraction (doing absorbing or enjoyable things), and reduce the amount of time spent Googling MS symptoms, as you seem to be caught in a vicious circle of the more you Google things, the worse you feel. You need to consciously break that circle. When you get the urge to Google a symptom, make a choice to do something more entertaining. Reward yourself for NOT Googling!
Iâm not a medic, but I really think that if three different doctors in as many weeks are not unduly concerned, there is probably nothing too sinister going on. Yes, you do get the odd doctor whoâs a bit too quick to dismiss things, but three of them, all saying the same? All negligent, or all speaking sense?
Tina
I agree that anxiety can cause many health problems that said anxiety is often a cause of an undiagnosed health condition.
From my own experiences i go with my gut feeling if i feel something is wrong i will leave no stone unturned, after all we are all responsible for our own health.
Many years ago i was very very unwell and had 33 on call doctors come to my home and was only ever given pain relief. Then along came a specialist who sent me straight to hospital. I was then told i had 3 months to live or have a life saving operation. Without him i would not be here today. My own GP said i was run down and gave me a tonic.
Also a relative of mine was told see had a cyst on her ovary which was scanned periodically. It was only when an oncologist happen to look at the scan said it was cancerâŚwhich it was, this was despite all cancer marker blood tests coming back raised,
I think what is missing is someone who will work with you through the process of getting a diagnosis and listening to how things affect in a respectful and caring way which i believe is missing in health care today. I am not saying that every health care professional is uncaring as i know that not to be true. The specialist who got me through my illness in my twenties was amazing, i was able to feel afraid and angry and tantrum, he did not falter. His role was to give me the best possible care that he could and i was able to be me. And yes of course i was anxious any normal person would be.
Thought i would share that with you
Christine
Sometimes you can get as many medical opinions as you have doctors. From what you tell us, however, it seems that yours are united in their view that you step away from the vehicle for a bit, so they probably have a point.
Look, weâve all been there, tasting of the forbidden fruit of Dr Google. And yes, when our stress levels then start to shatter glass at a distance, we can expect little sympathy from our nearest and dearest, who will think it serves us right for having eaten âof the tree whereof He commanded thee that thou shouldest not eatâ and advise us to leave that darned internet alone and come back to bed. And they are right, of course.
One thingâs for sure: when one is in a high state of anxiety, it becomes infernally difficult to tell what is a physical manifestation of stress and what isnât. And the person in the thick of it (you) is worst-placed of all to see whatâs what. That is why it might be a good idea to take a deep breath and step back. When the dust has settled a bit, you should be able to see more clearly. If something spectacular and new happens, thatâs another matter of course - in that case you would want to seek medical advice without delay. But if it doesnât, you might find that you benefit from a spell of quiet time rather than charging off, colours flying, in search of clarity right now.
Good luck.
Alison
Cheers guys for the advice! Deep down i know the doctors are right, but then bang thumb and finger feel heavy, then the mind takes over. And then toes tingle calf feels its had a work out and the mind starts to tick into overtime! Going on holidays in 8 days time for 4 weeks, so i hope that takes my mind of this so called anxiety thing! One thing may i ask on ms? Does it strike all over at once! Or just picks an arm or hand for a few minutes/hours/days/months? I know i should not ask, but will help me out! Cheers
Hi again,
All over symptoms are extremely unlikely with MS. The symptoms depend on where in the central nervous system lesions form, and whilst this can be multiple sites (hence multiple sclerosis), it cannot really be literally everywhere.
Also the lesions take time to develop and to heal - they donât move around in just minutes. So if you have a lesion affecting, say - your right hand - that wonât disappear in ten minutes to be replaced by one affecting your left foot.
You could (by chance) have lesions affecting left hand and right foot at the same time, but you wouldnât get ten minutes of one, ten minutes of the other, chopping and changing constantly. Youâd probably notice a pattern of issues with the hand AND the foot (weak, painful, numb, whatever), lasting (at least) a few days, and possibly weeks, or even months.
Thatâs not to say thereâs no variation at all. As with many illnesses, symptoms will tend to be exacerbated if youâre tired or stressed, so they do fluctuate a bit. But really not on and off like a light, in just moments, and moving somewhere completely different.
Lesions canât migrate around the body, though over long periods, they can heal up, to be replaced by others elsewhere, which would cause a change in the symptoms experienced. But this is a gradual process (think how long ordinary scars that you can see take to heal). So scars in the central nervous system donât heal up and spawn new ones in the course of minutes.
Those you have, youâll be stuck with for a while. Days if youâre lucky, months if youâre unlucky. If youâre very unlucky, some of the scars may never heal properly, so youâll be left with permanent symptoms from those. This seems more common the longer youâve had MS (at least, the most common relapsing remitting kind), as the body finds it increasingly difficult to keep up with repairs, leading to more botched jobs and residual symptoms.
I am not really sure whether I should have told you any of this. As you admit you probably should not ask, I do have a sneaking suspicion you will just incorporate any information into your mental map of what to look for, and then convince yourself your symptoms fit.
Watch out for symptoms youâve never had until just after reading about them, as that is likely a demonstration of the power of suggestibility. Real MS symptoms donât change according to what youâve recently been reading.
Tina
Thanks Tina, eased my mind a lot! All the best to you
P.S. To Anonymous with the diagnosed stepdaughter - I forgot to mention you have unintentionally replied to someone elseâs unrelated topic.
You will get more readers - and probably more replies - if you start a new topic of your own next time.
Itâs the ânew threadâ button towards the top left of the forum. That lets you start a new discussion without having to reply to one thatâs already there.
Tina