Convinced I have something severely wrong with me

[Raffaelli]

Have posted about this before, last night, before I saw a neurologist. Progressive right sided weakness, shakiness, odd sensations. Leg is heavy. Arm feels odd.

Neurological exam was normal apart from I couldn't lift my leg against force.

Neurologist is getting me in for an MRI as soon as space is available. Said he is concerned about MS or something going on in my cervical spine.

I have managed to convince myself I have a brain tumor or something that is going to be life limiting/ending. I do not suffer with health anxiety and rarely go to the GP. Out of nowhere I am spiralling. I just have a gut feeling.

Bloods taken for vitamin deficiency and thyroid, all normal.

Has anyone ever been convinced there's something seriously amiss and been wrong? Sorry for posting in AIBU, I'm just struggling and don't get much traffic on the health boards.

Hi OP so sorry for what you are going through.
I had very similar in my twenties which was the net result of very poor posture while working shifts - numbness in left arm and leg, blurred vision, halo effect on lights etc. I went through all the worries about it being ms or brain tumours and the more stressed I became the worse the symptoms because your body is so tense and all you are fixing on is the symptoms.
Try to relax, and whatever it is, soon you will know and will be able to plan how to deal with it. It is uncertainty that is the worst.

It’s seems like you are winding her up.

And you talk about my neurologist being inappropriate? I am really starting to doubt whether you are a GP because your latest posts are wildly lacking in any sort of compassion. But I appreciate them as whilst you are calling my neurologist out for his language, I have received a little validation that steering away from my incompetent GPs was the correct thing to do.

And yes, I've just logged on to my laptop. I've got a meeting today with my manager who is incredibly supportive and wants to know how my appointment went. I've listened to others on this post and have made myself a nice hot chocolate with cocoa as opposed to coffee, and am being mindful of overthinking this, and my son is at school, happily walked there by me as it is round the corner.

I've spoken with my dad, who is also a GP and he has been wonderfully reassuring.

Thank you everyone for your lovely posts.

I had a similar thing earlier this year, not ms but the gp dismissing it and then having to go private and he was open about the possibilities while waiting for tests and then results, the waiting as pp have said is the worst part, but even bad news can be good in the sense of you find clarity and obviously treatment or management. For now although it’s easier said than done! Try as much as possible to get in the mindset of hoping for the best but also I found it helpful to think (and say out loud to myself) “I’m hoping for the best but I’m prepared for the worst so I don’t need to dwell on this anymore” but obv much easier said than done! Try and take your mind off it as much as possible now, don’t go into Google doom scrolls and just try and get absorbed in something while you wait, light tv shows or books or gaming.

My neurologist prescribed me meds for my suspected condition before I had even had any scans.
I am starting to doubt you are a GP

Wtf. Are you just trolling.

Plenty of people manage full weeks work even when very disabled/ill. I work propped up in bed a lot of the time.

Really sorry to hear about this OP. I don’t have any specific advice but as a chronic worrier I get you. Shame that there’s someone posting aggressively when you’re asking for support.

Sadly from my experience I can easily believe that @myhangrywriter is an HCP!

OP I am going through similar myself. Waiting for tests and results is awful. I am sitting waiting for an MRI right now but have to wait 2 weeks for some more tests before I will find out anything. I find it hard not to catastrophise and to get any joy out of life. It's like a big black cloud hanging over everything as much as I try to distract myself and concentrate on all the things I have to be grateful for. No advice but just to let you know that you're not alone in feeling like this.

@Raffaelli I went through something very similar a few years ago. One side of my body suddenly went numb and I couldn’t move my right leg normally, I was more or less dragging it along and I remember people staring at me in the GP waiting room as I tried to walk from the chair to my GP’s office. He did a neuro exam which was abnormal, so I was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

At the hospital they ruled out stroke but said they suspected MS or Lyme disease. They made an urgent referral to neurology for an MRI and did a Lyme test (negative). It took two months for the neurology appointment to come through, the wait was agonising and, even though my symptoms had improved a lot since, I had to force myself not to think of all the worst possible outcomes.

I finally got to see a neurologist and had another abnormal neuro exam, and I had an MRI of my brain and cervical spine a couple of weeks later. It took another two months to get the results. I had been mentally preparing for the worst, wondering how on earth I was going to manage if it was MS because I live on my own and don’t have family around. But a couple of days before Christmas I got a letter to say my results were normal.

They have no idea what caused the symptoms, but I suspect it’s nerve related as it’s happened a number of times since when experiencing a flare-up of another condition I have.

So it is possible to have symptoms that scream MS or another neurological condition that turn out to be nothing too worrying. Obviously there’s no way of knowing for sure until you have the scan, but I hope that helps a little bit.

Sure you are.

you need to go back to medical school.

She appears to have gone.

I had weakness in my arms and legs and weird twitching that kept me awake for months. It happens when I eat msg so might want to look into that because it can be in all sorts

I have exactly this and the GP won't refer me and just offered painkillers. I have pins and needles in my right leg, a numb right leg, fall over sometimes as I can't feel my foot. Tired beyond belief. GP didn't even test my reflexes. I said I was worried it was MS and he said it can't be as my eyeslght isn't affected. Which is bollocks because not everyone with MS has eyesight issues.

. Actually rang 3x. First time they did blood tests which were normal. 2nd time a GP wouldn't see me and referred me for a one of physio appt where they didn't touch me but told me to do calf raises. 3rd time they sent me a script for painkillers without seeing me.

MSG affects neurotransmitters as it is neurotoxic. I've had "Chinese restaurant syndrome" and it made me feel very ill.

MSG affects the neurotransmitter GABA, and it makes the involuntary movements worse of my neurological movement disorder. It's a well.known substance that can affect people quite often.

Here's some more info.

I think that weird poster has been banned, and is not a GP anyway.
I hope you get some answers from the neurologist soon.

I have two family members with MS and neither of them have issues with their eyesight!

I had symptoms of heart failure. Every symptom in fact. Years of tests, can't find a cause. My heart is fine.

At the same time I had a vibration sensation in my leg when I flexed my spine. Dodgy EMG results. I had calcification around the nerve leaving my spine for my leg and also a bulging disk protruding into my cord and a few mm from compression on the nerve ( it's already comprising the fluid around it). Had some physio, the tingling stopped. Everything is still looking dodgy but with symptoms I catty on as normal. When / if it progresses I will deal with it then.

But know how you feel. In fact I had a very worrying comment on a ultrasound today. I've also had a suspected brain tumour years ago. Three big scares with three consultants concerned. So far touch wood it's never been the worse result. One was clear, two was bad news but nothing that's terrible or in fact impacted my life in any major way. Don't Google. Don't Google. DON'T GOOGLE!