Hello,
I know MS symptoms differ for everyone and I’m not looking for a diagnosis, just to talk to someone as I have no-one to talk to about this and I am scared.
In 2021 I started getting right sided numbness, it started in my right leg and then spread to my right arm and right side of my face. I’d just got a new job where I was sitting for up to 8 hours a day in a less than comfy desk chair so assumed it was just due to that. It started to get worse, where when I smiled I knew I was smiling but on the right side the sensation was super dull.
2022 I had an X-ray and Scan, diagnosed with arthritis in my lower back and some degeneration due to getting older (I was 36/37) at the time and due to being heavier.
I started to get a grinding sensation in my neck when I turn it, and some neck and back pain on and off.
2023 and the numb sensations started in my left side, albeit not quite as bad, however I started getting some weird symptoms. When I sat on the toilet or stood in the shower my left thumb and first 3 fingers got pins and needles and the left side of my lips too. Sometimes I would feel a weird sensation in the left side of my teeth and tongue, very occasionally I would feel a bit sick and headache with this but it only really happens when I’m on the toilet or in the shower, only a handful of times out and about.
I’m now getting visual snow, tinnitus and have been having episodes of arm and leg weakness, that causes me to feel floored and all I want to do is lie down. The episodes can last from 30 minutes to a few hours and they make my body feel so weak and heavy. I have had moments of feeling really sick, on 2 occasions I was eating and thought I was going to vomit and had to spit the food out! Sorry I know TMI!! I’ve often got a lot of head pressure and achey eyes. My body just doesn’t feel like mine anymore.
I have a mental health disorders, anxiety, PTSD etc and do sometimes struggle to know what is psychological and what is physical, but I know that this is real and it’s not just a symptom of my anxiety.
Any time I see a GP or Nurse Practitioner they often dismiss anything I mention as a symptom of my anxiety, so often I feel unheard and totally alone with it. I don’t really have anyone else to talk to about all of this, I feel like people don’t believe me or feel that I’m being too negative and it’s all in my head. I’ve spent a long time being hyper aware of my body and any changes and this is real and I’m scared.
I’ve had so many doctors and health professionals say so many different things, cervical stenosis, spondylosis, neuropathy, anxiety, arthritis etc etc etc!! It has only been recently one doctor I saw has mentioned MS and I have an MRI booked for next month and am waiting for a neurology appointment which can take up to 15 months.
I’m sorry for the long post and all the whining, I’m very aware I am not anywhere near as poorly as so many others! I’m just scared and alone and feel so unwell.
Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Thank you to anyone who made it to the end of this War and Peace length post! Xx