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Original poster

I am convinced i've got MS

30 replies

noonar · 01/12/2006 13:18

have recently started to worry about this.

my symtoms are: tingling scalp and hands, slight numbness in my left heel (could be my imagination? is v v slight),vertigo.

i have a history of labyrinthitis, so am used to balance problems, but am starting to think it's a symtom of something else.

what else... slightly odd feelings of arousal, at times (hasnt happened for months, tho)

my doc says the tingly is unlikely to be MS in the absence of other symptoms. ( when i went to see her last week, my balance was ok, so i didnt mention it).

i'm really worried. what dyou think?????anyone with similar experience???

OP posts:
suzywong · 01/12/2006 13:26

tingling can be a symptom of thryoid imbalance

MS, AFAIK, affects eye sight as one of the first indicators..

And maybe you should start buying your pant in a larger size

Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 13:29

thanks, suzy. sight is normal, and pants fit just fine!
it's the tingling plus vertigo that bother me. i seem to have 2 out 5 key symptoms.

OP posts:
WigWamBam · 01/12/2006 13:30

Tingling, numbness and vertigo can also be symptoms of anxiety. Are they constant or intermittent?

Pollyanna · 01/12/2006 13:33

noonar I am in the same position (well different symptoms, but same disease). My doctor has referred me for a MRI scan and lumbar puncture. I would suggest keeping a diary of symptoms and a list and next time you go to the doctors ask to be referred. It is very difficult to diagnose and some people take years I think.

Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 13:39

the symtptoms are intermittent. i am very anxious at times, but i think it's more than that, tbh.

pollanna, not much fun is it?are you very anxious about it?

why does it take so long to diagnose???

i actually had an MRI 6 yrs ago as my vertigo went on so long (with labyrithitis). it was supossedly clear, but my GP at the time looked at the scan. could she have missed something?

OP posts:
Pollyanna · 01/12/2006 13:48

i go through stages of being anxious about it. I am actually really convinced, in a non-hypochondriac way (if that is possible), that I have it. My gp thinks I do too. I think at this stage, I would almost welcome a diagnosis, because at least then I know what it is. My symptoms started last October (funny turns) and the drs originally thought I had epilepsy. they stopped in Feb, but I have had other symptoms since August (including numb foot and eyesight problems). Again the symptoms seem to be subsiding now, although my toe seems to be permanently numb now. I read an MS book and it seemed to fit me perfectly.

I did read somewhere that you need to be experienced (at ms?) to spot it on an mri scan. I have also previously had a scan which was clear, but they were looking for something else. I don't feel stressed about it atm, but I do go through real panicky times (and worry that I will have to go and live in a bungalow in hove park )

edam · 01/12/2006 13:52

May I suggest looking at the MS Society website? Full of good info. Can't remember URL but google will find.

Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 13:57

oh pollyanna, poor us!

i have to say, i try to stop myself researching it too much, otherwise my anxiety just sprials out of control.

OP posts:
triplets · 01/12/2006 13:58

Hi,
Gosh I could tick some of these boxes! I intermittently get funny spells, feel dizzy, tingling etc, been on a monitor for heart palpatations, blood pressure etc. Also since last Christmas my legs feel sore from the knees up! Feels more muscular than joint pain, all of this told to various gps and all say its stress! I do know that when I am away on holiday I am fine. I am going for an MRI on my head next week, feel abit scared about it, don`t fancy being put in a tunnel, they also mentioned an injection might be done, whats it like?

Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 14:22

i meant 'spirals' of course.

well, i plucked up the courage to look on the MS society site. bizarrely, no mention of tingly or balance in the symptoms section. very confusing.

triplets, it's a bit claustrophobic, tbh, but not too scary in itself.

OP posts:
Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 14:28

ah, they do talk about tingling, but in the 'pain' section of the website.

OP posts:
hatwoman · 01/12/2006 14:42

ms is difficult to diagnose. "sclerosis" is a from of scarring to your nerves - the protective sheath, called myelin, is damaged. they don;t know what causes this. This scarring can be seen on an MRI, but they will only consider it ms when there is a certain amount of scarring ie multiple scars. as well as being able to see multiple bits of damage on an MRI you need to have had 2 relapses before they consider it MS. I had 2 or 3 years of on and off numbness and pins and needles which the doctor didn;t worry about. I then had optic neuritis which is very painful inflammation of the optic nerve, I then had an MRI and they said I had smoe damage to the myelin but not enough to worry about. After that I had painful infammation of the trigeminal nerve in the face - only after this - looking at the same MRI - did they decide it was MS. And that was 7 years ago and I've been very healthy since. there's a couple of threads here about it if you search

orangecake · 01/12/2006 14:45

Can I just add a small note of consolation here..

I went through this a few years ago as I was also convinced I had MS and underwent brain scans etc.

I was given the all-clear but the neurologist did say that MS is one of the most commonly wrongly self-diagnosed diseases amongst women. In other words, women are more likely to fear this disease when they experience odd symptoms or twinges then any other (even cancer) but in the vast majority of cases we are wrong (thankfully)

What he was trying to say in a nicer way is that we are all paranoid hyperchondriacs!!!

Seriosly though, I hope you both get the all clear.

Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 14:51

thanks hatwoman. that's really helpful . so are you saying that even if it is MS, there's no quick answer? i guess i shouldnt spend my future chasing a diagnosis.

did you suspect it was MS long before you were diagnosed? and how much does it 'rule your life'? if you don't mind me asking?

OP posts:
Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 14:53

Orangecake, that's v interesting. do you still have symptoms?

OP posts:
hatwoman · 01/12/2006 14:57

barely affacts my life

hatwoman · 01/12/2006 14:59

re my suspicions - it was only when I went back to gp with trigeminal neuralgia and he said he was pretty sure it was connected to the optic neuritis and made me an appointment to see a neurologist the next working day. I was pretty certain by then. bit of a grim weekend, that one

Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 15:00

you sound very positive.

OP posts:
Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 15:03

would you advise me to try to forget about it, or to try to see a neurologist? is there any point me getting someone to look at my old scan, dyou think?

OP posts:
hatwoman · 01/12/2006 15:12

I don;t know anything about labyrinthitis - if it's something you had an MRI for then I guess it might have some form of relevance. In all honesty afaik the reality is that if you were diagnosed with MS - on the basis of the symptoms you describe you would see a neurologist once a year, get given some literature from the MS society and that would be pretty much it. You wouldn't be given any medication and you wouldn't get any advice to do things any different from normal. Worrying's not great however, so perhaps you should at least discuss your concerns with the GP. I got pretty screwed up when i was diagnosed and I do sometimes wonder if it was worth it. I've been so well since that it's difficult to believe i have it most of the time. I sometimes worry a bit about that long-term but there's not really a great deal of point is there? A bus could get me tomorrow etc etc

noddyholder · 01/12/2006 15:19

hatwoman could i just do a quick hi jack and ask you what happens when you get too hot?(sorry noonar xx)

hatwoman · 01/12/2006 15:22

difficult question - I just feel weird - kind of tingly all over and muffled - you know what muffled hearing is like? well i get muffled sensation. it's a bit like being wrapped in damp cotton wool. and I get a bit of pain in my face. it goes away when I cool down.

Original poster
noonar · 01/12/2006 15:23

I had tingling and 'heavy' limbs (arms)and vertigo back then. the dr mentioned MS to dh as a possibility, as some of the symptoms are similar (balance problems), but i wonder if my GP knew how to 'read' the scan.

it's been helpful talking to you all. sometimes talking about your fears can be very helpful

OP posts:
PollyannaInExcelcis · 01/12/2006 16:12

thanks for this info hatwoman (sorry to hijack your thread noonar!). I didn't self-diagnose this - I was far more dramatic and assumed I had a brain tumour! But now, I have to say I feel pretty convinced I have ms,and my doctor thinks I do as well. But who knows? I suppose I know something is wrong with me and would just like to know what it is. This is my second episode that I can remember, so maybe it is leaving a scar that can be read by the mri scan.

noddyholder · 01/12/2006 16:17

I went through a period about 3 years ago when i was convinced I had it too.I still have doubts but was eventually diagnosed with extreme anxiety and stress which had been brought on by my general bad health in the last 5 yrs.A lot of weakness tingling and extreme exhaustion are symptoms of stress adn ms.My legs were wobbly too and I had a few eye problems.When my consultant said it wasn't ms the symptoms subsided (but do re appear if I over do things)and so I haven't pursued a formal diagnosis.