Anxiety. Odd things that it does to you.

[Beaverdam]

Ive had a terrible flare of anxiety which has manifested beyond the norm of panic attacks, night sweats etc.

I now have twitching and odd bursts of pain in my lower arms, lower legs, hand and feet. Doctor has done every type of blood tests and they are all normal. My anxiety has been horrific and somehow it has manifested into the above.

What is the weirdest thing anxiety has done to you?

@mumma1984 anxiety is a horrible thing, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. If you had MS from 2013 then you would be getting worse and worse every year without medication. You say that your symptoms were worse back then so I’m assuming they have improved a bit over the last 6 years? My neurologist said that things like muscle weakness would be really pronounced after a few years. He also said the symptoms almost always happen in the same place instead of moving all around the body at random times. Your arm issue could be a trapped nerve in your shoulder or neck which can cause neurological type sensations such as numbness and burning. Also I know it’s so difficult but stop googling things to do with MS. I ruined 2 years of my life doing exactly that and almost sent myself insane. Since I forced myself to stop googling and to relax more my symptoms are so much better a month or two later. Whenever I feel the urge to google I spend 10 mins doing relaxing breathing exercises instead and the symptom I’m worrying about has calmed down by the end of it.

@Ellabella989 I think my other worry is the reoccurring episodes, so 2013 when I had all the investigation etc was for sure the worst it's ever been. But then I slowly got better and accepted it. Then in 2016 it popped up again , not as bad but still some of the symptoms back, then again I forgot about it, met my partner had my baby, and now another 3 years later ... in october again weirdly... it pops up again, I was anxious for the last year about breast cancer so I don't know if that built and resulted in this or what! I came back from the doc and she had referred me to the breast clinic the other week and I felt relieved she referred me I think but then I got all hot, panicky and all these symptoms started again and have been ongoing (well coming and going) for a week or 10 days :(

I think with relapsing MS usually has symptoms that are there the time when things flare up (so if you get twitching muscles for example they would twitch 24/7 in the same location for a few weeks. Or you might go blind in one eye for a few weeks, or have foot drop etc).
Do your symptoms come and go throughout the day or do they never stop for a moment?
I told my neurologist that there are stories online from people who were told they don’t have MS but ended up actually having it. He’s one of the leading neurologists in London and he told me he’s never made a mistake in 26 years and has also never heard of a misdiagnosis case either. I think we just have to trust that they know when things are a sign of a serious neurological disease and when they are an anxiety/panic disorder as they have spent years learning about it and treating MS sufferers

@Ellabella989 they come and go throughout the day !

@Ellabella989 I think some misdiagnosis comes from people who do have lesions on a scan but they aren't necessarily from MS because apparently migraines and some other things can cause lesions I guess that's why they do lumbar punctures as a confirmation after they find lesions .... so maybe if you have none it's good news...

I think they can tell which are lesions from migraines as they have a different scattered type of pattern compared to MS lesions which are more localised. If you have no lesions at all then it’s highly unlikely you have MS.
If your symptoms come and go throughout the day then it’s also unlikely to be MS (not in all cases but almost always the symptoms stay put 24/7 until the flare up has diminished).

@Ellabella989 I pick out the uncertainties in everything you say 🤦🏻‍♀️

@Mumma1984 in the nicest possible way, you are choosing to do this to yourself. It sounds crazy when it feels like hell, but you are. Why? What do you think the benefit is?

@Mumma1984 try and not google symptoms for a week at all and I bet your symptoms will calm down a bit. Googling is the worst thing someone with severe health anxiety can do

@Mumma1984 also it sounds as if you won’t let this go until you can have another MRI so I would see your GP again to request another referral back to your neurologist. They might not want to see you again but you could always request to be put on a waiting list. Do you have the funds to pay for a private MRI if not? I would also speak to your GP about a referral for CBT Which will help to stop you fixating on health stuff

@Ellabella989 I have the CBT referral just waiting for the treatment to start and I have just started medication- I'm trying everything I can I just hate the fact I've had the symptoms because I can't let the uncertainty go :(

I have a doc app next week and I'll ask her about it all and ask what she would do if I didn't have anxiety, what testing would it warrant if any etc.

I get:

Leg pain/cramps
Shaky
Keep having to go for a wee
Really dry mouth.

If I reach panic attack stage I get pins and needles down one of my arms and my legs turn to jelly.

Did you have your iron/ferritin levels checked? My doctor told me mine were normal but I found out they were 12 which is 1 point away from being anemic. Anemia has a lot of similar symptoms to MS.
So does B12 deficiency and Vit D deficiency.
Maybe you could ask for a scan on your arm/shoulder to see if there’s a trapped nerve.
One of the first symptoms people with MS experience is optical neuritis which is meant to be very painful and either causes double vision or blindness in one eye for a few weeks. Have you had this? I had an eye test done at Optical Express and they checked my optic nerve for me and said it looked completely normal and healthy. It would be very inflamed with MS

@Ellabella989 had my eyes tested a couple weeks ago, all fine. I had my b12 done in 2013 and they said ok I think but maybe I'll ask the doc about those other things!

My neurologist said it would be extremely rare/unheard of for someone with MS to have had no visual issues such as optic neuritis, double vision or very blurred vision that comes out the blue.
Anyway - speak to your GP again and ask for one more round of blood tests and see if she’ll refer you again to the neurologist or arrange a quick telephone consultation with neurologist so they can reassure you properly

@Ellabella989 thank you I know I'm a nightmare with this anxiety - think how my partner feels! 🤦🏻‍♀️ I just want to erase it all and start fresh!

@Mumma1984 I understand as I was the same last year and was driving my partner and mum mad with how fixated I was with having MS.
I don’t think about it anymore but it took hard work with CBT and not googling symptoms and learning to fully relax properly.

@Mumma1984 i know this is old but was jw how you’re doing now?

When I had anxiety my main symptoms were:

feeling of pressure (not pain) in the sides of my head

feeling like I had stopped breathing or my heart had stopped beating, but if I sat down and really listened to what my body was doing, it was obvious this was not the case

feeling like I couldn't swallow (again, if I concentrated I could)

occasional feelings of tightness/pressure round my ankles as if someone had grabbed them

feeling light-headed when I started to eat something, so ate less and lost a lot of weight

not sleeping well

occasionally waking up in the night feeling really scared, I would sit up involuntarily as if something external caused my body to do that, but as soon as I was fully awake I couldn't remember what I was scared of

In my case, I went to the doctor more than once and was told "it's probably a virus, take it easy" - I had a gut feeling it was psychosomatic and eventually asked if I could see a different doctor, who immediately suggested anxiety. The day after she said it. all the symptoms were gone and have never returned. This was over 20 years ago.

Horrendous full body chills, uncontrollable shaking, dizzy feeling and lights get too bright. Also eyebrow twitching.

Fellow twitcher here. It’s been happening for almost a year and started when I was going through an absolutely awful time personally, not long after losing my dad and an unbelievably stressful house move.
Some days are worse than others, I’ve mentioned it to the GP who has done basic strength tests and that’s all. I’m too scared to take it further for conditions previously mentioned here!

I did have an MRI recently for headaches, some dizziness and nausea that worsened but it was clear. Most recently I have tinnitus in my left ear…
I think it’s time I addressed my health anxiety with medication but something is holding me back and I don’t know what