MS Symptoms

[Jodie782]

Can anyone who has any good knowledge about MS -think I should go ahead and book an mri scan for my symptoms?.

For years I've had what I felt like restricted breathing, tight band around my chest and tummy (never knew that was an ms symptom). It's like air hunger but worse when sat or laying down.

Waking up with severe pins/needles in hands/feet (all fingers) sometimes in just my big toe. Or when I'm leaning on them. But not really in the day. Pains in right leg on ankle and shin but only happened twice for a second.

Arms and Legs (mainly right) are heavy, weak feel like a nerve pain. Feels hard to grip and I'm struggling to type. A couple of times my arm has gone numb and it's woken me up. Right arm is achy and if I lean on elbow it's like a nerve pain through my arm?

Vision- this has stopped since i started taking magnesium and vd. But one time i had dark grey floaters in both eyes. Dizzy spells and sometimes at night one eye vision feels darker. Pain in one eye sometimes. Sometimes light headed but no where near as bad as it was.

I feel a little bit out of balance when walking. But has gotten better since taking vitamins.

My doctor is helping me with doing extra tests for peri menopause and because my b12 results came back very high she thinks I could have Pernicious anemia.

I have physio for the first time tomorrow so a bit nervous about mentioning these symptoms. I'm 43! I don't think my doctor will take these seriously.

Also when I do have a bout of health anxiety I get the actual symptoms

I have MS. I was diagnosed in 2019 after a few years of very odd symptoms and put straight on disease-modifying therapy (tablets twice a day). At no point did I need to book an MRI for myself, that was ordered by the consultant,

Your symptoms sound stress-related to me but MS symptoms can vary from person to person.

Your GP should refer you for tests if they can't diagnose. I was at the opticians and they sent me to the hospital. I then had an MRI and spinal tap and both resulted in diagnosis.

Try not to worry, whether you have it or not, treating symptoms is much better now. See what happens with your planned tests and go back if needed.

Do you mean low B12? People with pernicious anaemia can’t absorb b12 so it’s low, and it causes a lot of symptoms that have similarities to MS, although they resolve with b12 injections.

Have you seen an optician about your eye symptoms? Lots of people have floaters, your brain can tune them out. Sometimes mine are more noticeable than others, but an optician does a full eye test, not just a sight test.

As above, the GP would be the one to order an MRI if they feel it is necessary. The symptoms could be MS, but could be many other things as well. I have had MS over 20 years and I wouldn’t say they were particularly anything I’d be experiencing.

I have MS and every time I get pins and needles, I think it is the beginning of the end! If vitamins are making it better, it's very unlikely to be MS. They like to rule out other things first.

Not going to lie, I'm very lucky, and most days I don't even think about having MS. I was diagnosed in 2020 after two bouts of optic neuritis.

It sounds like health anxiety not MS. Not sure what an MRI would do to help diagnose MS.

It's a key diagnostic (but not the only one); hot spots in the brain, that kind of thing. It doesn't sound as if you know much about MS?

MRI is used to diagnose MS as it can show lesions in the brain or spine.

OP, I have had similar symptoms to you and I'm 99% sure it's anxiety. About 6 years ago I had brain, eye and spine MRIs and nerve conduction tests. They couldn't find anything wrong. I still get the symptoms. For me it's pins and needles in my feet and legs, and occasional numbness on tips of fingers that comes and goes. I also have Raynauds so think some of that is explained by the Raynauds.

BUT my symptoms are much much worse when I'm anxious. When I'm calm, happy or distracted they go away. I don't think MS symptoms would react like that.

Glad that your GP is testing you for things. Does he/she think any of your symptoms might be MS?

From what I know about MS, the symptoms don't tend to come and go quickly hour by hour. You get a symptom (like numbness) and it stays consistent for a period of time because it's to do with a lesion on your brain.

At least this is what I read when I thought I had MS a couple of years ago after developing double vision (I don't have MS!)

If I'm wrong, anyone is welcome to correct me, but that's what I read whilst doing research.

It'd be worth seeing an optician for the eye symptoms, they are very good at spotting the signs of something serious like MS. They told me this when I had the double vision - they could see the back of my optic nerve and knew it was okay.

Thank you, grateful for your information and taking time to reply. I have booked options today including the scan they do.

My b12 reading was over 2000, doctor said sometimes it can give a very high false reading. Luckily she is going through all options of peri and deficiency, I guess ms would be the next step if they can come back normal. Thank you for replying I've got opticians later too with extra scan.

Thank you, I'm hoping I don't have to go down that route. Eye test also booked.

I've suffered pins and needles for years but this is different and more painful. Waking up with numb arm, having pain in big toe only and vision problems prompted me to see my GP. Pins is only at night or if I've laid on it. Thank you for replying, really grateful.

What is optic neuritis?

Thank you, I'm sorry to hear you suffer with pain too. Glad that yours came back clear. I think if everything else comes back normal she may refer me for an mri not sure.

Thank you, my pins needles disappear soon as I get up with in seconds (not sure if that's a good thing?). I do have opticians later with the scan not sure if they will see anything. I had one done around two years ago.

I have MS. Diagnosed in 2016 when I lost the ability to walk over the course of a week. I gained it back a few weeks later.

Before that terrible week I had a feeling of light pins and needles in my legs that would not resolve no matter what I did. I actually thought I had diabetes.

I don't recognize your symptoms as being anything I have experienced but MS is different between people.

I was diagnosed with a spinal tap and an MRI.

Optic neuritis is inflammation of the optic nerve. It causes blurred vision (like cling film over your eye), a loss of colour vision, and an inability to see lights. It's worse when you're hot, eg during exercise or in a warm bath. I had it quite badly in my left eye but my vision is now almost back to (my) normal.

Thank you, does it come and go?. I've had a white mist over eyes but both? Usually it's both my eyes when I get vision problems. I do look at computer screens and phones all the time for work.

Would I know if I had this?.

You absolutely sound like you've convinced yourself it's MS and thats it. Seriously OP this all sounds very much like anxiety.

OP, optic neuritis was why the optician sent me to the hospital. I was at the optician for severe eye pain and loss of vision in one eye. The optic nerve was inflamed as PP has said. It's extremely painful and there's no way you wouldn't know there was something very wrong.

I read your posts and can hear your anxiousness about whether you might have MS. I can imagine that you're reading these posts from those of us who do have this condition and seeing if our symptoms 'fit' with yours. That way lies madness.

You say that your peri menopausal; I would keep on to your doctor (who sounds as if she's on the ball) to focus on getting those symptoms under control. Menopause can be brutal, I'm going through it as well. I have tablets (to stop crazy bleeding) and gel for moisture balance, etc. I don't have night sweats but I do sometimes have sweaty front-of-shins and only there. It's bizarre.

I would say that anxiety and stress is also a key symptom of menopause. It's underplayed/underrated because women aren't always taken seriously by GPs for this condition but as you have one who is, I would absolutely focus on this and not muddy the waters trying to diagnose yourself and suggest other conditions. Menopause is quite 'bad' enough!

Best advice I ever had on diagnosing was to stay away from 'Dr Google''. I think that's sound; you can talk yourself into having conditions which you don't and it really won't help with anxiety.

Get your peri-menopause sorted and breathe... then see if there's anything else that needs looking at.

Best wishes to you

I don’t know why you’d post this without knowing details. An MRI is the most common way of diagnosing MS. ( there are others - I know lumber puncture is also used for example). They look for lesions on your brain and spine and compare with previous MRIs. Sometimes it’s best just not to say anything if it’s not something you know anything about.

I've suffered anxiety for years, I've had all the anxiety symptoms but this is different. I do understand what you say but I also think it's best to get checked out. I really hope it is anxiety.

Thank you that's really helpful, you're right and I really hope this is peri menopause and not anything else. I stupidly saw something about the ms hug 🤦🏽‍♀️ I constantly moan to the doctors that I can't breath and feels like something is hugging me too tight. But obviously this could be anxiety or anything else.

Thank you so much. Hopefully after all my tests this week I will find out what's going on.

I have never had the MS-hug... and I have the condition, upfront and diagnosed.

Anxiety can trip so many things in the body, putting it on high alert - all the time if it chooses - that's what it can do, that is its very function. Don't underestimate how bad anxiety can be and don't think that posters are downplaying it either because anybody who has any form of anxiety or has ever suffered it, knows how debilitating it can be.

It's used as a catch-all term because so many people have it at some time in their lives.

Get your tests, discuss the results with your doctor, take it from there.

Have had MS for over 30 years and not experienced the MS hug yet. Do experience pain in my big toe at night, probably due to nightly spasms. I was sent for an MRI when I had optic neuritis. You really need a an MRI to be sure.