MS or anxiety? - Anxiety Message Board

Parrotsmuggler · 06-10-2006, 09:01 AM

About two weeks ago, I was working on my schoolwork on the computer and realized that I felt a little lightheaded. I got up from my chair and felt a little more lightheaded. I immediately became worried and cancelled my workout for that morning (I thought that maybe I had had a TIA). I looked up dizziness on the internet and read about strokes, TIAs, and...MS. Over the last two weeks, I've developed just about every MS symptom there is, some have stayed with me, others have gone away. I've experienced:

tingling in feet, legs, hands, and face
a feeling of weakness in my legs and arms
muscle twitches all over my body
seeing floaters
a feeling of being off balance
perceived hand/forearm weakness and pain
finger twitching, eye twitching
sometimes I feel like my vision is blurry but when I rub my eyes, it goes away
fatigue
lower back pain
leg stiffness/leg pains
pain in my ribcage/chest pain
somtimes I feel as if the tips of my toes have gone numb, but when I touch them, the sensation is normal
lack of coordination (I feel like my movements aren't as precise as they were before)
a feeling of tightness in my face, intermittent pain in my face
itchiness all over
overreaction to the cold

I just don't know what to make of all this. I've seen three GPs and they've all said stress. I went to the ER and the doctor said my neurological exam was perfect. And yet I really don't feel that all this is being caused by stress...I mean, the most stressful thing in my life right now is the thought that I have MS.

Has anybody here experienced similar symptoms/onset? Thanks.

pulltab · 06-10-2006, 09:04 AM

Well ifyou have neurological tests done and they came back ok then I would think it was stress. You did the right thing by getting the Dr to check into it. Alot of those symptoms people have actually regularly, sometimes we notice them more (or I do) when I stop to think about it.

Parrotsmuggler · 06-10-2006, 09:10 AM

Thanks for responding. I didn't get an MRI done, they just asked me to do a few dozen things (walk on your toes, walk on your heels, balance on one leg, look here, look there, etc). I have an appointment with a neurologist in a few months.

hry33 · 06-10-2006, 09:28 AM

It could be from stress, read up about the fight or flight response on the net, stress causes it
learn new ways of relaxing, do gentle exercise and take long walks

Punkdizzle · 06-10-2006, 09:43 AM

i was Dx with MS in Oct. of 05 i had some of those symptoms you noted over the years before my Dx but never all at once they would come and go.. so i never payed much attention to them.. i just figured it was all from my anxiety disorder so i didnt bother going to the Dr.. they finally caught it after i had a loss of vision in my eye and then got sent in for a MRI..

MS isnt the end of the world if you have it.. i have been to local support groups and met people that have had it for 30+ years and if i wasnt at a MS meeting i never would have known they had it.. its not like you go from being 100% healthy to a wheel chair overnight.. is it possible? sure... but its pretty rare.. the problem with the info you get on MS in those little handouts or even on the net sometimes can be very missleading..

i guess what i am trying to say is dont get to stressed over it if you can.. and stop symptom searching on the net.. that is always a big mistake for those of us that suffer with anxiety because we then tend to think we have everything under the sun and then some.. its good you have an apt. with a neuro.. but do not tell them you suffer with anxiety when you see him/her just let them run their tests and then let them tell you what they think it is.. so may Drs anymore want to blame everything on anxiety once they know you suffer with it..