worried - Multiple Sclerosis Message Board

comeandrelax · 03-28-2006, 12:24 PM

6 months ago i woke up and felt off. just kinda detattched. i went to the doc and they think it might be inner ear related. others think anxiety realted cause i have a history of bad anxiety. anyways....my symptoms are this. i feel spacey and like my head is on a boat. my vision seems alittle off but i went to the eye doctor and they found nothing wrong. had an mri and it was clear. my left foot is always numb feeling and sometimes my other leg will be too. im 21 and been going through this for 6 months. neurologist thinks its inner ear related and telling me to wait it out.

im a very anxious person and im taking paxil cr for anxiety and xanax for when i need it. i also get muscle twitches.

does ms run in the family? should i worry about it? no hisotry of it in my family but we do have depression

comeandrelax · 03-28-2006, 07:53 PM

anyone have any input?

ITrustMySoulNYC · 03-28-2006, 08:13 PM

OK, now, I'm 21 too, I do not have MS, my mom does, but I have done tons and tons of research abut MS so I can understand it. What you are describing doesn't really sound like MS. To me, it sounds more like your anxiety. I am saying that because with my mom, for years and years she had episodes and would go totally numb before she was diagnosed with MS. The doctors thought at first she was having mini strokes, when she was in reality dealing with MS that she didn't know she had. Of course, everyone's story is different, and it can all start in different ways. If you're really worried about it, then keep getting tested. MS is one of those things where just about everything else has to be ruled out before an actual diagnosis can be made. You can get a cat scan of your brain and that could show something, have reflex and muscle tests, memory tests, etc.
It sounds like it could be inner-ear related. My friend has an inner ear problem and has the same symptoms you've described: "spacey.... vision a little off" etc.
Maybe it's side effects from your drugs?? Sometimes they present themselves after taking the meds for a while, though I am not very savvy when it comes to anxiety/mood/depression medication.
If you are really worried about it, then it is important to try and find out for sure what is causing your spacey-ness.
I think MS can run in the family, but as far as I know, no one else in my family has had it before.
Sorry I can't help you out more. Hope you get some answers soon!!

comeandrelax · 03-28-2006, 09:34 PM

hey thank you! i was told anxiety or inner ear. i just thought with the numbness in my feet that it could be a possiblity. i actually found out my family does have some of that so i don't know if it runs in family or what.

any other thoughts??

1Thes518 · 03-29-2006, 04:42 PM

I've had inner ear probs for over 20 years, and it has not made my feet feel numb! Stress can do all kinds of things to your body, though. When is it worse for you? Does xanax help the numbness? That may lead you to think it is anxiety. I'd try to keep busy and get distracted and see if it gets better. Maybe you are focusing on it and making it worse. (I am not minimizing your discomfort!)

Maybe your doctor can change your anxiety and or anti-depression medications, or maybe they are interracting with each other. I take Dramamine when I get really dizzy/nauseous and that fixes me up. Of course, I need to go to sleep!

Take care,
1Thes518