I have convinced myself I have MS or a neurological disorder.

[M1ssjess89]

I feel absolutely ridiculous. This will be my third post. Since March I've had really weird symptoms and with the weird symptoms my anxiety has shot through the roof. Atleast 50% of the time I feel my body is in panic mode. I have a nervous/tight tummy, my chest is right so I find it hard to breath properly.
I've been getting pins and needles or just rubbery feelings. It's never in a whole leg or a whole arm, it's just parts of it. So it'll be like a part of my hamstring, or a part of my calf muscle, or a couple toes. I also get random itches or skin crawling. I get skin crawling over my stomach. I have this sick feeling to my stomach something is so very wrong 😭😭

My doctor has given me a referral to see a neurologist in 2 weeks. I'm now so worried he will find something. My doctor thinks it's just my anxiety, but he'd rather give me the assurance.

Do you think this is anixety?
I cannot stop thinking and I'm so focused on every little physical symptom I'm feeling. I'm so scared.

And I'm trying so hard to help myself. I keep busy, I lift weights and go for walks/runs. I eat well, sleep as well as I can. I do try breathing but I find it difficult. Mindfulness is something I absolutely avoid as I focus on the tingling. Right now I have tingling in my shoulder blades.

[Logan1]

Hey M1ssjess89,

First of all, I don't think its ridiculous. What you are talking about is what led me to my first therapy session. One day I was laying on the couch and my whole left side became numb.........Of course I figured it must be something neurological, as did my GP. I was sent of for an MRI of my brain as well as an EEG. They both showed there was nothing wrong with me physically.

I refused to believe that it may be the anxiety that is causing this, so I asked to be retested, again nothing wrong ? No word of a lie, I must of been tested for pretty much everything during my life, and thankfully I always get the same result, nothings wrong.

However, if you do feel you may have some medical issue, defiantly tell your GP

Personally, anxiety is very good at manifesting itself into physical symptoms to distract me from what is driving the anxiety. Even now reading back on what I've written I notice that I refer to Anxiety as "The anxiety" I can't take ownership of it. I think it's the label that bugs me, maybe you are feeling the same ?

The point is yes, anxiety can be a self for filling prophesy.

Logan

[CalmCat]

Hi M1ssjess89,

Thank so much your fearless post, that isn't ridiculous at all.

When I read post, it reminded me of your 7 years ago.

My GP at the time got me to see a neurologist; in the end everything was fine.

I'd suggest to let your GP tick as many boxes as he can, to help narrow down an answer. Don't be scared, with an answer you can kind a healing path.

Do you listen to audio books? Maybe you could listen to them while walking? An aim for 10,000 steps a day?

I'd love to hear now you go, please reach out if you have anything else you need to share.

Regards,

Doz

[M1ssjess89]

Thanks to both of you for your replies. I've seen the doctor and he's referred me to the neurologist who I now see tomorrow.

I listen to music when I run. It helps calm me down.

I know the symptoms I'm getting are most likely anxiety related, I'm just trying so hard not to think it's worse.

I'm so panicky it's crazy.

[maccaz]

how did you go?

[M1ssjess89]

I feel I'm insane sometimes.

My MRI came back perfectly fine. I am fine. It's all anxiety and coming off my old meds.

I have calmed down somewhat, but I'm still getting panic attacks at night. My hands and wrists feel week.

Now i've been having abdominal pain for over a month. I'm not regular. I either get the runs or constipated. I really think I've developed health anxiety now. I'm scared I have a cancer or something. It's ridiculous and I'm exhausted.

[maccaz]

great to hear, and sounds very familiar to my life for the last while, once one thing gets ruled out, i get symptoms of something else, and they all just end up being anxiety. It's exhausting but reassuring to know how common it is!

[Rach93]

Hi M1ssjess89

i am currently going through the same thing as you did, I am so distressed and so scared over it.. I went to emergency last night and he did a full Neuro test on me like reflexes etc and he said it all looked completely normal but to still go to the GP to request mri to rule it out.. I am struggling everyday I can’t stop googling and when I read the symptoms of MS im convinced that I have them and I get this wave feeling over me and I freak out I was crying all morning! I have a constant tingling in my legs & other places which is making me think I have MS, I also feel tired and feel like my vision is different but don’t know if that’s just from tiredness.. I am going to my GP tomorrow but I feel like it’s the longest wait I’ve ever experienced.. is there somewhere else that we could talk because it would make me feel so much better talking to someone experiencing the same thing as me not that I wish this upon anybody!

[Sophie_M]

Hi Rach,

We're sorry to hear that you're feeling so distressed at the moment. We understand that going through the processes of getting tests and waiting for results might leave you feeling highly anxious.

Unfortunately, this is a public and anonymous forum so there is nowhere else that you can talk to community members. If you are needing to speak with someone, we would recommend that you get in contact with the Beyond Blue Support Service. They are available 24/7 by phone on 1300 22 4636 or on Webchat 3pm-12am AEST on our website: www.beyondblue.org.au/getsupport  One of our friendly counsellors will be able to talk through these feelings with you and can offer support, advice and referrals.

[44Max44]

Hi M1ssjess,

I went through a very similar experience two years ago. The night before my birthday I felt a lump where a lump shouldn't be, and I instantly assumed it was cancer. The next day (my birthday) I was the most depressed I've been in a long long time, I didn't have the energy to do anything and the entire day I was worried about my health. It ended up being nothing but this one experience then spiraled and I had health anxiety for months. Every waking moment I was worrying about my health and experiencing some kind of symptom. One of the many symptoms I experienced was the twitching you mentioned. I had this a lot. I too thought that I had MS or some other neurological disorder. Pretty much every symptom you can think of I experienced at some point throughout those months, yet nothing at all was wrong with me.

One tip I can give is to try your hardest to not google symptoms. If you think you have an issue, go to the GP and get their opinion on it, but don't google your symptoms because all that leads to is worry and self-diagnoses. Googling my symptoms is one of the worst things you can do in my opinion.

Another tip I can give is to take notice of the moments when you are preoccupied with something else and aren't focusing on symptoms. It's hard to explain, but let's say for example that I'm experiencing the symptom of a sore throat, I notice that I only actually experience that symptom when I'm thinking about it, but in those moments where I'm preoccupied with something else and not thinking about it, I'm not experiencing that symptom, therefore I must be imagining it.

Also you mentioned that you always have the runs or constipation. This sounds like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), I have it too. It causes you to either be constipated or have diarrhea, to be bloated, to have abdominal pain, and a lot of other stuff. I'd google it if I were you to see if it matches what you're experiencing. It is very common in people who have Anxiety or Depression, and isn't harmful.


I hope any of this helped.
All the best