Scared and confused by symptoms-please help

[Nicole80]

Hi all, My name is Nicole and this is my first time posting though I've been coming to this site for comfort for months. You are all so kind and helpful. Sixpack, I've read many of your comments and they've helped me feel better at times. Thank you. I'm having a very hard time again so I'd like to share my story and see what you all think.

I'm a 28 year old female that got married this past summer in June in Maui, from the first day arriving there I started having intense tingling in my hands and feet then they'd go numb. It would happen throughout the day and night. I've had joint problems since I was 20 but never tingling and numbness. My dad and many others in my family are diabetic so at first I thought it could be that. My hands felts weak as well and my legs shaky. My cousin who is a nurse was there with us and said sounds like MS symptoms. This is what started my horrible health anxiety and symptoms for the past 10 months. I'm so depressed because when I should of been enjoying being a newlywed I've been racked with constant overwhelming worry.

I saw a neurologist when I got home. My MRI came back clear, he said no ms. He did emg/ncs as well which he said showed a trapped nerve in my elbow. I didn't remember anything that could of caused it and worse he found some nerve damage in BOTH ankles. What are the chances of there being nerve damage or entrapments in three parts of my body? He basically acted like it wasn't a big deal but couldn't explain why I had it or what caused it. Since I've been little I've been a person that needs explanation so this led me to googling which was the biggest mistake ever. I found that emg's are used to diagnose als and everyone on all these sites says if you have a clean emg your fine but he found some type of nerve problem in three areas.

My muscle twitching started in December and has been non stop since, I have pains throughout my body especially hands and ankles. I'm a teacher and sometimes feel like I can't even write on the board my hand gets fatigued so easily. New symptoms seem to keep coming, now my right leg and my thumbs vibrate all the time. It's the oddest feeling. I'm so scared and I don't know who to talk to. I just feel worried and sad all the time, close to a break down at times it feels. Thank you for listening.

It's hard because almost everyone else I read on this site that fears the same type of diseases says their emg was all clear. Please help I'm not sure what to think

[JunoX]

I think that you should discuss your EMG results with your doctor for a better and more detailed explanation of what exactly was found and what it means, short and long term wise. Since you are a person who likes to know the exact meaning of things, this would be your best route to out your anxiety at rest.

I would refrain from Googling. Google is not a doctor, nor a specialist nor a professional. Google did not examine you nor performed tests on you nor viewed your test results. In other words, Google can not diagnose you nor say one thing about you and your particular issues.

Now that we are past the Google, arm chair medical exam thing, let's stay within reality. If you had an MRI and you saw a neurologist and they did not seem concerned about their findings, then the only thing you can do is one of two things. Accept the diagnosis or get a second opinion and accept that diagnosis. Action cures fear. Take control of this situation, which you have already addressed in its entirety. You saw the specialist, you had the imaging, you had the examination. They gave you answers. Now you just have to take it a step further and get more details on those answers.

[missworry]

It sounds to me you had a few normal bodily noises symptoms and this comment about ms sent your own mind into overdrive the more you looked on symptoms about ms online the lore your kind creates these symptoms ... Would you have these extra symptoms of you would have laughed off the ms comment and never thought of it again.... I highly doubt it!

Anxiety attacks you where it knows it will scare you... Your anxious about ms or Als so your body is going to tell you you have it which is causing these symptoms

As a kid do you remember being so scared a ghost was in your room you could swear you heard a noise ... Saw a shadow ... Felt a breeze????

Think about that

[mollyfin]

Trapped nerves are pretty common, so it doesn't seem unlikely that you'd have more than one at some point in your life.  Stress and worry can cause what you're describing.  If a neurologist gave you a clean bill of health except for trapped nerves, it's time to work towards accepting that you're healthy and don't have MS.

[Slangevar]

I agree with Mollyfin... I get this from trapped nerves sometimes.

I've also realized lately that I get it from a vitamin deficiency!  I was having some digestive issues and everything was going through a bit too quickly (if you know what I mean).  All of a sudden, I started to have that tingling and numbness. I realized I was probably losing a lot of vitamins from the digestive issue, so I took some supplements and the numbness and tingling went away. 

[Nicole80]

Thank you all for your replies. It's nice to finally talk to someone that understands and doesn't just look at me like I'm crazy.  The reply about swearing you've heard a ghost or something is funny because that's just like me. I'm scared of everything! It's strange because this severe health anxiety has made all my other fears fade away. I don't think there's a worse thing to be anxious about then your health because it feels like there's no escape from it.

I did go back to my neuro a few months ago and asked for further description of my results he seemed annoyed like I was bothering him or questioning his expertise. He said the nerves in my ankles was called Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome like carpal tunnel but in your feet. He referred me to an ortho doc. I saw the ortho who literally did nothing for my foot pain except to say I've only seen one case of tarsal tunnel and it's never in both feet, your neuro was wrong. But he couldn't tell me what was wrong. This sent me into the worst anxiety I've ever felt for weeks because I didn't know which doc to trust or what was wrong with me. I'm still scared to go for another opinion because I'm not sure what they'll say this time!

[linzii]

The twitches, pins & needles, spazms and vibrations are Anxiety once you truley believe this the will begin to get better, less frequent, lighter, calmer i know because i have had all your symptoms try and lie down in a quiet room doing some breathing exercises and tune into your body really listen and feel all the twitches and vibrations you can calm them by relaxing the area and learn to stop them at will  (takes practice) i know ive done it! anxiety is a mind illness you have to truely except its symptoms once you do this they will start to fade, honestly i thought i had every illness including MS my doctor told me it was anxiety and 80% of the time i believed him but that 20% creeps in with doubts and triggers anxiety cycle, The minute you know really know its anxiety you will have no fear of it and it will trail off slowly, hope you get better x

[Nicole80]

Thank you for your kind response linzii. How long did those symptoms last for you? How long did it take you to learn to control them or to lessen them?

[Nicole80]

Also, has anyone on here had an EMG that showed nerve damage?

[linzii]

hi  Nicole, i started with small twitches and spazms and fatigue felt like little ticks under my skin about 10 weeks ago  doctors  said it was neuralgia  caused through anxiety but i thought they had missed something because ive had every anxiety symptom under the sun but not this! after a coulple of weeks they begun to die down i started with chest vibrations they would start and top within seconds on/off on/off constantly again i went back to the doctors and he said it was anxiety i tried to believe him and get my thoughts under control but its not easy when you feel these unexplained vibrations, then they started to last longer and i felt them deeper they would move around my body i got them in my chest, back, shoulders, legs, feet, and even my head so its no wonder i didnt believe the doc! id had them about 9 weeks when i decided to face them and try and get them under control and that was a nearly a week ago, they dont leave straight away as anxiety works on a unsubconsious level thats why its hard to understand when your relaxed and it seems to strike, since i controlled them that night it has left me for longer periods and when it returns its milder ive even dropped my propranolol meds now! and i think it will just trail off! once you contol it just the once your fear will leave you and it will break that adrenaline cycle, trust me just try it! x