A Thread for Newcomers Worried about Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

[tpearson]

This is such a great post. 

Thank you so much for writing this.

[carolinagirl2398]

What an awesome post.  It was like it was written just for me. :)  I've been convinced I have MS for a few days now and reading this has really made my mind at ease.

[cornflower]

I just wanted to share this with everyone worried about MS. There is one less reason to worry. My parents who know how worried about this I am, told me they saw a program on CTV in Canada called W5 about an Italian doctor who has found a cure for MS. His name is Zamboni or something along those lines. I would post a link, but I haven't the time. Either way, he has had great success with a easy treatment that increases blood flow to the brain and many patients have had no furter episodes after his treatments. Check it out and good luck to all.

[greatsommelier]

I just wanted to say this thread just, without sounding dramatic, saved my life.  Well, the quality of it anyway.  Thank you to the original poster.  I have been terrified of MS and ALS.  I am so glad I found this site.  Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  And my husband and two toddlers with echo this sentiment when they see they have their mother back.

[jack1000]

OMG!!!

I posted my post (Jack 1000) and then read this.    What an amazing post, this was so helpful for me, in many ways it mirrors much of my fears that I mentioned about ALS and MS, despite being told I don't have them.

Thank you so much for posting this, it really helps.

I guess the part that confuses me still is when I am not anxious I get symptoms, I think what this post implies is that the time line of when you feel anxiety does not always correspond with the symptoms?

There I go looking for reassurance again!

[alwaysnervous]

I'm so glad I read this post, I might actually be able to scratch 1 of many illnesses off my imaginary list.  I really have never known anything about MS my whole life, then one day while putting together my new furniture I suddenly got pins and needles in my arm, it scared the hell out of me, I thought I was going to pass out, I ran to the computer started googling and within minutes had convinced myself that I had MS, I spent the rest of the night on the couch under a blanket, talking myself out of a panic attack.  I got this weird pins and needles, numbness thing for a couple of days, this was about 8 months ago, its never happened again since.  But I did actually try and convince myself that I didn't have MS, I thought maybe I pinched a nerve while lifting my furniture, after visiting a chiropractor a couple of times (and not finding anything wrong with me) and telling him about my MS fears, I gave up, it never happened again and im pretty sure the Chiro thought I was insane..lol..A couple of hundred dollars down the drain, if only I read this post back then...now if I can get rid of my heart attacks and strokes!!!

[boosie77]

My problem is that I have seen some lousy dr.s that have missed things in the past and I did have to self diagnose myself with certain issues such as insulin resisitance and PCOS. I worry because some doctors seem to be in such a hurry and are not thorough enough. I have one great dr who is an endocrinologist who is a model of how I wish every dr could be. She has helped me regain so much of my health just through listening, running proper tests and doing what she can to help me. I will post my story in another section because yes, like others I think I have MS along with other health concerns. I have been aware of my health anxiety for 12 years. Thank you for posting the MS info as I have all of those symptoms and it does make me feel better even though I do have to go back for more tests in 4 months....

[jeniwall]

Thank you so much for this post... I found it by googling "anxiety muscle twitching", because I wanted to find information that my symptoms could be caused by anxiety, not MS or ALS.  I am trying to accept the answer that YES it can be anxiety, just like my doctor/neurologist/cardiologist/endocrinologist/ENT/psychologist have all reassured me.  As I'm sure all hypochondriacs would agree, it is difficult to trust the expert's opinion when the symptoms are so physical and persistent.  I'm hoping that I can overcome the damage that anxiety has done to my nervous system soon!

[SusanIL]

I haven't visited the site in awhile and I don't think I have ever posted before but reading this thread made me want to share.

I have a lot of mental craziness due to cybercondria. I am positive that I am going to keel over at any minute because of a passing ache, pain or thought.

But, the one thing I am sure of is, I DO have MS. And coming from someone with MS, it was hard to miss the initial signs. First I had a blinding headache and double vision. Next I had extreme vertigo. An MRI, spinal tap and sometime with my doctor confirmed it. It has been almost 2 years since my diagnosis. I give myself shots 3 times a week (doesn't hurt), I watch what I eat, stay out of the heat and get plenty of sleep and exercise. The quality of my life hasn't changed at all. Yes, when I don't sleep enough parts of my face get numb but it's more of an annoyance, not a disability.

And, when the doctor told me I had MS, I said "really, is that all?" because I was convinced I had a terminal brain tumor. Sometimes preparing for the worst can made something bad not really that bad at all!

[Gregor]

Susan. Great post and thank you so much for sharing. I think its so important to remember to actually live this life we're so afraid of losing, or at least losing control of.

[jojo1976]

Hi there. I thought I might add my two cents. I am a HA sufferer but MS is not normally on my list of worries. While it once was in the beginning, it isn't now. Why? My husband has MS.  He was diagnosed in 2003 at age 34.  It has been 7yrs since his diagnosis and other than that very first attack he had when he was diagnosed (his legs went numb up to his chest), he has had very little progression or disability at all. No one would ever know he has it and it really doesn't affect his day to day life. He walks, runs, acts just like a regular guy. He plays football with the boys, climbs mountains, goes camping, etc. On occasion, his hands feel a bit cramped and he's tired a lot, but other than that the MS is far better condition than I am in HA panic mode any day!! Fatigue is his biggest complaint, but then again, he works six days a week - who wouldn't be tired! He does not take any medication for it and seems to be doing just fine, even 7yrs later (although I wish he would.) I will say that the first few years was a bit rough due to the depression caused by the diagnosis, but once he accepted it and decided to move forward, it was like he was the same old guy. Steroids cleared up the numbness that first time and it hasn't recurred since. When I compare the two of us, sometimes I think I got the short end of the stick here... LOL.  While every MS patient is different, it is not the dreaded automatic wheelchair bound disease it once was. Most cases are relapsing-remitting (my husband's type) where there are periods of not feeling well and then recovery. Many HA'ers are stuck in it all the time with no relief. I know, I was there at one point.  I worried at first when I first developed anxiety and panic attacks that I had MS because I started getting tingly etc which mimicked his symptoms in the beginning, but my MRI was clear.. what would be the chances of husband AND wife, right? Even the docs said that was pretty odd. Anxiety can mimic MS symptoms in so many ways! Anyway, MS patients do quite well and the medications to slow the disease are plentiful now. Most lead a normal lifespan and I'm pretty sure that many older people in wheelchairs or who use canes dont have MS - that's just called being old! At some point in my old age, I imagine I too will need one, haha.  If anyone has any questions from a first person perspective of what real MS feels like on a normal day, and on a bad day, I'd be happy to ask DH to indulge, but in general, in his case, MS really is not as scary as it sounds.

[sixpack]

Hi there. I thought I might add my two cents. I am a HA sufferer but MS is not normally on my list of worries. While it once was in the beginning, it isn't now. Why? My husband has MS.  He was diagnosed in 2003 at age 34.  It has been 7yrs since his diagnosis and other than that very first attack he had when he was diagnosed (his legs went numb up to his chest), he has had very little progression or disability at all. No one would ever know he has it and it really doesn't affect his day to day life. He walks, runs, acts just like a regular guy. He plays football with the boys, climbs mountains, goes camping, etc. On occasion, his hands feel a bit cramped and he's tired a lot, but other than that the MS is far better condition than I am in HA panic mode any day!! Fatigue is his biggest complaint, but then again, he works six days a week - who wouldn't be tired! He does not take any medication for it and seems to be doing just fine, even 7yrs later (although I wish he would.) I will say that the first few years was a bit rough due to the depression caused by the diagnosis, but once he accepted it and decided to move forward, it was like he was the same old guy. Steroids cleared up the numbness that first time and it hasn't recurred since. When I compare the two of us, sometimes I think I got the short end of the stick here... LOL.  While every MS patient is different, it is not the dreaded automatic wheelchair bound disease it once was. Most cases are relapsing-remitting (my husband's type) where there are periods of not feeling well and then recovery. Many HA'ers are stuck in it all the time with no relief. I know, I was there at one point.  I worried at first when I first developed anxiety and panic attacks that I had MS because I started getting tingly etc which mimicked his symptoms in the beginning, but my MRI was clear.. what would be the chances of husband AND wife, right? Even the docs said that was pretty odd. Anxiety can mimic MS symptoms in so many ways! Anyway, MS patients do quite well and the medications to slow the disease are plentiful now. Most lead a normal lifespan and I'm pretty sure that many older people in wheelchairs or who use canes dont have MS - that's just called being old! At some point in my old age, I imagine I too will need one, haha.  If anyone has any questions from a first person perspective of what real MS feels like on a normal day, and on a bad day, I'd be happy to ask DH to indulge, but in general, in his case, MS really is not as scary as it sounds.

A very informative post jojo.   I know 5 people with MS and 1 more woman who has been 'tentatively' dx'd with it.  At this point only one person (last I heard) is in a wheelchair.  A former neighbor (coincidentally the neighbor next to her also had MS, really odd), had two more babies after being dx'd with MS.  She now has 5 kids.  The woman I know who has tentatively been dx'd with MS is still having troubles but hasn't been given any meds as yet.  She is still in the testing phase.  My hubby's aunt by marriage was dx'd 14 yrs ago.  She still works and drives and lives a normal life. 

Yes MS is a scary thing, but mostly to think about.  Nowadays medications can really reduce the frequency and the severity of the attacks. 

I"m glad your husband is doing well.

[misc73]

Thanks for the post Jojo!  I realize now even if I had MS, it isn't a death sentence.  It sounds like you have a very strong husband and you seem to be a very supporting wife.  That equals awesome in my book!  Good Luck and thanks for sharing:)

[grateful]

Thanks JOJO and Pan

These posts are amazing.
After worrying about this 24/7 for the last 3 months. I found sooo much relief in Pans original thread. It really is so good to know that we all have had the same concerns. Before I had my last life alltering panic attack I had no clue what MS was (ofcourse I had heard of it) since the first time I googled Muscle Spasms I have been completely obsessed that this is what I have and ofcourse this is what brought on this Panic attack as it couldn't be just Anxiety. In certain ways this new found anxiety has been a blessing as I seem to have approached another milestone in my life. It has caused me to be so much more compassionate.

JoJo-
Yours was what has really stuck with me the last few days. I just sxld my MRI's for next week. And although I can not lie I am pretty scared I just keep coming back to your thread that if this is indeed MS I will be ok. Certainly not what I would choose but of everything out there not such a bad hand. Your husband seems to have been pretty blessed. I guess its all relative to our attitudes at the end of the day.
Thanks again

[lbrickme]

Yes - thank you JoJo  for your recent post. I have a friend who was diagnosed with MS about a month ago and I have since had an extreme fear that my all-over tingling/prickling is MS.  I forwarded your entry to my friend as I figured she would find it encouraging.   

I knew that my friend had had optic neuritis as one of her presenting symptoms but, in her email today, found out that she had problems with her arms to the point that she couldn't even type on the computer.  More evidence that the presenting symptoms of MS aren't usually just a little tingling . . . :)  I hope your husband continues to do well!

 

[hoov22]

Many thanks for this post...it is so incredibly helpful. I have saved it to my desk top to read when I get scared about my symptoms again...and it really does help. I have struggled with Anxiety for 10 years now....have previously been on meds for 4 years, counselling for 4...and I still find myself questioning my symptoms. I struggle with the fact that I have had tingling and buzzing, twitching and trembling in my legs CONSTANTLY (internally trembling all over and twitches all over).....for the past 6 weeks pretty much all the time and today, I not only got nausea and dizziness but I also started getting a constant stinging, burning, buzzing feeling in the palm of my hand that is about the size of a coin. Now, the dizziness and nausea I have had before but the constant tingling (have had tingling before...just not 24/7)and the bizarre palm thing are new...which makes it all so hard. Last night I barely slept as I was convinced I had MS and that my left arm was weak....absolutely CONVINCED (when I got up, I did some push ups to check for weakness...anyone else done this???!! It is nuts!!)! I went into uncontrollable panic and was really worried about being left at home to look after our baby as I was worried I would drop her or something. I got through the day, scared to my core that this was it...that I would never be able to run and play with my baby girl...and even now as I type this, I read the post by Pan and want to believe it...and at times I do...but I am still beside myself with fear. I have a neurologist appointment in 6 weeks...I have been waiting 6 months to see someone...I cancelled the last appointment 4 weeks ago as I had to travel for work and at the time, things didn't seem so bad. I will probably then have to wait weeks again to get a MRI and a result. I always get worried that if I do get an MRI or the like and that it comes back confirming my previous anxiety diagnosis that I will look like an idiot...and then there is the fear of a positive result as well. Anyone else feel like this? Anyone else get symptoms 24/7...and in particular, that weird kind of specific feeling in the palm of the hand? I got worried reading that post where many MS sufferers were misdiagnosed with anxiety...how can you actually know the difference between the two!!!??

I also have internal trembling and every time I wake in the night and roll over, it gets really bad for about 10 seconds and then settles. My legs do the same thing...from sitting to standing for the first 10 mins of walking or movement, they tremble and then settle down...anyone know why...is this really anxiety?? Do you need to have double vision with the tingling and twitching for it to be MS? I know I am just looking for reassurance again...but I can't help it. I am scared about the newness of these symptoms...and also about the ongoing 'vague' sensations that I am scared about being misdiagnosed...I am terrified of being passed off with a "it's just anxiety".

Thanks for listening...websites like these and people like Pan really, really help anxiety sufferers.

p.s. I have never been told I have Health Anxiety...only "Anxiety"...health anxiety is much more accurate for me but until now, I had never heard of it!

[sixpack]

Many thanks for this post...it is so incredibly helpful. I have saved it to my desk top to read when I get scared about my symptoms again...and it really does help. I have struggled with Anxiety for 10 years now....have previously been on meds for 4 years, counselling for 4...and I still find myself questioning my symptoms. I struggle with the fact that I have had tingling and buzzing, twitching and trembling in my legs CONSTANTLY (internally trembling all over and twitches all over).....for the past 6 weeks pretty much all the time and today, I not only got nausea and dizziness but I also started getting a constant stinging, burning, buzzing feeling in the palm of my hand that is about the size of a coin. Now, the dizziness and nausea I have had before but the constant tingling (have had tingling before...just not 24/7)and the bizarre palm thing are new...which makes it all so hard. Last night I barely slept as I was convinced I had MS and that my left arm was weak....absolutely CONVINCED (when I got up, I did some push ups to check for weakness...anyone else done this???!! It is nuts!!)! I went into uncontrollable panic and was really worried about being left at home to look after our baby as I was worried I would drop her or something. I got through the day, scared to my core that this was it...that I would never be able to run and play with my baby girl...and even now as I type this, I read the post by Pan and want to believe it...and at times I do...but I am still beside myself with fear. I have a neurologist appointment in 6 weeks...I have been waiting 6 months to see someone...I cancelled the last appointment 4 weeks ago as I had to travel for work and at the time, things didn't seem so bad. I will probably then have to wait weeks again to get a MRI and a result. I always get worried that if I do get an MRI or the like and that it comes back confirming my previous anxiety diagnosis that I will look like an idiot...and then there is the fear of a positive result as well. Anyone else feel like this? Anyone else get symptoms 24/7...and in particular, that weird kind of specific feeling in the palm of the hand? I got worried reading that post where many MS sufferers were misdiagnosed with anxiety...how can you actually know the difference between the two!!!??

I also have internal trembling and every time I wake in the night and roll over, it gets really bad for about 10 seconds and then settles. My legs do the same thing...from sitting to standing for the first 10 mins of walking or movement, they tremble and then settle down...anyone know why...is this really anxiety?? Do you need to have double vision with the tingling and twitching for it to be MS? I know I am just looking for reassurance again...but I can't help it. I am scared about the newness of these symptoms...and also about the ongoing 'vague' sensations that I am scared about being misdiagnosed...I am terrified of being passed off with a "it's just anxiety".

Thanks for listening...websites like these and people like Pan really, really help anxiety sufferers.

p.s. I have never been told I have Health Anxiety...only "Anxiety"...health anxiety is much more accurate for me but until now, I had never heard of it!

honestly your symptoms sound a whole lot more like anxiety than anything else.  I've had what you describe--not sure specifically about the hand spot, but have had other spots on my body do that.  Anxiety manifests itself physically.  When this happens many, many folks translate that into something horrible is wrong with their bodies.  This is what I've done to myself for years.  If your anxiety manifests itself with your worrying about your health---then you have health anxiety.    

I know 5 people, maybe 6 (she is still in the testing phase) and their symptoms are not vague like ours.  The post you mentioned about folks being dx'd with anxiety rather than MS, well this same poster explained herself.  In another post had a very good description of how MS affects her.  In it she described that MS symptoms are seldom vague.  They almost always hit you like a freight train.  My hubby's aunt by marriage was dx'd with MS 14 yrs ago.  She woke up with her left side paralyzed and she couldn't speak clearly.  They thought she was having a stroke, but no it was MS.  I just saw her last week.  You would never know she has MS.  Her meds are really doing the trick.

[hoov22]

Thanks heaps for your reply, I really appreciate it. Your words are very helpful and you actually responding helps make me feel heard and supported. 

I do however always wonder if there were early signs for people with MS that were just passed off or not mentioned and if those early signs before the major attacks were the same as what I am experiencing...know what I mean? I know it is silly...

As an aside...I haven't been feeling anxious much at all today...or yesterday...yet my symptoms haven't changed one bit....and I had a couple of new symptoms today! I still am really dizzy and the tingling, twitches, buzzing in my feet and lower legs is still constant...when can I expect this to start to settle? Do I need to be more patient? I get so thrown when I get new symptoms...it makes me think that it isn't anxiety and it's something else that I should be following up on...but I hate going to the doctor to just be told it is anxiety. does this all make sense??

Thank you again for your support 

[jojo1976]

The palm thing... I don't know if this is the same, but a burning, itching, redness in the palms of my hands are one of my personal phantom anxiety issues. I call it a phantom symptom because I get this when I don't realize I'm actually anxious and no mental anguish accompanies it. Out of the blue, my palms will burn and itch like crazy, sometimes for just a few minutes, other times throughout the day. I don't FEEL anxious, but know I have thoughts churning through my mind. It's a physical symptom of anxiety I've had since early adulthood. I've never really worried about it before... has been a part of me so long.  Looking back, I realize my body has reacted to stress in physical ways far before my mind caught on to delvelop HA.  If your sensations sound similar - it's anxiety.

[cuddly]

Thank you for this tread it has made me feel so much better.  I went to the doctors two years ago complaining with numb arms and every now and then a numb face.  The doctor immediately said it could be ms.  I was horrified I had never thought of MS!!! So I went for an MRI and the nurologist said the numbness in my arms was a worn disc in my spind and the numb face was ONLY stress and anxiety.  I thought that I had nothing to be stressed about until I thought about it (The year before my cat got really ill, my living room was being decorated just before Christmas and it was all going wrong, then after Christmas my mum was rushed into hospital and ended up loosing her leg on my 40th birthday.  My cat then went missing for a week and I spent all week awake looking for him and I have a 14 year old daughter who even if I say so myself is beautiful and has a lovely figures so I worry about her all of the time) phewwwwwwwwwwwwww.  No I know it may all sound like nothing to everyone else but to me it was the worst 18 months of my life and to top it all I had just packed in smoking aswell.  I never realised how much you need a cigarette when you are stressing.

Thankfully I am still quit, and my arms are now better through sitting correctly and my face is still numb at times but not as often.  I have found myself though looking for things, just like it says in your post, I am so pleased there are other people like me and I am not going insane.

Thank you again.


xxxxxx

[Doobles]

Wow...
Amazing post with amazing advice... you just described perfectly my experience and reactions to doctors...Thanks

[nutmeg11]

I am amazed at this thread!!!  If only I could have read something like this several years ago!!!  I thought I was the only one that went through this...but in 2006 I became totally unraveled and had a total nervous breakdown over this exact same issue.  I started googling symptoms because I was experiencing numbness in arms and legs and I was completely convinced I had MS.  My doctor sent me for a brain MRI to rule it out (although he did not think it was likely that I had it) and my worst fears started spiraling out of control because that MRI came back with a "tiny white dot" on it.  I was told that this white dot could mean nothing at all, or that it could indicate the beginning of MS so I was referred to a neurologist.  I was completely panicked and my symptoms started multiplying.  I felt like I was getting pins and needles all over my body.  I developed this tingling sensation all up and down my arms (similar to when someone tickles you for a long time and your arms get all tingly).  And listen to this....my tongue started going numb at random times.  Of course I reported all these symptoms to the neurologist who was totally stumped as to what was wrong with me.  I was put through a battery of tests....bloodwork, more MRIs of brain and spine, some other test in which they sent small electric shocks in my legs to test my reaction times (I forget the name of that test). I also had to take some special eye test at the local hospital.  ALL OF THESE TESTS CAME BACK NORMAL.  But I need to say that this whole process took months to go through and I was a complete mess during it.  I could not sleep, my body would convulse at night and sometimes I would wake up and yell out to my husband that I was having visual disturbances.  After getting a 2nd opinion with a different neurologist (one who I trusted better) she ruled out MS.  She concluded that the "white dot" on the original MRI was meaningless.  DO YOU THINK THIS STOPPED MY WORRYING???  NO WAY!  I started worrying about other diseases, and I would bring up more symptoms to the doctor and then more bloodwork was done.  At one point she tested me for myasthenia gravis and I waited in bed for days waiting for those results to come back.  I actually called the lab to ask them if the results were ready and panicked when they told me "no".  That surely meant that something was wrong.  Well you guessed it, that test came back normal too.  Finally the doctor convinced me that my real problem was ANXIETY and I started taking zoloft.  Lo and behold as the weeks went on, I slowly started believing the doctor that I had anxiety and that there was nothing else wrong with me.  And guess what????  All those symptoms started going away...my tongue stopped getting numb, my arms stopped that annoying tickly tingly feeling.

[tingles]

This may be a useful website for people on here:

www.neurosymptoms.org

[jsellers1981]

Hi there, I am sort of new here. I have suffered from GAD for many years but I also believe I have hypochondria and OCD without the compulsions.  My main obssessive thoughts are of my friends/family dying (especially my mom). I can remember having this obsessive thought even as a child.  My mother also has severe anxiety which has to be where I got it from!  She constantly worries about her kids to the point where we don't like to be far away from her because of how she will react. She also hasn't been to a doctor in 30 years because of her fears which just makes my worrying about her worse.

Anyway, I have suffered with thoughts of having MS for about two years now.  Two years ago after leaving an abusive relationship and going through a very stressful point in my life I began having very short and sporadic episodes of vertigo (room spinning).  The episodes last for about 20 seconds and there is no nausea involved. It has happened about 10 times and has not gotten worse with time.  8 out of 10 times it is wihle I am upset about something and crying. Sometimes it happens for no reason. I worry that it will happen when I am driving. While I am having this episode my right ear gets full and starts buzzing. I believed it was Meniere's Disease and I was going to go deaf. After almost a year of visiting my PCP and being told it was probably allergies I got up the nerve to see an ENT. He did all of the normal tests that they do on people complaining of vertigo including an MRI with and w/o contrast.  Everything came back perfectly normal. He told me he believes it is probably BPPV. I was totally relieved.....temporarily.

I went to they eye doctor last year to have my normal eye exam.  During the exam he asked me if I had been experiencing headaches because my optic nerve was measuring smaller then the exam the year before. I told him that I hadn't had any headaches.  He said "well maybe I just measured it wrong last year".  So of course I have a headache and in my head it is my optic nerve and I am now losing the vision in my right eye.  I have floaters in my eyes which I am now obsessing about and wondereing if they are actually floaters or blind spots! Now I am worried about optic neuritis even though I know that usually means your optic nerve is swollen, not measuring smaller and is usually painful.

Fast forward to January of this year and I get pink eye in my right eye which eventually spread to my left eye and clears up after about 10 days with perscription drops.  During my bout with pink eye I develop a twitch in my left eyelid/eyelash. This twitch stayed around for about 5 months and I eventually started obsessing about it. I started feeling a twitch in my right eye, my right thigh above me knee, my forearm and my bicep.  The twitches have pretty much subsided at this point except for once in a blue moon.  I start obsessing about MS even more.

Three nights ago I was sitting on my couch and experienced a weird sensation in my left leg, it was like I got a cold chill but only in my left leg. I instantly had a panic attack because I have been waiting for more MS symptoms to pop up and here we go. Now I can't get the chills out of my head, I am experiencing them in my right leg, left leg and tailbone area. I only notice them when I am sitting down(at rest-same with the twitching) or thinking about them. There is no pain or weakness "yet".

I am terrified of flying. I have to fly at the end of September because I am visiting NYC on vacation with friends. I do not want to miss this opportunity because of a stupid fear. Now I am worried that I will have vertigo on the plane which will lead to a panic attack on the plane. I am totally stressed about this. I cannot let my friends down; I will look like a fool. I believe that a lot of my fear of planes is a result of my mom being afraid of flying and embedding it in my mind that flying is scary and unsafe even though we know it isn't. Not to mention that I will be hundreds of miles away from her and she will be worried sick.

I can't help but to think that maybe the ENT missed something on my MRI. That maybe I do have MS and should be getting treated but I am too scared to go back for more tests. I know that my anxiety is probably manifesting itself in physical symptoms now after all of these years.  I made an appointment with a psychiatrist for next week. I have to try to get some medication. I cannot deal with this any longer. Sorry for the long post.......

[anxiousmumof4]

Hi I am a newcomer and the first post made me cry (well actually it made me laugh, then burst into tears) 

I have been ridiculously worried about having MS ever since I started to feel a buzzing/vibrating sensation in my leg. I didnt think anything much of it, until I mentioned to my friend whom has ms...and she said, offhandedly, oooh that was my first symptom of MS.

I happen to have an uncle whom died at the age of 32 whom had progressive MS, five years from diagnosis to death . Of course I couldnt help myself and started googling and suddenly I had all  the 'early signs'.

I went straight to the doctor BUT, I didnt mention MS. I just said about the sensation etc and he almost immediately said Anxiety. I have recently been through a very stressful time and he said the symptoms were probably that. He sent me for full bloods just to be on the safe side which I went for yesterday.

Since then I have been googling and am becoming more sure, that actually...the only symptom I had was vibration in the leg. The rest has stemmed from that, the tingling in my throat and tight feeling, the nausea, the poor concentration, the feeling of being totally shattered come the afternoons...

I now suspect that he is possibly right (or is it actually that I will accept anything else other than ms?!) and it is anxiety...even when I think I am not anxious. I have bookmarked this post so I can read when I am feeling so frightened again.

Thanks.