MS symptoms have me worried

[hypochondriaddict]

Hey all, I am new to the forum as a poster, but I've been reading posts here for months.

First off I'm a huge hypochondriac, trying to differentiate physiological from psycho-somatic, and I cannot tell if what I'm going through is due to recent tragedy or actual physical disease or condition.

I've always gotten myself into trouble, and been in relationships where I got cheated on, and I'm very scared, and paranoid as a person.
I have ADHD so much of my life especially in school has been in trouble some ind or another I didn't know how I'd get myself out of.

In April of this year my gf of 4 years left myself and my daughter after getting a place together, she had been mom to my daughter since she was 4, I have no contact with her real mom.

I have a good friend who set me up with this really great woman through a friend since then, and we started dating in late may, things were going great.
Then my mom who I'm extremely close to got sick and died almost suddenly. I have always been close to my parents, they've bailed me out of some stupid situations in my past. My mom was the strong one in my family, and since she has passed, my dad has started dating someone 7 hours away, and things have gotten very serious, and he has plans to move in with her sometime next year.

Luckily my new gf has been staying with me tons and helping me cope best she can, but my health problems are driving us both crazy, and have me on constant fear for my life.

I had these symptoms for a long time

My whole life I have had trouble breathing on and off, and being overweight, I never thought anything of it. I started getting pains and numbnesses in my left arm and leg around the elbow and knee in about 2010, when I would have breathing troubles which went away earlier this year when I lost a bunch of weight, and did a lot of excercise.
I had a lot of discomfort in my groin area, some tingling down there when I would sit on hard surfaces, some trouble urinating sometimes. I got very worried thinking I had prostate cancer, and I couldn't see a dr for a long time due to not having health insurance.

These symptoms are new as of July with the exception of my tongue tingling that started after we found a lump on the side of my little guy at the base.

I have a numbness that has been in a few places over the past few months
it started with a tingling in the tip of my tongue that would come and go, then it spread to my right eye and at that time I had no vision problems. Then the tingling went around my right eye socket.
I also was having light headedness frequently at this time, along with weird right sided headaches that were very minor.
I googled tongue tingling and came up with brain tumor.
I went to 2 drs for the first time in a long time, and brought up my tongue tingling, and light headedness.
One dr was referred blood tests, an ophthalmologist appointment, and an ultrasound appointment to check my prostate, kidneys, and bladder.
The other dr said the tingling could come from MS(the onset of the worry of MS for me), but said was very doubtful, and that it was most likely my anxiety, and prescribed paxil, and xanax. I tried the paxil which I didn't like after about 2 weeks, and I have recently been using the xanax to try to calm down.

My blood showed low vitamin B12, and that I had "thick blood". The ultrasound showed I had an enlarged prostate (no dr could find the "lump" I found), with no nodes, and everything else showed fine. The ophthalmologist appointment went great, and my right eye tingling stopped shorty after that.

Shortly after I started really worrying if the problems I was having were due to a brain tumor (at this point MS wasn't on my mind as much, and I was convinced if I didn't have a tumor, I'd be just fine)

So I asked one of my drs for a CT scan referral, which she didn't think was necessary, but gave me one anyway, which came back clear.

After a couple of weeks went by I noticed I was having tingling in my lower lip, and that my left side felt funny, with my vision starting to get blurry. I was getting more and more panicky every day, having panic attacks almost constantly now due to worry of having MS after googling MS symptoms.

So I made another appointment with my other dr, who ran his own blood tests (and I had been taking vitamin b12 tablets by then, along with various other supplements) and the tests no longer showed vit b12 low (though the tests were done by different drs at different facilities mind you) who said he thought I was healthy, and agreed to send me to a neurologist to get me checked out in a month.

In the meantime I had gained my weight back, started having my breathing troubles again, along with my leg and arm pain.

With the neuro appointment a month out, I really started convincing myself that I had MS.
My left half of my body started acting strange, and it was like I developed a numbness on my left side, I could still feel, but it was like less than before somehow. Also my legs felt funny when I walked, like jelly. I was panicking basically at least once an hour while I was awake, and when I went to sleep, when I would wake up to pee, I would start panicking big time thinking there was no way I was ok.

So finally came the day when I saw the neurologist. I explained my symptoms minus the breathing and leg/arm pains because I chalked that up to my breathing issues. He gave me the once over, did the pokey thing with the safety pins (which was a little less on the left in feeling in certain spots), the tuning fork thing, and some walking and balance tests. He checked my eyes. I explained the perceived numbness, and he said he did could tell me right then and there I did NOT HAVE MS. He said to get my stress and panic under control. He asked if my tongue tingling was one sided, and at the time I think it wasn't, but ever since I swear it's mainly on the left side tip.

Since the neurologist, I started panicking like right afterwards, and I called the office, and told the receptionist I had forgot to report some of my symptoms (the arm/leg thing) and she said she would send a note to my neuro with my symptoms and I asked her to have them call me either way, whether there was a reason for concern or not. I never did get a call back.

Since the neurologist I have been worse, panic and otherwise. I started thinking about the other symptoms of MS, and if I had a left sided problem or not, and in just a day I swear I had trouble swallowing while I was trying to drink water while eating fast food, it felt like the left side of my throat wouldn't swallow correctly, and I panicked, couldn't swallow properly for a few seconds. Swallowing difficulty after that was problematic whenever I'd really dwell on it while trying to swallow, but generally if I eat or drink without thinking about whether it's easy to swallow or not its not a problem. I remember reading the questionnaire at the neuro office about swallowing and at that time had no trouble swallowing. Also I stutter a lot more when I talk now.

I had also noticed my left eyelid drooping somewhat on my left side and, looked that up and came up with MG, and that really scared me, so I made an appointment with my regular doctor, he checked my eyes and said its fine, that it isn't drooping, it just hangs lower than my right. He did several tests, and checked me out. So I am not as worried about MG anymore.

I have noticed this left sided numbness though, and it's driving me crazy. It's in my face mainly, and it feels like sometimes my mouth isn't working right, like when I put my lips on a glass,I can't feel it on the left side as much, and it feels funny. Also my face feels funny like not as sensitive on the left, but it seems like I can move it around fine. The numbness seems to just stick around, but it's not a real numbness, because if I pinch it I still feel pain, and I can feel hot or cold on that side just not as strongly. I also noticed when I swallow cold or hot liquids I don't feel them as strongly on my left side of my throat.

I'm always panicking now checking my facial expressions, seeing if my left side can't smile, looks weird when I try to move it, or if it looks like Bell's Palsy. I have considered lyme disease because my dogs have gotten ticks over the years, but dismissed it due the fact I can't remember even being bitten by a tick.

Lately I have noticed that I sometime feel like I'm vibrating when I'm trying to go to sleep, like very minor tremors throughout my whole body, they just started about a week ago, and they don't always happen, and sometimes they happen when I'm waking up. I worried about parkinson's because it happens when I'm laying at rest, but I try not to fuel that fire much, as the only other time I'm shaky is when I'm nervous.

My left hand I have noticed a difference in the sensitivity in my pinky and ring finger, I can still feel just not as strongly. Also some less sensitivity in my right pinky. I'm not sure if it's always been this way or if I'm just now hypersensitive.

So I have a follow up neuro appointment on the 14th, and I will discuss my symptoms with him then.

To anyone out there who read this; thank you! I will follow up on my findings, after my next appointment. To anyone wondering I did ask my neuro for MRI with contrast but he said it was unnecessary, and did not refer me for one.

Also if anyone wants to chime in with any input I sure would appreciate it, thanks!

[Fishmanpa]

Hi Hypo,

Wow... that's quite a list of symptoms! You're certainly been through the mill.
When I read your post there are a few things that stand out.

Please take this with all respect as I'm offering my opinion without bias. I'm not a doctor but an observer. I HIGHLY doubt you have MS based on your post and I believe what you're experiencing are classic anxiety issues.

What brings me to my opinion is firstly, the site you're posting on. Then take your screen name. Add to that the second line in your post "First off I'm a huge hypochondriac, trying to differentiate physiological from psycho-somatic, and I cannot tell if what I'm going through is due to recent tragedy or actual physical disease or condition." Kind of a give away for the rest of the post.

Numerous tests and negative results bring no peace of mind for the most part or just bring temporary relief until you move onto the next ailment. The doctors are on to you so to speak and while they can treat physical issues, they're not prepared to treat psychological ones (thus the no call back from the neurologist).

You do have the prostate issue which you need to keep an eye on. Not being able to wee is not fun! I don't know your age but it's rather common as we get older. I have some prostate issues but not too bad at this point but we're (me and docs) keeping an eye on it. Your overall health and weight can and will cause other health issues so that needs to be addressed as you know.

The biggest issue you face is your anxiety. Look at the "Symptoms" link on the left side of the page and you'll find several if not all of the symptoms you mention. Anxiety IS an illness and once you get that under control, I believe many of your symptoms will go away. This is something you need to do for your daughter as well as yourself. It's my opinion that you're barking up the wrong tree with the medical field. Consult a psychiatrist with the issues you're having. Therapy, CBT and meds or a combination thereof will help you beat the beast called anxiety.

Best wishes and good luck!

[hypochondriaddict]

Thank you for responding, your input is greatly appreciated. I have had health anxiety as long as I can remember. I've just never had it this bad, for this long! I'm 33 by the way.

Also I got a call from my neuro office today to tell me they had to cancel my appointment I the 14th because as of nov 1st my insurance changed and they no longer accept my insurance, and that I will have to find another primary dr on my new insurance to give me a neurologist referral, I had to wait a month to see my original neuro, now there's no telling how long I'll have to wait. :(

[katesa]

I was diagnosed with ms just last week. I am no expert, and indeed you seem to know much more about it than me, but I can tell you that the Neuro knew there was a need for further testing within a very short time and I didn't list symptoms like you did - hell, I wasn't even aware of what ms symptoms were. Trust the medical professional - they know way more than you.

Also, ms is not a death sentence.

I am certain your problems are mainly anxiety

[hypochondriaddict]

Thank you Kate, I appreciate your input on this matter as well. I worry the dr will miss something as for years my mom had what they told her was asthma, and she took asthma meds for years. She found out just before she died that it was actually rheumatoid arthritis, that became interstitial lung disease, had they discovered the cause of her breathing problems sooner, she might still be alive. So that worries me terribly about being misdiagnosed. It's just if I indeed have ms I would like to know so I can take meds for it.

My anxiety is very intense, and I worry constantly. Now I'm not sure whether to try and find a dr that my insurance covers, and try to get a neuro referral, or to just try to get on with my life.
The dr who made the referral for the neuro in the first place said he only gave the referral for my peace of mind and didn't think I needed to see one.