So tired of waking up in a panic :(

[Janinel]

Hi guys, I'm feeling pretty low at the moment. So scared that I have MS or something worse. Keep waking up feeling numb on my left side. Some nights are worse than others. I feel better when I walk around and move my muscles. When I go to work (I'm a chef, long hours on my feet) I don't really have a problem, it's mostly when I sit down, relax or go to sleep! Please tell me someone else has or has had this problem. I feel so scared.

[Dazza]

I totally sympathize with it... I used to get it a lot, but hardly ever now... I get other symptoms.... I used to be scared that I had MS, then once I had an MRI and my doc confirmed no MS, my mind moved onto the next disease / life threatening condition that it could come up with...

Numbness can be down to tension, dehydration... a whole host of totally benign things. :-) Relax more. When I used to get numbness, I used to take a shower to get rid of it...

I recently read a quote that applies so well to anxiety ''what we concentrate on, grows''. ie the more we worry about a symptoms, the worse it gets... I can vouch for this.. I used to get severe chest pains / feel like I was going to pass out... I learned to ignore it... and over time it stoppped... the mind is so powerful!

[AllInMyHead]

Hi there, I wrote quite a long reply on this in a thread started by Starfighter a couple of days ago, have a look at it, it might be useful.

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=104133

The fact you are fine when you are moving around means it's not MS. Try not to be scared. I was terrified and I turned out to be fine.

[Janinel]

Thanks guys. The numbness actually went away when I stopped using two pillows when sleeping- now I only use one and I feel 100% better in that department!

It turns out it was all posture related- I tend to tilt my head forward all the time and that really affects your posture, so I've been trying to correct that with great results so far.

Still issues with feeling panicky/twitchy, but I'm taking it one day at a time.

Thanks so much for your responses.

---------- Post added at 04:10 ---------- Previous post was at 04:01 ----------

Thanks guys. The numbness actually went away when I stopped using two pillows when sleeping- now I only use one and I feel 100% better in that department!

It turns out it was all posture related- I tend to tilt my head forward all the time and that really affects your posture, so I've been trying to correct that with great results so far.

Still issues with feeling panicky/twitchy, but I'm taking it one day at a time.

Thanks so much for your responses.