View Full Version : Still worried about ms
I know i can come here and say how im feeling without being judged so here goes: Ive posted a few times about how worried i am about ms.
For the past few months ive had tingling all over but mostly in my back and my eye twitches alot,ive been doing well trying to not think too much into these symptoms recently and id also been for an eye test so knowing i had healthy eyes put me at ease for abit until saturday...
It was a really warm day and id just come back from a walk with my son,when i got home my feet started tingling not badly but just a little bit,i knew this was a sign of ms because id read a story about a women who was walking and her feet started tingling and thats how she knew she had ms!
Well when my feet started tingling i was terrified felt a panic attack coming on,spent all night googling ( i know i shouldent) ms, tingling feet etc which made me really panic! So here i am back to stage one worrying about having ms again! Cry! x
I have had tingling/prickly/numb feeling in my arm and leg for a few weeks as well. Everyone on here keeps telling me it's anxiety even though it happens when i don't feel anxious so i am trying not to run to the doctors every 5 mins. I have said to myself if it's still here in a month i will go because i have rushed to my doctors so many times right away only for the symptom to go a few days later and replaced by another. I am sure you have't got m.s and it's anxiety. My sister in law has m.s and i never here her complain, she listens to me waffle on about all my symptoms. She is fitter than me.
Oh how our minds play games. It seems like your biggest fear at the moment is MS related and you have probably researched all the symptoms so every time you get a sensation that seems like a symptom your negative mind jumps to a false conclusion?
Everyones feet tingle at times, hot tired feet take the brunt of our whole body so it's not surprising they act up at times, it's normal but your anxious brain immediately thinks 'OMG it must be MS'
Also the mind is very good at mimicking symptoms. After all the mind can be a powerful healing machine like when people take Placebo meds so it can in reverse cause ailments and sensations and as you are super anxious and heightened to MS symptoms you focus on those things and notice them more.
I do hope you can relax and not focus so much on your tingling and it will hopefully fade away if you don't feed your negative thinking brain.
Atb,
Steve.:)
Thankyou for your replies :)
I think this is totally true,i know all of the symptoms of ms now from dr google that when i have a symptom like it my mind jumps to ms! Its so annoying.
If i didnt have this fear and had the tingling feet i would not have thought anything about it, i definately would not of googled it!
I wish i knew how to not feed my negative thinking brain!
Im seeing somebody for anxiety atm just had my first session,he says im a what if person! What if this or that happens... he says ive got to say to myself what if it doesnt happen.
I hate that theres always that little thought in my head saying what if this is ms... grrr!
x
I know i am the same what if it's cancer etc, it's like having a little devil on your shoulder whispering in your ear yeah but what if it is this time.
How you don't feed your negative brain is when a thought of MS symptoms pops into your mind you replace it with things like...I'm healthy, your just playing tricks on me, or silly me I'm fine really I am.
Then distract yourself in things around you. Can be sights or sounds or smells. Choose a few things and really concentrate on them switching between them, refocus your mind onto those things.
You have to break the negative cycle of thinking that you have something then dwelling on it thus making it seem more real and hence all the what if feelings surface.
It takes practice but replacing negative thoughts with positives and distracting yourself can really help:)
Steve.
Thanks :)
Im definately going to try that,ive been like this for months and it really is ruining my life, i have so much around me family,hubby,my baby and i feel im neglecting them because im always in the worry cycle,really need to break it.
x
How you don't feed your negative brain is when a thought of MS symptoms pops into your mind you replace it with things like...I'm healthy, your just playing tricks on me, or silly me I'm fine really I am.
Then distract yourself in things around you. Can be sights or sounds or smells. Choose a few things and really concentrate on them switching between them, refocus your mind onto those things.
You have to break the negative cycle of thinking that you have something then dwelling on it thus making it seem more real and hence all the what if feelings surface.
It takes practice but replacing negative thoughts with positives and distracting yourself can really help:)
Steve.
You know your CBT theory! ;)
Have you read any of Doctor David Veale's books?
You know your CBT theory! ;)
Have you read any of Doctor David Veale's books?
Yes I have the 'Overcoming Health Anxiety' by that author. Took me a couple of goes before I started to understand it but it does teach some helpful tips on getting to grips with this thing.
Steve:)
Yes I have the 'Overcoming Health Anxiety' by that author. Took me a couple of goes before I started to understand it but it does teach some helpful tips on getting to grips with this thing.
Steve:)
I can tell that you have read it a few times!
Worrybear, I am right there with you this week. 4 years ago (before I started dealing with health anxiety) I was having symptoms like tingling and weakness and forgetfulness. My dr suggested a brain MRI to rule out ms. I didnt even really know what ms was. But I had the brain MRI which was negative. After that I discovered I have thoracic outlet syndrome which is what was causing the odd sensations in my left arm. That settled my worries for a while.
Fast forward to this month. My arm is acting up and hurting & tingling. And my lips have buzzing for a couple years off and on. So again I think I have ms. I google and find people who have had negative brain scans but then ms was found on their spine. I think oh now I need an MRI of my spine! So then every little thing I feel I think it's ms.
One minute I think I'm crazy for thinking it. The next minute I think I need an MRI to get peace of mind. I know how you feel and I'm sorry. It's so annoying.
I also know my tendency to be anxious about my health so I'm trying to remind myself of that. Ive gone for all sorts of appointments and tests for things. I'm thinking this would just be one more test to add to my list of negative tests. :/
Hi
I feel exactly the same! One minute i think im being totally crazy and its my HA then next minute im back to thinking its ms.
Its so annoying that i keep seeing it everywhere too,a notice in the doctors,in magazines, on telly (someone on neighbours has it,it has put me off watching it now)
I dont think you have ms at all a negative mri confirms that,but i know this wont give you peace of mind us with HA just worry anyway!
I saw my doctor again last night,she said that she was not worried it was anything underlying causing my tingling,she would not send me for a mri because she said it was not needed... if only i could believe her!
Sigh....
E
Hi
I feel exactly the same! One minute i think im being totally crazy and its my HA then next minute im back to thinking its ms.
Its so annoying that i keep seeing it everywhere too,a notice in the doctors,in magazines, on telly (someone on neighbours has it,it has put me off watching it now)
I dont think you have ms at all a negative mri confirms that,but i know this wont give you peace of mind us with HA just worry anyway!
I saw my doctor again last night,she said that she was not worried it was anything underlying causing my tingling,she would not send me for a mri because she said it was not needed... if only i could believe her!
Sigh....
The doctor has diagnosed you as having anxiety.
Why do you think you are unable to accept the diagnosis?
The problem I had was fear of uncertainty. You haven't got a brain tumour, you haven't got MS, you haven't got lymphoma, you don't have heart disease, stomach cancer, MND and any other debilitating/fatal illsses that anxiety rather cynically tends to mimic. Note I said 'mimic,' this isn't quite the same as 'replicate.' The symptoms of anxiety are a little different to those of all those illnesses we fear. It is only the negative filtering of information in our minds that prevents us from seeing a rather obvious pattern that only actually becomes obvious once you learn to understand how anxiety works.
There must be an underlying cause for all these unpleasant and powerful sensations and symptoms, right? That cause has to be sinister because there is no way that thought alone can result in me feeling so physically sick, right?
Wrong.
This is the cycle:
Thoughts ---------> feeings -----------> sensations -----------> symptoms ----------> thoughts and so on.
As my therapist said,
"If we can fix your thinking style and how you feel the physical symptoms will go away by themselves."
And they did, all of them! :)
You need to stop having tests to rule out serious illnesses because you will never find the reassurance that you seek. As long as you keep buying into the idea that there is a sinister underlying cause your mind will always find a reason for another test because you will continue to be afraid that the doctors have either missed something, the test results were falsely negative or there is a new disease that now needs to be ruled out.
There are that many different symptoms and sensations caused by anxiety and just as you cease to fear one particular sensation and it disappears another one pops up. I had rotating symptoms from quite a long list but perhaps only two or three at at time before they would subside and be replaced by others. You can't get them all at once because there just isn't enough adrenaline to go round! Variety is the spice of life with anxiety and this is what kept the whole thing going for me until CBT stopped it in its tracks.
My CBT was structured as follows:
1) Identifying the causes of all the symptoms and sensations. The therapy basically began with a biology and psychology lesson where I learnt about the fight or flight syndrome, how it functions and how it can go wrong. Every single one of those sensations is somehow linked to the fight or flight syndrome, or fight, flight or freeze syndrome as my therapist referred to it.
2) Combatting the symptoms with 7/11 breathing. Learning and practising to make correct breathing the (unconscious) habit and worrying the chore instead of the other way round. Deeper, slower breathing - good. Shallow rapid breathing - bad. It is about getting the right balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your bloodstream. Lots of oxygen is no good if there isn't enough CO2 to move it around.
3) Altering the thinking styles that give rise to the feelings, sensations and physical symptoms. Learning to balance out negative thoughts with positive ones, comparing the worst case scenario in a given situation with more likely alternatives, learning not to catastrophise in given situations.
Example: cough = lung cancer, headache/nausea = brain tumour, stomach ache/indigestion = stomach cancer, tingling = MS, memory/concentration issues = altzheimers etc. etc.
Alternatives:
Cough = cold or acid reflux irritating back of throat.
Indigestion/stomach ache = worry causing your digestion to shut down (flight or flight response).
Headache = tension.
Nausea = (see indigestion/stomach ache.)
Tingling = adrenaline/too much oxygen, not enough CO2 in blood.
Memory/concentration issues = endless mind chatter/rumination, fight/flight response.
Learning that you don't have to be in a full-blown panic attack to experience these symptoms, your raised background anxiety levels are already enough.
Once your doctor is satisfied that anxiety is the cause and other causes have been sufficiently ruled out it is time to address the real issue. If you keep trying to eliminate other causes you will never begin to find peace.
No more tests!
Jules, I have read and re-read your above entry several times. It is really good. Hope I can get where you are soon.
Jules,Thankyou so much for a amazing and detailed reply like dzt66 i have read it over and over it makes so much sense.
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