sensory symptoms

[pAULspybeef]

I have been struggling for about a year and 3 months now with a whole host of sensory symptoms, which up until now have been diagnosed as somatic anxiety. They all came about after a particularly stressful time in my life, family bereavement, becoming a father for the first time, promotion at work etc etc. To cut a long story short, I've been to my GP on several occasions, a neurologist, consultant physchologists, my local CAT team, had CBT etc etc. - they all seem to think health anxiety with somatic features. My symptoms include, odd/week/foreign/strange feeling on left side (feels like body is cut down middle), sporadic burning skin mainly in legs, numbness sometimes in face, muscle twitches, sore/tired eyes, sometimes feels like vision is a bit snowy (flashy lights etc) but had eye test since symptoms began and nothing of conern was raised & I wouldn't say my vision is blurred. I was prescribed Venlafaxine/Effexor and went to 225mg on a theraputic dose. Symptoms tend to wax and wane but never disappear completely, particularly the left sided thing. I recently reduced my medication to 150mg after making some progress but this last week I've felt the symptoms hit a bit harder again. I have always had anxiety based around MS since this first started. I keep hoping that these feelings will one day pass. I've been told that anxiety can impart influence on our nervous system which can throw up all sorts of odd feelings. I'm really worried that I'll never get better and that there may be something wrong with me which has been overlooked.....has anyone suffered similar experiences & if so how long does it take to achieve full recovery??? I would really appreciate comments!

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/images/nmp/misc/progress.gif

[Michael1836]

Hey!

Know EXACTLY how u feel. I've been to all but neuro, but that's next on my list. I've already had so many tests though my GP doesn't even think its necessary and is just doing it for my piece of mind. No one has yet to actually say the words "somatic" or "nervous system" and "anxiety" all in the same sentence but from what I'm gathering, the neuro would be the guy to do it.

Anyways the fact is I would say 90% of my symptoms are somatic. Funny feelings in m body, twitches twinges...even pains....trembling fidgety fingers tha come and go. A constant perceived "weak" feeling in my arms. Sometimes cold in my muscles. Occasional jelly legs. Hey I even got the eye issues. Eyes get sore EVERYday. I work at a school and kids are constantly askig me why I'm rubbing my eyes. I have perceived visual issues such as bluriness and inconsistency between eyes. Feelings of low level electrical jolts shooting up and down my arms.

Just like you I constantly second guess everyone around me and am afraid that the neuro will find something everyone else missed. And by leaving it for so long it's getting worse or untreatable. It's a hard notion to cope with when we have HA. No amount of pple are gonna tell us otherwise until we've had every base covered.

Because somatic symptoms in my opinion are so freaky, it's also hard to accept it as just anxiety. At least it has been for me and for you too it sounds.


Remember though in the meantime until you've had every base covered or whatever you need for that last bit of reassurance, that you have been dealing with this for 3 years? Somatic symptoms such as these funny feelings we described, when not anxiety, can reall only be a few things. Things along the lines of degenerative neurological disorders. Of course the things we fear. But know you've already proven to yourself it CAN'T be any of that. You've been dealing with it for 3 years and its not any better, fine okay, but hey it's not much worse is it? Physically I mean? In 3 years degenerative Nero disorders left untreated? Well let's just say you would have ended up in the ER a long time ago by now.

Also keep in mind you have been to all these doctors, I know it's hard to trust the docs which is a sucky part of HA, but understand the science of it. Most neuro disorders are found out because a person goes to GP complaining of (insert symptom) then the GP sends away for bloods and does a little looksy. If antibodies or low red cell count or enzymes or whatever shows up that the GP can't immediately explain, he sends for scans and then to neurologist as it can point to autoimmune disorders at which point the neuro will test for that.

But if the bloods didn't show anythin unusual or worrying and the GP only referred us because we are beig difficult...it's NOT cause there is a tiny part or him that suspects something and wants the neuro to find it as he/she doesn't want to say anythin just yet...:its simply because most of the time with unexplained but not sinister of anxiety related somatic symptoms...a neuro is the last stop needed for reassurance and most of us just ain't gonna get it until they we see them.

Sorry to ramble but to understand the science helps me put it in perspective and I hope it does to. No you are not alone in weird physical manifestations like that. It freaks me out too.

But remember if you had anything ANYTHING like that...these tests would have shown SOMETHING. Ie: even if bloods don't say "this guy has ms"...it will say "hmm this guys antibodies are high...maybe check for ms?"

So if your GP wasn't concerned about anything. Really the buck stopped there. The rest is jus trying to help us cope and convince us.

:)

---------- Post added at 08:33 ---------- Previous post was at 08:28 ----------

Sorry 1 yr 3 months I meant. But what I said still definitely stands. Remember Dr. Google might say "disease A is difficult to diagnose" so we tend to think our docs missed it. What it means is the docs found SOMETHING and they know something is up it just takes em a whole to figure it out. But they know there is something there cause it shows up in your serology. So if they didn't see anything at all? Then you don have anything at all. :)

[ElectricAlice]

I have the EXACT same symptoms as you Paul.

Especially feeling like the left side of my body is phantom to the right.
Numb and pins & needles in my left cheek, arm and leg, foot and hand.
My eye feeling strained and weird.
And perceived weakness.

Mine all happened after I got a really bad migraine.

I have to see the neurologist on Monday, So terrified :(

I hope I can get the scan at the same time.

Do yours get worse the more you focus on them?

[pAULspybeef]

hi yeah i would say so definately. its kinda hard not to pay them attention!!! its almost reassuring to hear others are in same boat even though i wouldnt wish it upon my worst enemy. will you pm me to let me know how neuro appt goes? has ur gp so far said definately anxiety and sending you to neuro to "put your mind at rest"???

[ElectricAlice]

Yeah pretty much. Have you had scans, etc?

What happened at your neurologist appointment?

I'll let you know how mine goes.

[pAULspybeef]

havent had scans. had all physical tests from a professor neurologist. think u only get scan if need be

[ElectricAlice]

What did the neurologist say?

[pAULspybeef]

no signs of ms. anxiety with somatic features

[Maria36]

I have similar symptons of flashy lights but i also had blurry vision and numbness in face sometimes and numbness in my legs. I to was worried about MS before i was diagnosed with severe anxiety so I had a mri scan and a eye test and was told there was nothing neurologicly wrong with me by a neurologist and it was severe Anxiety and told me to see a psychologist so I went to a psychologist who told me that I had anxiety and how it stimulates the nervous system to cause those symptons.

[pAULspybeef]

can you tell us more about what your physchologist told you about how anxiety affects nervous system that may help us?

[Maria36]

my psychologist told me that anxiety stimulates the nervous system causing those symptons. Also when i went to have my eyes tested the optician told me that the eyes and brain work together and the eyes are very sensitive to how the brain works so its how anxiety can affect your vision also the optician told me it can affect your hearing to like ringing in ears for example.

[panic12]

My anxiety causes tons of the same symptoms!

[ewood79]

A really interesting post Paul..... Have you been to a psychiatrist before? Mine has said similar things to me before.... They might be able to shed some more light?

[pAULspybeef]

yep thoughts impact upon ner ous system and cause physical changes

[agent orange]

Paul, I have sent you a reply to an earlier post, apologies for no reply sooner, but it is a year since being on here. I too have a worry around M.S this is my default illness (one I always come back to). Somatic (all in the head ) symptoms are very real, but in fact are not dangerous. The symptom I suffer from the most is tiredness or fatigue.:D

[fruity]

hey paulspybeef. i,ve had every single thing you have mentiond and all on my left side.:doh:

[pAULspybeef]

hi, have you find it slowly improves over time as you attempt to recover? thanks

[matrix123]

I'm in the same boat...with symptoms in the left side. Started about 6 months ago after pretty severe anxiety. It's mostly a weak/numb feeling in my left leg and arm. It waxes and wanes, but never disappears. Compared to 6 months ago it's much better, but the fact that it's still there is concerning :(

From what I read here it seems that it maybe anxiety with somatic features. Xanax always helps to reduce the symptoms...