Twist on a common concern

[Edgeheadkr]

Hi Everybody,

Where to start?? As a person who deals day to day with Cerebral Palsy (albeit mild) I have always had a certain amount of pain and discomfort in my legs and hips. However, over the last few months my aches and pains have been getting worse and I feel more fatigued by my daily routine. A few weeks ago I noticed I was having a few muscle twitches in my hips this then progressed to my achilles and calf muscle and now my thigh/quad muscles are very sore and feel weak and the twitching has spread everywhere. I feel pain in my jaw, throat, I cant sleep I even feel like I'm developing a stutter/speech impediment despite the reassurance of friends and family. All these symptoms are worse when resting.

I am very worried about this as I fear MS or worse Motor Neurone Disease, My doctor has tried to reassure me that it is just anxiety but I feel like because I have some existing Motor difficulties due to my Cerebral Palsy that something will be overlooked. I have always dragged my right leg slightly and as this is a major symptom I suddenly feel it's that bit worse.

Also last summer I went through a full range of tests and scopes for difficulty swallowing all of which came back fine now since my last GP visit I feel that exact problem has returned when eating as well, I fear a link between the two and again that I'm only noticing the other problems now due to my existing Cerebral Palsy and what I'm experiencing is worsening symptoms of MND which was there all along.

Is this all health anxiety or should I press my doctor for more thorough testing?? He thinks I should go for counselling for stress and anxiety and that will help I can't help feeling he's being a little dissmissive due to my existing problems.

Apologies for length and probably repeating myself at times, desperate for a little reassurance from those who have maybe had similar experiences.

Every typo or fumbled sentence deepens the worry :weep:

PS I have read the sticky on the home page regarding this type of thing and it helps a little, and I realise from the amount of similar threads people are probably fed up answering posts on this particular concern cos I've noticed quite a few but any thoughts will be massively appreciated.

[RoseEve]

I think personally I would listen to the doctor. I don't have CP but I have had these obsessions. I obsess so much I imagine that my leg is weak and it feels like I am having trouble moving it. This is called perceived weakness. Your mind is powerful you can cause yourself to have symptoms. I would trust the doctor. Feel better:hugs:

[HoneyLove]

Hi Edgehead, this is a tricky one because obviously living with an illness like CP will give you symptoms that are similar to anxiety, so your difficulty is figuring out what's CP related and what's stress related.

It sounds like your doctor has your best interests at heart, and that you're being looked after well.

From my point of view you have a couple of options here:

1) switch to a different GP if you feel this one is really ignoring your concerns, thinking very carefully about this first

2) speak to your current GP about your worry that things are being dismissed too easily and ask him to rule out the illnesses that you are worried about

3) treat your anxiety, work on a lot of stress relief, and see if this helps. You could do this along with either of the above options. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is considered one of the best therapies for anxiety and may help you with your worries. Have a google of stress management to see what you can do to help yourself. There's also a great book by an Irish doctor called Flagging Stress by Dr Harry Barry, this might lend you a lot of insight on stress and anxiety, I found it really helpful. Make sure you give the stress management some good time to work, the same with CBT, it won't be instant.

Whatever you decide to do, you'll find support in this community :) I'm sure some others will have suggestions for you too!

[Edgeheadkr]

Thanks guys for your comforting words it means a lot, I am actively looking into the CBT hopefully this will help me along the road to recovery, I have had a lot of non health related stress over the last couple of years so hopefully my health issues are in the main just manifestations of these issues which to be honest I have buried and left largely unresolved.