Tingling, numbness, heavy feeling etc

[Willspring]

Hi,
So the last few weeks have been getting a bit intense. It started off by noticing pins and needles in my foot when I was in bed. Next day it was both feet and then over a day or so it crept up my legs. Long story short, I now have a ton of weird symptoms that are freaking me out. They all come and go, but predominantly aching thighs, upper arms and shoulders, burning feeling in both hips, tingling in feet and occasionally hands. Had a couple of times when it felt like I had a slight blood pressure cuff sensation around my right calf. Also strange skin sensations. Hot and wet, very sensitive to touch etc.
yesterday had a shower and lower legs went very hot and my right calf went intensely itchy. Last night I woke up because my arms had that numb / gone to sleep feeling which set me off.
what is a bit of a trigger is that because I’m being treated for recurrent uveitis, and had a raft of blood tests done, what did come up was ANA positive and ‘weakly’ anti-dna positive, which apparently suggests something systemic.
anyway, called the gp the other day who was in a bit of a hurry, but she said it sounds like fibromyalgia and anxiety and prescribed duloxatine. Haven’t taken one yet ans too annxious anbout side effects. Also suggested I push my eye consultant for a rheumatologist referral. (Have follow up about eye in a fortnight)
I think what I’m asking is all this likely an anxiety loop? I’ve tuned in and now can’t tune out? Because of the eye thing and the blood tests I’m worried there’s something progressive going on.
trying very hard to keep calm, breathe and rationalise but it’s very difficult when you the stand up and feel like your legs are made of concrete or you feel like you’re internally on vibrate. Anyway…any thoughts gratefully received.

[Aussie11]

Hi, how are you feeling with this now? I can sympathise as have been through similiar symptoms and worries in the past. I came up as a weak positive ANA and as I have strong family history of auto-immune things I have been seeing a rhuematologist for the last couple of years. I also went on Duloxetine to help with the fibromyalgia type symptoms and also to help overcome the anxiety my symptoms were causing. I initially had issues on the 60mg dosage (terrible insomnia and jitteriness), so dropped back to 30 mg and this was successful in helping both symptoms and anxiety, without the negative side effects. I took that for a couple of years, have only just come off as I needed to go back on Amitriptyline (Endep) due to having some other unrelated issues and I didn't really want to be on both (some doctors say you can be on both, others say you need to be cautious). I had very similar symptoms to you and I made myself so anxious about what was going on. Had brain MRI amongst other tests, but nothing else found.

Frustratingly I'm just going through a flare up of some sort again at the moment. Have been getting a numb little finger on right hand on and off and numb feeling/pins and needles in my left foot and calf. The thing that's worrying me this time is I'm also finding my vision blurry, particularly close up. So although I know last time I had similar numbness/tingling feelings (this was about 3 years ago) I'm finding it easier to give advice than to take advice again at the moment! The vision thing for me is probably just ageing (just turned 44 and have noticed my near vision going quite quickly over last few months) but as usual I'm putting all my symptoms together and worrying. That's the hard thing with autoimmune things, it gives you so many different types of symptoms, which are often just minor niggles but send you off worrying!

I hope you're feeling better and if you've started on the Duloxetine, hope this is going ok.

[Willspring]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply. Sorry to hear you’re going through the mill also. Well, as it currently stands I guess things have improved a bit. A lot of the pains have eased up a lot since I realised that a lot of it might be at least exacerbated by posture. I work from home and spend most of my days on my feet and barefoot. I also have quite flat feet and that’s been aggravating my hips etc I think. That being said I saw a physio the other day who went over me and thought that there might be something systemic going on but in a very small way. He said in his option a lot of my joints were probably a little inflamed and reiterated what the gp said that I should push my eye consultant for a referral to a rheumatologist. He also said be very, very cautious about any diagnosis or medication if it’s handed out ‘a bit quickly’. So all that I shall do.
Regardless of what may or may not be going on the best I can do from here is to try to stay active and mentally busy. I’m austistic and have had a lifetime of insane stress and anxiety and my health health anxiety is just through the roof all the time. My biggest challenge going forward…staying off bloody google. It’s robbing me of any sense of peace.
I haven’t taken the meds from the gp yet. Still too scared of side effects. Weird thing that. Even if I do take them and feel grim I’ll know why it’s happening. But yet the anxiety will be as ‘meaningful’ as if the symptoms were unknown.
so yeah…trying to mellow out, trying to stay rational and real and keeping in mind a phrase I heard from a consultant that if it ‘comes and goes’ it’s either musclar, anxiety or gas’.
what you’ve described is very similar to what I’ve had and I understand what it can do to your head. The best I can suggest is try to just keep moving. The physio told me ‘motion is lotion’, and he’s pretty right actually.
oh…and get to a good optician…get an OCT scan (takes like 2 mins) and just have your eyes checked out. It’s almost definitely just age (I can relate) but I promise you… you don’t hesitate to get your eyeballs checked out.
hope everything eases up for you soon. And breathe…

[Sophs50522]

I've been experiencing exactly the same symptoms over the last month. I feel like my legs are vibrating and keep getting that feeling of sensitive skin. Goosebumps even though I'm not cold or anything! Only way I can describe it is as if someone's showing me a nasty cut and its making my nerves go funny. Keep feeling weak and really fatigued/achey.
I've been stuck down the HA rabbit hole for 7 years. Mnd one of the most scariest ones and my brain is playing all sorts of tricks on me at the moment.
Doctor prescribed duloxetine for fibromyalgia, said its triggered by anxiety and stress. Just like you, bit hesitant to take it but I will never get out of the loop hole if I don't! Awaiting PTSD therapy, I empathise with everyone who suffers with HA. It's just pure torture!

Hope your feeling better.