Symptoms like MS

[JimT]

Hi, I'm JimT. New here: 59 yr old male. For the past 30 days I have had a lot of balance problems and headaches, which both I and my doctor quickly put down to vertigo. I did have a ct scan with contrast of my head which came back normal. I believe that I have anxiety issues, but I'll tell you what, if I didn't have anxiety before, I do now! Not being able to walk without feeling like falling over is very scary!

In the past couple of weeks I have had other symptoms, which may be anxiety, but worry me because they could be symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

The biggest symptom I have is that my balance problems get triggered by heat, which I have heard is an MS symptom. I live in the southern US, so it is quite hot here every day in the summer. Just walking out to the mailbox and back will trigger an episode of imbalance that is so bad I have to stop and lean against a tree until it passes.

Has anyone else experienced this or know if this is an anxiety symptom?

[natasha75]

hi jim, i feel like my balance gose when i have a panic attack i also feel light headed the room spins can't breath,i can remember once i fell to the floor when i went to visit my husband in hospital it is the most terrifying feeling.you are not alone jim.i just joined this forum today and the people on here are so lovely words can't describe, you will always have support and people who care on here jim.welcome and take care

[nervouswreck123]

hey there im really sorry to here that u are suffering like this, but i thought i might be able to put your mind at ease as my mum suffers with MS - has done for over 10 yrs now, and the reason people with MS have problems with balance is not due to being dizzy or feeling faint etc its to do with the effects the disease has on the muscles in the legs and arms them self, causing them to fall over, i still remember my mum falling on to me before she was diagnosed and she was so confused as she didnt even feel off balance.
so trust me you just sound like another one of us poor anxiety sufferers that get the awful dizzy/off balance feeling

if u want any more info il be happy to help

hope this helps a little and puts ur mind at ease xx

[pinkpiglet]

That balance thing! What a pain in the *** it is!! This really is someting I suffer badly with, and have done for a very long time (on and off). Deep down i know its anxiety, this is why I am going to reassure you. Its just myself I need to reassure now!! :/

[karlwirral]

Hi, I'm JimT. New here: 59 yr old male. For the past 30 days I have had a lot of balance problems and headaches, which both I and my doctor quickly put down to vertigo. I did have a ct scan with contrast of my head which came back normal. I believe that I have anxiety issues, but I'll tell you what, if I didn't have anxiety before, I do now! Not being able to walk without feeling like falling over is very scary!

In the past couple of weeks I have had other symptoms, which may be anxiety, but worry me because they could be symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

The biggest symptom I have is that my balance problems get triggered by heat, which I have heard is an MS symptom. I live in the southern US, so it is quite hot here every day in the summer. Just walking out to the mailbox and back will trigger an episode of imbalance that is so bad I have to stop and lean against a tree until it passes.

Has anyone else experienced this or know if this is an anxiety symptom?


This sounds the same with me. I was absolutly terefied of MS but i now beleive my problems are inner ear related. Have you sufferd with any ear problems at all?

[Klonoa]

Jim, if it makes you feel any better, that would happen to pretty much any Brit that did the same out here in the southern US. Gods know, I've been here 4 years and I still can't get used to it :D

I've heard of faintness with anxiety, which I imagine is mostly related to oxygen/breathing. Not only does summer heat not help with that, but the south is so...airless. It's a stupid word but I can't think of anything better. I'm not saying it's the cause, but I can see how it would aggravate.

I was wondering about ear issues also.

Are there any times of day when it is better/worse?

[daphnee]

I;d like some support!
My sensation of dizziness/vertigo, imbalance seems to have been triggered by a trip away from my home and what is most known to me, just a year after my father died.
I´m a musician and I went to paris for 4 months… It´s been less than one week of returning home and since the first weeks of my stay in paris I began with a feeling of dizziness, vertigo that hasn´t gone away… I started feeling it at the apartment in front of the computer, thought it was nothing, then after some days i had a panic attack or something and nearly fainted at the metro… then i started feeling it more often...
i´ve always been anxious and do cognitive therapy back home, somewhat on the hypocondriac side… I´ve done blood tests in paris (not sure that counts for MS) oto.neurologist after a month and something of first symptoms (fukuda test, tandem gait, standing with eyes closed, fingers to nose, my pupils checked, postural, inner ear and eyes motricy all normal, no nystagmus or ataxia, he said he found me more than anything stressed) , MRI, babinsky test, blood pressure normal. And i still feel dizzy and when i walk a subjective feeling of not being well balanced. I still walk, ride bike, play the drums and sing, go in the bus or metro and don´t feel motion sickness…
So I search non stop the internet believing i have something wrong, that this can´t just be anxiety, having experienced the symptoms for so long (it´s gonna be 4 months)… I search forums of multiple sclerosis and think I have that.. and with the symptoms not going away i began to have trouble sleeping and became nervous, so i started taking bromazepan to have some sleep at night and freak out less… recently i´ve began feeling itchy, tingling feeling all over my body and get so nervous about it...
I´m gonna see again an otoneurologist , both my father and mother in law are doctors and say that the normal MRI pretty much rules out anything really serious or even MS, but i don´t know..
it´s been difficult i must say, would love some support..
love,
daphne