You can find reasons to be anxious about almost anything. You can even become anxious about a disease that affects roughly 300,000 people in the United States. To give you some perspective, that’s less than 1% of the population. Not exactly an epidemic right?
Nonetheless, the fear of developing a serious disease is a common fear for many anxious people. A fear that I think, and deep down you know, isn’t reasonable.
So today I want to explain why your fears are likely overblown when it comes to one disease in particular. That one is multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that affects the spine and brain. Symptoms of MS include:
☀ Tingling
☀ Numbness
☀ Loss of balance
☀ Weakness in limbs
☀ Fatigue
☀ Dizziness
☀ Tremors
☀ Memory loss
Given these symptoms it’s easy to understand why someone experiencing abnormal anxiety could think that they have MS. The fact is that abnormal anxiety and MS do share a lot of the same symptoms. OK, but is that significant? I would argue that it’s not.
How many conditions cause fatigue, memory loss, weakness, dizziness, etc? I don’t know the exact number, but let’s assume it’s in the hundreds.
The truth is that the body only has so many ways of telling you that something is wrong. Whether that’s through pain, numbness, or coughing, the pathways through which your body responds to disease or injury are limited.
As a result, there will be times when you experience symptoms that overlap with other, perhaps lethal, conditions that are scary. Being afraid of scary conditions is normal. Assuming that all symptoms lead to serious illness is not.
Doesn’t having such a strong reaction to all your symptoms get old? It’s exhausting to think that you’re always dying or on the road to serious disability. Let me make a few suggestions so you can avoid this never-ending pattern of worry.
1. First, and most importantly, try not to rely on the internet for answers. The internet is awesome, but it’s a terrible way to determine if you have “something.” You and I don’t have the medical training needed to differentiate between conditions, or the tools needed to confirm your suspicions.
2. When you experience new symptoms wait a little. Most anxiety symptoms disappear within hours, some times a few days, but they come and go rather quickly. The only exception to this would be new or severe chest pain, which should be addressed immediately.
3. If the symptoms don’t go away within a day or two then go to your doctor. Try not to waste time asking everyone you know if you’re going to be alright, or read about obscure medical conditions. Instead, see a doctor and tell them your concerns.
If you truly had MS it’s likely that the symptoms would not just come and go. The “attacks” associated with MS are debilitating. The symptoms can linger and get in the way of normal functioning. In fact, I pulled a quote off the web from a person suffering from MS. They said the following:
“If you had MS you would not get better. You would get worse by the day until you would have no option but to see a doctor. You wouldn’t be able to sit and question if you had it.” — emclane
That’s powerful stuff. Seems to me that there would be no maybe about it. I think that’s true of most serious conditions. If you had MS it would likely impact your life in a significant way. It would also develop into a problem over time. Anxiety symptoms on the other hand are lighting fast.
The onset of anxiety symptoms can often be measured in nanoseconds. The take away lesson from that fact is that if the symptom comes in a hurry, and leaves just as fast, anxiety is a credible suspect. Even if that’s not the case though, stop and think.
Is this symptom(s) worth talking to a doctor about? If not, then it’s not worth spending hours and hours on the web searching for something you won’t find, namely, peace of mind.
I recommend that you spend your time trying to find ways to reduce your stress and anxiety. Although there isn’t a one size fits all solution to abnormal anxiety, there are effective treatment options. That may mean medication in the short-term, therapy, exercise, educating yourself, or all of the above.
Don’t fall victim to this endless abyss. You really don’t need this to get out of hand. Make a plan to get better today, take it one day at a time, and try to be patient as you start your journey toward recovery.
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Please help me understand what I am going through as this is 24/7 for me. Started in Jan this year. I felt really strange so went to ER. Just laying there my heart shot up to 164 bpm. I have had this happen 3 times in Jan. I have had ekg echo stress test angiogram. First cardiologist put me on a bunch of meddle telling Me I had microvascular angina. I felt like death on all those meds. Went for second opinion who says my heart is healthy and nothing wrong. Happened again so cardio doc put me on zanax. Seemed to be helping till driving to work 2 weeks ago my heart went up to 163 again. Still ekg comes back normal but put me on heart Medea to slow my heart. This morning I took my shower and felt my heart racing again so I checked it and it was 144. I have an appt with electrophysiologist tomorrow morning. Now here are my symptoms. Rapid heart of 100-120 daily; constant ringing in the ears 24/7; pressure in front of both ears; pressure in chest; headaches; fatigue; stretching feeling on both sides of jawline; occasional crazy rapid heart rate. I know in one of my test they did find small amount of Ms also a small cyst on my spleen. All blood work comes back normal. Been tested for early menopause; they tested my thyroid; liver; kidneys; diabetes. Did Ct scan of chest and nasal are
a and mr
Hi Tina,
I’m really sorry to hear about your ordeal. Going through all this has to be hard. For now though, I recommend you stick to the plan you have, which is to continue medical screening until conclusive findings can be made regarding your medical condition. Then, with the findings in hand, you’ll be able to make better choices in terms of treatment.
I find it hard , been to 2 cardiologists they cleared me but I think there missing things the chest pain is annoying I am 22 and docs say I’m healthy but don’t feel it . I’s this normal ?
Diagnosing MS can be difficult. I’m not trying to scare anyone, patients get very frustrated when they know ‘something’ is wrong and the MDs can’t find it. nationalmssociety.org has good information.
Tina, I agree with Paul, stick to your plan and continue searching for whatever is going on with your body.
Most cysts are Non-cancerous (benign), Many people have cysts in and on many organs and they only find out they have them during routine testing or when the cysts causes problems like pressing on another organ or blood vessel, most are harmless and just watched. Sorta like gall-stones, many people have them and don’t know it and they aren’t causing any problems.
Not knowing for sure what is going on can increase your anxiety and stress levels, placing you in that vicious circle of chronic anxiety. I would suggest keeping notes of your doctors visits with dates and what was said. That way you can form your questions that you write down to ask when you see your doctors. Medicine can be confusing and scary.
I have to disagree with some of this information, as anxiety symptoms don’t always come and go quickly. If that were the case it would have been easier to dismiss the fear of MS. If your nervous system has been overstimulated for a long period of time, symptoms can last 24/7 and even persist through sleep and deep relaxation. It has taken me months and months of hard work to get my nerves to settle. Sometimes when I lay down to sleep and relax is when I feel the worst. Those persistent symptoms are what fueled my anxiety and kept it going.
@ Mandi – I actually do think that anxiety symptoms come and go for the most part. That doesn’t mean that they don’t recur frequently. Generally speaking when someone experiences palpitations related to anxiety, for example, their heart rate doesn’t stay elevated indefinitely.
However, the point I was driving at is that if you think your symptoms are serious then see a doctor. Otherwise, don’t waste time speculating. That goes for short-term and long-term symptoms of any kind.
True that some anxiety symptoms can come and go quickly, such as palpitations. I’ve had them all of my life, just like all normal people, but I’ve never thought they pointed to MS. Tingling, buzzing, twitching, vibrations and sensory issues are also caused by anxiety and they can be very persistent and last for a long, long time. I once had a therapist tell me that my symptoms were not caused by anxiety because when I would relax they would still be present. This caused a huge setback in my recovery AFTER I had seen a doctor.
Anxietycentre.com has some great information about how Anxiety affects the nervous system and how it can be repaired. I would imagine that the people suffering from anxiety and fearing MS are experiencing these persistent symptoms, not just heart palpitations.
Anyone having benzo withdrawal make your anxiety worst not being able to function at all
Great write up! Its nice to see some positive things about anxiety disorder. I’ve been battling anxiety disorder for the last 2 years and am glad to finally find some content that is worth reading. I stumbled upon this site looking for explanations of why I was feeling odd after starting to workout again. After reading that write up I immediately spotted several other topics which apply exactly to me, The fear of MS, Heart palpiations, random chest pains. Funny thing is i stopped working out as soon as my anxiety started 2 years ago and have been fearful of the symptoms ever since. I just wanted to say thank you for your time to try and help people like me, who sometimes just need a little boost to help over power anxiety symptoms and learn to live with them. Its nice to realize how a few paragraphs of words can change the tide of thought to your advantage.
Glad to see this post. I was just “googling” MS yesterday after having an episode of off balance and feeling like I was going to drop at any second in the grocery store. The fact is…. I was anxious before I even got there. I have had multiple scans and tests and even saw an MS specialist. I have all of the symptoms stated above, but am MS free. I have anxiety!
After months of searching and days of reading about what might be wrong with me, this here is by far the best article and advice I have found. Its time to put this computer in the oven at 375 degrees for an hour and go outside. My father had Parkinsons, his brother had MS and his sister has MS. If my tingling, numbness fatigue etc.etc. is anxiety, then it is. If i have MS, it’ll get me in its own time.
Thankyou,
Dale
Sounds to me like you have SVT (I had it and had surgery last year to correct it). Rest assured it is a very harmless (but annoying) heart arrhythmia.
Hi, ive had tingling under both eyes for coming up a week now and yesterday started to feel some tingling numbness in my right pinky finger.
Im 25 and always led an active lifestyle due to the work i do as well as frequent gym and other exercise.
The tingling wont subside and when something new starts i worry its getting worse or that im getting ill or maybe have MS.
Again all worries. I dont know whats going on because its all new to me and never happened before. I think im scared of inpending illness, im due to have an mri on sunday. Im not sure how i go about releiving my symtoms at the moment and feel at a total loss.
Hey Matt, go ahead with the MRI. I think it’s a smart move that will relieve much of your anxiety.
my main issue is light-headedness. Its been going on for a couple of years and Im always thinking MS. My doc attributes it to anxiety and my balance issues to my feet (osteoarthritis) -which makes sense. But it often just feels like low low blood pressure – even though my BP is normal, EKG normal. Its very frustrating. Has anyone else had this “ground-down” feeling with anxiety? I went off of Xanax for good after about ten years eight months ago so I assume it may be that but enough already!
-thanks for listening
HA! Sometimes I think I’m dying. Almost every day. My husband is afraid I am cracking up. I’m not but how can you prove that. Each week imagine something different. So far I have had lymphoma, MS, ALS, lukeimia, cancer, etc… It started a year ago. I hate it. I wish it would disappear. Anxiety symptoms can go on for a long time after the fear. Like muscle spasms, eye twitches. They don’t always come and go. I never have taken anything. But I had a bad MRI. Which fueled the fear. It could be MS or migraines. I will find out eventually. I wish that MRI never happened. But I accept that I have fear. I say I am safe this is fear. I am safe here. Nothing bad is happening. Calm down. Watch a show. Listen to music read. Do anything. Talk to hubby about it. Don’t give in. Always believe it’s not true. Pray to God. I have accepted that if I have ms there is no amount of worrying can change it. I will live as healthy as possible. Do all I need to do to fight it. If you have something you can’t change it. Enjoy ever day. Eat right. Move more. I have a four year old son. I can’t live in fear. Fear spreads to those around you. Make a promise with your self don’t look up any more stuff on the Internet. Put your phone or iPad in the oven and go outside. If you are dying you wouldn’t want your last days to be spent in worry. Live it. Gotta go taking my son to the beach. I’m sure a some point I will get a twinge and think I have a deadly disease. But I will press on.
I am having symptoms of ms but when I took a pill for anxiety the symptoms stopped. Not sure if that would happen if I had ms
Hello i am 22 year Female have been diagnosed with GAD . my doctor did all blood work and iy was all normal .Had panic attack 4 months back and it changed my life since thn i had worst 3 months that Fear and Fear more Anxiety and all , its been 1 month now i am controlling my anxiety by just accepting it. But suddenly i start feeling Pins sensation in my Lips , Ears , Leg , Back , Fingers , Arms its jumping i am not even anxious and never experienced even when i had worst anxiety i am really scared now i have ms or some deadly disease. Please answer is this anxiety or ms ??
Its not numb just on and off jumping pins sensation
This was a fantastic help. Thank you for writing it. Even just seeing that others jump to the ‘I must have MS’ conclusion is very comforting.
My anxiety symptoms started with occasional, mild panic attacks 2 years ago. Usually when nothing was happening. They started when I was relaxing. The attacks stopped, but the symptoms started to become more permanent. Severe chronic neck pains, poor concentration, memory loss, muscle weakness, chills on my right side, unstable vision, irritable bowels etc. I’ve been to several doctors, gotten countless blood tests, an MRI of my head last year, two MRIs of my neck this summer, two stomach ultrasounds, and everything has been flawless so far. No indicators of anything except rude health.
Now I guess it’s time to accept I’m physically healthy and come up with a plan for the emotional side…
I had a virus (or at least they think) that lasted about 5 weeks. During that entire time I had a low grade fever (that fever meds would not make go away). I also had a bread fog that never went away and was just exhausted! If I got up and moved around, the fever would spike to 101. They chalked it up to a virus, but blood work all came back good (and I had blood work done 3 times). Prior to that, for several months I had tingling in my feet and legs that would come occasionally and last for a couple of hours. I was a little nervous about it, but not too badly. During my virus, and not given an answer as to why my fever would not go away, the tingling in my feet/legs came back and stayed. Then my hands/arms, face/neck started tingling. At the end of that 5 weeks the fever and fog finally lifted, but the tingling stayed. They sent me to a Neurologist who did a nerve conduction study and EMG. My EMG was clean, but NCS showed a few abnormalities. Since then, they have run another set of blood work (more specific to peripheral neuropathy) and that all came back normal. I am set to have an MRI and I am terrified! I don’t know if that means MS or what? Of course I googled the symptoms and it came with MS being a possibility. After reading this I have gotten a weakness and fine motor issues in my right arm (I can button and do small things, but it just feels off). I also have burning in my left ankle and sometimes pain going all the way up the back of that leg. I also have started getting quick twitches all over the place, but especially in my legs and thighs. My back also gets a burning sensation from the middle of my spine down to the bottom (which usually begins at night) and the next day my back will hurt. I am not sleeping well…I am usually up by 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning for good and it does not matter how late I stay up. My anxiety attacks have gotten so bad I feel like I cannot get my brain to quiet down (feels like it just spins with no specific thought). I also feel like my body is buzzing or has some sort of electric current that runs through it. It is all very scary and it is hard to believe it is all anxiety related, but I certainly hope so. I just don’t know if MS could start showing this rapidly, or maybe it was gradual and I just was not aware of some of the more subtle symptoms until all of this. All of these things come as together or alone and can last from 1-4 days.
Anxiety manifests itself in an infinite number of ways- consider what constant stress can do! Have dealt w anxiety for decades and currently have numb sensations in my feet (several months now). Choosing, with breakthrough fear on occasion, to attribute it to ongoing anxiety and am working- HARD- to settle. Comforting words (thank you, Mandi!) are always helpful.
Anxiety depression, panic disorder thought I was going crazy about 4 years ago nothing would help and I was having panic attacks every day:( finally was put back on Zoloft and Xanax to help. During this time I thought I was experiencing chronic fatigue and or Lyme disease because I had a weird episode where I couldn’t walk straight I had to have hubby help, I didn want to leave our house I was so exhausted and in serious pain in my joints! Everyone thought I was being paranoid and said chronic fatigue Is the last thing I had and I was tested for Lyme disease, sleep apnea..everything came back Normal… The panic was the worst and I ended up being switched to klonopin and Zoloft , and referred to a med management because they had tried every drug under the sun on me and it still wasn’t helping.. The med management Dr. Put me on a higher dose of Zoloft and klonopin and I just basically stayed on that it allieveated symptoms enough to where I could function. I was still having exhaustion, just chalked that up with having kids and working full time. Exactly a year ago I decided to get my nails painted in a salon which was not well ventilated, when I got in the car after getting them done I was irritable, having a hard time breathing, and was exhausted so I layed down for a nap only to wake up completely confused couldn’t breathe had numbness and tingling, it scared me and we went to the hospital… They did an ecg and said everything was fine and it was the nail salon fumes that probably interacted with my medicine and made me basically high!! I was extremely embarrassed and I didn’t think much of it until today. Lately I have been having a hard time concentrating, problem solving, I get frustrated with my kids homework, I get dizzy spells, run into walls in my house, am extremely tired, have numbness and tingling in limbs , , , ,neck and back pain, lately along with heart palpitations at night in bed, I have been slurring my speech, i keep forgetting stuff that I normally would remember,I can’t handle the cold weather or the hot weather it makes me feel extremely ill! I have plugged ears, intimacy problems with my husband, my eyes have been bothering me to the point where I had to get glasses. I have frequent urination problems especially at night, along with irregular bowel movements, I have massive mood swings even when I’m not pmsing..the dr tested my hormones and they were fine all within range! I have associated all of these symptoms side effects with my medications Klonopin Zoloft and seroqual. Until today.. I had another episode that was extremely unusual, I had taken the correct amount of my Zoloft this morning and my klonopin as needed throughout the day. Noticed this morning I just started crying just thought it was stress..went and did some shopping in town and when I was done at the store I got in the car and my head felt numb like all of my hair was standing up, it was really odd and it just keep feeling numb and tingling..then I noticed I was basically out of it on the car ride home started to feel odd.. I was tired and felt like what I was saying wasn’t making sense. My heart was pounding and my legs and arms started to go numb, I noticed when we got home that I couldn’t walk straight so my hubby helped me upstairs, I was shaking having tremors, freezing cold, headache troubles swallowing and just sobbing telling him it had to be my blood pressure…I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom without him there, and I had to use the restroom 5 times in a 20 minute period. My heart was pounding and I couldn’t calm down even though I had taken my medication and could tell this wasn’t a panic attack!! He thought maybe it was food poisoning and suggested that I try to make myself sick to get whatever out of my system! I did but it didn’t do anything I still felt sick and nothing like the flu just like my body was out of control! I took a bath to get warm and stayed in the tub until we ran out of hot water when I got out I had to blow dry myself to heat my body up and I still felt vertigo, headache, numbness tingling, ears being plugged, rapid heart rate.. I have honestly thought that until today I was just crazy and a hypochondriac however I think to help alleviate this weird spell that I need to see the dr and talk about an MRI…somethings off and I can feel it especially this go around.. I am worried the symptoms point to MS and that scares me but right now I just wanted to get my story out there!! Any advice is much appreciated!!
Penny,
Hi i’m not sure if you will get this but I am scheduled to have an emg/ncs next week and was told it hurt. I am so scared and I’m wondering if it was painful. Also, how d8d you make out with your mri?
Hi everyone and reply to Lauren, I have very similar symptoms to you. to start off when I was around 14 ( I am not 26) I believe that is when my anxiety issues started. I used to complain to my mom that I felt weird and strange and I was scared. It would come and go and I never figured it out. I also develops a scoliosis aroudn the same time. Since then I have had numnbess mostly on my left side and tingling. It would always scare me since my dad had MS for 23 years and it was always in the back of my mind. The symptoms come and go. REcently however I am beginning my adult life you could say and im undergoing major anxiety and stress. I have had many pannick attacks and I am generally always stressed and anxious. I am seeing a psycologist who strongly believes I have a an anxiety problem. About 3 years ago, the day after my yoga class( just started yoga a month ago) I had major heart palpitations feeling in myh neck on my left side. A few hours later My upper left cheek became somewhat numb. This terrified me since It had never happened before. I went to the ER, had blood tests and CT scan and everything turned out to be normal. The symptoms lasted for maybe a week and then left. I thouhg it had something to do with me pulling something in Yoga or related to my scoliosis. A week passed and since this morning(after yoga yesterday) my cheek numnbess is back and is affecting my right eye. It feel sweird and I am freaking out. I keep thinking back that what if it is MS and then I calm my self down by thinking it is anxiety and something I did in yoga. I am going to see a neurologist in a couple months tomake sure nothing serious is wrong with me. I hope he can confirm to me that it is not MS and maybe do an MRI. It is making be even more stressed… Any thoughts?
HI guys, like you all I suffer from anxiety and sometimes wonder if I have MS… I have been tested once 12 years ago since I had a really bad panic attack that lead to depression and GAD…
So if I can help you guys from what I have learned that what happens is we go into flight or flight mode but with a major trauma we can go into freeze mode and get trapped in freeze mode this Is GAD or PTSD, we get stuck in chronic arousal, even after the threat is gone. This could be most likely if it was a near death experience.
So our muscles get locked on, we feel constant stress, we go into panic when we are stressed, we feel vague, sometimes we dissociate so we go out of our body so we don’t have to feel the experience we shake, bodies natural response to stress and trauma we feel numb, dizzy, un grounded. The nervous system is in a constant state of arousal, which caused our bowels to shut down and our natural healing to switch off so if we get sick we take a lot longer to get better.
So the key is to try to get back to balance heal the past trauma, stop replaying it in your mind. Re creating it over and over, fueling the anxiety. So things that can help are EFT, Faster EFT, NLP, Hypnosis, TRE trauma releasing exercises, SE somatic experiencing…. Meditation, restorative yoga, changing the way we think, Dr sarno TMS, peter leven – waking the tiger…. Reiki, and focus on love not fear…. I feel like I’m writing this to me cause I already know what to do, but here I am thinking maybe I have MS…..
I hope this was some help
Hi,I am a 45 year old female and stumbled onto this site by accident. About two months ago I woke up with such feeling of dread, terrible pain in my back and chest I also felt as if I couldn’t get enough breath. Walked to the bathroom where I noticed that I was very pale with a blue ring around my mount. Hubby took me to emergency as I thought that I might be having a heart attach. All the blood test were done and came back fine. Dr told me to slow down my breathing as I am actually hipper ventilating. They gave me an injection and some tablets to take at night to help me sleep. Same thing happened two nights later. Took myself off to my GP who advised that i was having an Anxiety attack as well as acid reflux. She prescribed meds for the reflux which unfortunately had some anti inflammatory which I was allergic to and only relised when I got home and took meds. Hubby rushed me through to a GP that just worked around the corner from us who gave me an injection but after feeling my thyroid advised that he feels a small nodule there. So to cut a long story short had a scan and needle biopsy which was inconclusive now having half my thyroid removed on Wednesday. However when I saw the dr who discovered this nodule he prescribed Xenor SR 0.5mg which is an anti anxiety med taken morning and evening. This worked for me for a bout 2 weeks on and off. At times would get slight shortness of breath and light headed but as soon as I take my pill it would go away. However this weekend as soon as I open my eyes in the morning having a feeling of dread, breathlessness, ringing in the ears, lightheaded, pins and needles all over my body pulse goes up even if I’m resting and meds not making any difference. Really scared don’t know what is going on. Am I subcontiously getting more and more anxious about the op approaching or is is somethings more serious?!
Blessings to all
Yes – you can have all the symptoms of MS but it can “just” be anxiety. See a doctor you trust for diagnosis. I had never had anxiety my entire life and was considered by everyone to be an easygoing and relaxed person. I had a traumatic birth – although it didn’t register that it was traumatic until later – and then I quickly developed anxiety about six weeks later. I didn’t know it was anxiety though! And when I googled I came aross MS and everything snowballed from there and made my anxiety even worse. It has taken me seven months of cognitive behavioural therapy (four sessions) and lots of looking after myself (for me – socialising, eating well, exercise) to be pretty much symptom free. So, don’t google and freak out – its not worth your energy and the worst case scenario is unlikely to be your scenario. Visit your doctor, have a chat, get some tests.
Hi, I am a 17 year old male. My height is 5’6″ and weight 48 kg. Over the past few weeks I dont know whats going on. This is my last year in school and I should be worrying to get into a good college but I’ve wasted the past month. Okay so from the beginning. On April 18th I went to the doctor complaining of a pain inn my chest. He told me it was Vitamin D and gave me supplements. 3 days later I again visited another doctor as the pain had increased. However, in those three days I had googled symptoms of Lung cancer, heart attack, tumor etc. The other doctor said it might be gas or something else but nothing to worry about. However on my request he ordered for ECG, Echo, Ultrasound, CBCetc. Everything was fine except Vit D which was 16 ng/ml. However somehow I read about brain tumor on the internet and was convinced I had one. Was very worried. So got a CT scan Brain done and all was fine. But I constantly thought somethiing was wrong with me. One morning I had a drop of blood in my cough and went mad. My parents and doctor told me it was a normal thing which happens with anyone. After 2-3 days I experienced heaviness in one of my leg I googled and saw it might be a symptom of ALS. After two days I started having pins and needles all over my body and then twitching all over which added to my body. Again went to the GP who told me that nothing was wrong except Vitamin D. So finally my parents decided to take me to a psychiatrist so told me it was just anxiety and nothing else. Two days after that my twitching and pins and needles has gone. However sometimes I do have breathlessness. My right hand and leg feel heavy and have tingling on my legs. My fingers also feel heavy and painful(which my GP said was because of Vit D and Calcium and has given me pills for it). However I am still not convinced this is anxiety. But I have myself noted that if I don’t pay attention to these syptoms I forget them. Is this actually anxiety or could it be a neurological problem?
Hi, I am a 17 year old male. My height is 5’6″ and weight 48 kg. Over the past few weeks I dont know whats going on. This is my last year in school and I should be worrying to get into a good college but I’ve wasted the past month. Okay so from the beginning. On April 18th I went to the doctor complaining of a pain inn my chest. He told me it was Vitamin D and gave me supplements. 3 days later I again visited another doctor as the pain had increased. However, in those three days I had googled symptoms of Lung cancer, heart attack, tumor etc. The other doctor said it might be gas or something else but nothing to worry about. However on my request he ordered for ECG, Echo, Ultrasound, CBCetc. Everything was fine except Vit D which was 16 ng/ml. However somehow I read about brain tumor on the internet and was convinced I had one. Was very worried. So got a CT scan Brain done and all was fine. But I constantly thought somethiing was wrong with me. One morning I had a drop of blood in my cough and went mad. My parents and doctor told me it was a normal thing which happens with anyone. After 2-3 days I experienced heaviness in one of my leg I googled and saw it might be a symptom of ALS. After two days I started having pins and needles all over my body and then twitching all over which added to my body. Again went to the GP who told me that nothing was wrong except Vitamin D. So finally my parents decided to take me to a psychiatrist so told me it was just anxiety and nothing else. Two days after that my twitching and pins and needles has gone. However sometimes I do have breathlessness. My right hand and leg feel heavy and have tingling on my legs. My fingers also feel heavy and painful(which my GP said was because of Vit D and Calcium and has given me pills for it). However I am still not convinced this is anxiety. But I have myself noted that if I don’t pay attention to these syptoms I forget them. Is this actually anxiety or could it be a neurological problem?
I am terrified I have ms. I have had anxiety and panic since I was 6 years old, I’m not 24. My face feels tingly and my eye feels strange. I keep getting dizzy. I remember having some of these symptoms growing up when I was anxious but I can’t stop googling about ms and symptoms. Has anyone on here actually been diagnosed with ms or has it just been your anxiety?
I have been suffering from anxiety since January, and it has cause me to LPR (acid reflex)(which that cause me to think i might have throat cancer) But my anxiety came with the feeling of ur heart is going to pop out, sweaty hands,emotional, and tingling/weakness on my left arm only, and even felt my face go numb a bit. I was convinced i had MS, ALS, or Parkinson (I also had blood test, MRI, and CT Scan, all normal) . I started therapy, and she recommends Xanx, I refuse to take it, I don’t like taking medication. I have tried to seek other ways such has yoga, reading, and just keeping busy. The past 3 months have been a lot better, recently was told my Dr. I was like 2 numbers away from being diabetic, and said exercise at least 30mins a day for at least 5 days. I am 114lbs and 32yrs old. So i was puzzled thinking I am not even over weight, however I am convinced my anxiety has something to with it. I read a few things besides over weight and hereditary can cause it. Like bad sleeping habits which i have due to anxiety. The past 3 months have been a big change for me, I started to eat better, exercise, and reading a lot more. However about 2 weeks ago I started to feel my left arm again with the numbness, tingly,and weak, and its more of a annoying feeling. However I don’t feel i was feeling anxiety, I felt it came out of no where. So now my mind is racing back to what if the dr missed something, what if i do have MS! I feel this is causing me anxiety, but i am confuse, is it possible i was having anxiety and not realize it, but my body was feeling it, hint the tingly arm feeling?? I also thought about maybe a pinched nerve???
hi im totally convinced i have ms ,i have constant numbness and gingling in my face feet and one hand,docs tell me chronic health anxiety and gave me meds,please help somebody
Hi Sarah,
I am in the same boat. What are your symptoms?
Thank you all. Reading your stories really gives me a small sigh of relief. I have been battling anxiety/panic for about nine years now. I had my first anxiety/panic attack in college. I was sitting eating lunch with my friends when a weird “out of body” sensation came over. I immediately felt panic, and got quiet suddenly. Then one day, walking down the stairs coming from one of my classes, the “out of body” sensation hit me again. I almost fell down the stairs.
I called my mom to tell her I think I had a brain tumor. She asked me about my symptoms — she’s been working in the health field for years. She asked if I had been having headaches and I told her no, but it was more of a “out of body” feeling. She told me that what I described was anxiety. She prayed for me over the phone and I honestly didn’t have another symptom for months.
I transferred to a new university, closer to home, and started having mild symptoms (mostly at night). I was began missing a Tuesday/Thursday morning history class. I felt so embarrassed and loony to tell my teacher I was missing class due to anxiety because I wasn’t sleeping at night. She was empathetic and I felt SO RELIEVED! It hit home for her because she stated she had a brother who suffered with panic attacks as a kid. She even told me a story of when they were driving down the highway and she and her sister had to physically hold their brother down on the back seat because he wanted to be taken to the ER and the parents wouldn’t take him. He wanted to jump out of the car. How scary is that?
She asked me if I attended church, and if I believed in getting “hands layed” on me. She prayed for me that day! I felt so much better like I had been delivered from anxiety. That was 2008 or 2009. I didn’t have another anxiety symptom until around 2012 when I graduated college and couldn’t find a job.
My symptoms are more increased now. I experience buzzing sensation in various places on my body, tingling, occasional numbness (not that often), and yesterday my right eye twitched off and on for almost the entire day. I suffer mostly from imbalance and blockage in my left ear. At first I dismissed the ear blockage because of an ear infection I had about 6 years ago in which I felt my ear never fully healed. Every now and then I get small pain in my left ear. I’ve been to an ENT doctor who prescribed my a nasal steroid spray and Claritin. As crazy as it sounds I’m not even sure if it works! He told me it sounds like I have issues with my Eustachian tube opening and closing. I am going back for a follow up in a few weeks!
About two years ago I went to the doctor and she quickly through medication on me with only ordering a Thyroid test. My test of course came back normal. I took the Zolft meds about 3 days, I could barely get through my work day on that stuff. It made my symptoms worst!!
I went to another doctor earlier this year because I couldn’t take the imbalance any longer. He ordered blood test and the only thing that was wrong was I was anemic. He stated that should improve my gait. I got my iron retested about a month ago and said my anemia was almost gone. I definitely feel less tired now, but still have gait issues. After that, I found a lump on my breast and my doctor felt it stated it felt like a cyst and referred me to a specialist. Sure enough, it was a cyst. She prescribed me antibiotics.
As far as my imbalance goes I’m starting to have severe Plantar Fasciitis symptoms. I’ve always had heel pain as I used to wear heels a lot. It was has gotten worst since I’ve moved to Chicago and have to walk a whole lot more. Not to mention I didn’t have the proper waling shoes for months.
I’m now going to see a podiatrist for my foot and ankle. I bought an ankle wrap on Friday and along with my insert and running shoes I feel a bit more stable. Still afraid I have MS due to the neurological feelings that won’t go away. They come and go, some days I will have them and some days I won’t. The imbalance is the most scariest.
I have not discussed this with my primary doctor because I refuse to take the meds that have been prescribed to me.
Would tingling that is in hands, feet, arms, face, etc. off and on and very brief sound like MS? Some days there is nothing and others it’s hit and miss. Also feet tingle when running at times and are fine a few minutes later. No balance issues, good strength in extremeties, no eye issues (all tested by family dr). I have had pretty bad anxiety as of late. Every little thing gets me riled up.
What about palinopsia? After images lasting for 30 or more minutes??
I have been terrified of MS for about 6 months and itis causing me so much anxiety. Symptoms I have had is numb, heavy left arm but that has now gone and that was while I was feeling anxious and had a lot going on. I also have shooting pains which has also been for about 6 months on an off, my mum has had these but didnt have MS and she also had weak feelings. I have been to my doctor and been really honest but anxiety has come back band now I am convincing myself again 🙁 I am on 10mg of propranolol as and when I need it and funnily enough I had an anxiety attack this morning and leg felt weak/ numb and once I had taken the pill and called down it went! So surely can’t be MS symptom? I’m not sure how long that would last and if it feels the same? The thing that is making me anxious now is random pain around my eyes, my forehead feels heavy and tight .. I have a really small prescription in my left eye so wear glasses when driving, I had lost them so hadn’t worn for weeks and hoping now I have another pair my eyes will feel better but terrified every time I feel pain 🙁 I just want to know I am okay! Doctor isn’t very clear and doesn’t ask many questions.
Hi
I’m 25 and have just been discharged from hospital after being admitted due to slurred speech/weak Hand movement/imbalance and numb left arm. I am aware I am an anxious person and I google symptoms too often which exacerbates my anxiety. I have had an MRI scan which came back clear as did all other tests. A neurologist diagnosed me with stress and anxiety. I am amazed at how sever anxiety can affect me in this way however after reading these stories it seems I am not alone. I believe the most significant thing to do in order to help yourself is to RATIONALISE. I.e ask questions such as
“was I anxious before this symptom began? “Have I already seen a doctor about this symptom?” How many times has this symptom occurred and nothing has come of it? Am I willing to accept that this is a symptom of anxiety as willingly that I will accept it is a symptom of something else?
It is important to remember that anxiety is a mental health condition which can have just as powerful effects on your health and body just as severely as other diseases. I have found it helpful to write a note on my mobile phone which reminds me of clear facts such as 1. I have had a clear MRI scan 2. I have seen many medical professionals 3. Anxiety can explain the symptoms that I am scared of. 4.
I hope this advice can help someone a little, health anxiety is a real problem and can debilitate your life if you do not rationalise. It’s easier to believe the worst. Just try and remember the obvious, you do not have a diagnosis of MS which almost 99% of the time means you do not have MS.
Hi my name is daisy 22 yrs old I had What the doctors call an anxiety attack on Aug 2016 felt like i was during nausea passing out feeling weak cold chills wanting to urinate often and feverish feeling next day vertigo off balance and just sick 2 weeks later ringing in ears..still dealing with vertigo have had ct scans of jaw and ears eveything normal mri i guess a red part in the right front side of brain but docs dont know watt it could be so I’m do to see a neorolagist cuz ent thinks it can be ms??and last night again wanted to Faint and nauseous feeling and week and numb in left arm always when that happens and left leg and today same wave that came and left less then 30min long but can it be ms if when u take meds for anxiety the symptoms go away??pls someone answer that..also left ear sensitive then right ear nd with some pain and popping sometimes but my ears r suposably fine so arnt causing the vertigo idk it’s weird how I got vertigo with an anxiety attack and the vertigo rarely ever leaves nd ringing always there but better
Someone tell me if I had ms would anxiety meds make the ms symptoms go away?? I had What the docs called a panic attack back in Aug thought i was dieing then stuck with vertigo ever since and ringing in ears got MRI and suppose to c a neorolagist to c if he can find out what that red spot is cuz ent said it can be head aches or ms or trauma but he don know wtf it is and if that could n causing my so called anxiety iv never had before and iv gotten 2 other attacks after Aug so last week lasting less then 30min numbing left arm left leg cold chills and fainting feeling and nauseous and weak then hit me again next day as I was driving nd keep in mind vertigo never goes away ear and jaw ct scans good so Idk let me know anyone else with same.symptoms cuz these attacks wernt as bad as the first time cuz first time I though in was gana die or somthing was takin over my body
After reading all the comments I feel a lot better. To know that I’m not the only person who gets nervous about every ache and pain and thinks it’s MS. My anxiety started back in 2010 when I had my first panic attack. I had been very depressed after losing 3 babies after multiple miscarriage. That was like the worst thing I’ve ever going through at such a young age at the time. I was 22 and working hard and going to school trying make a good life for me and my soon to be baby. The panic didn’t start until 2 years after my first miscarriage and 3rd lost. But up until then I was suffering from depression, I stopped doing what I love to do and stayed in my bedroom unless I went to work. My depression stated getting better after starting college but it still hurt seeing close friends and family having babies and I just felt sad always. One day while out with my family I started feeling funny and very nervous like something wasn’t right, my heart started pounding and my chest started hurting I thought I was having a heart attack. My family wanted to take me to the hospital but then my symptoms started to go away so I decided to just go home and take a nap. After that I knew something wasn’t right and every time I got nervous I devolved all types of aches and pains that I would goggle and everything symptom I goggled came back as MS. I couldn’t believe it. I knew about MS because I knew that was the disease that Montel Williams and Richard Pryor had and he ended up on a wheelchair. After much research the disease became more and more scary especially since it could happen to just about anyone and at any age and it’s no curable. That’s when I became more scared. I visited my doctor often and I would tell her my symptoms and she did test like vitamin d and thyroid test blood work everything come back fine but my vitamin d was low so she started me on vitamin d3 daily which I started but didn’t follow though on. The anxiety and panic attacks stopped for 4 years but just recently come back the first one was in the summer I wax with my boyfriend after having a great workout at the gym we decided to go out so we went to target everything was fine then out of nowhere I started seeing flashes and spots and got very nervous it was so bad that I had to block the lights out in the store with my hands just to see the credit card machine to pay for my items. I was so see and I started to think that I was losing my eye sight. I then told my boyfriend and he took me to get something to eat after seeing down and talking with my boyfriend I started to feel much better and my vision was fine. But I was still very nervous and every since then every symptom I get I look it up online. Let me not forget that I just recently had a eye exam in April was the doctor stated that my vision was perfect I go to the doctored at least 2-3 times a year and am always in perfect health. But one problem I do have is I get very bad headache and have sinus problems that cause my ears to clog and I have dry eyes my ears hurt sometimes the doctor said it’s due to the sinus I’ve seen a specialist they put me on fluticasone my Pcp put me on the same along with cetirizine. It helps but as soon as I get nervous my ears clogged bs k up. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?
Sorry for all the misspelled words I used my iPhone to type this hugh mistake lol I hope you understand. The spell check on this phone always changes my words.
Hi. I’m a 27 year-old with horrible anxiety but otherwise healthy. Lately I’ve been so tense that I’ve developed knotts in my shoulders which have led to tension headaches, jaw tension and even facial numbness. It scares the hell out of me. It doesn’t occur 24/7. If I can relax it goes away but usuallt its hard to relax. I have terrible htpochondria as well. I’ve been dealing with this for a couple weeks now. I’ve started exercising again, meditating and getting massages and it’s helping but I just want my body to feel better already. Sometimes I can be mentally relaxed but my body can be tense and then that freaks me out. Does anyone have any advice or words of encouragement? It would be greatly appreciated.
Georgina Dunne
Great post . Really nice to hear and is so true . I’ve been Ill with virus now an Infection I’ve been ill now for two months and I’m not getting clear answers my full blood work was good just showed white blood cells and fighting an Infection. I have another blood tomorrow and on my 3rd batch of antibiotics 😐I feel so tired and I do suffer from anxiety always have so it’s making me feel 1000 times worse. I can’t sleep at night because my anxiety goes sky high.
I don’t feel myself and I’m getting so fed up I want to feel better . I feel sick on and off have vibrating in back,back of head had it in my chest last night. Also feel a pulse back of my head. I have no headache just feel so off and still not well. Will just have to see what’s blood tells me tomorrow. I’m getting scared there is an underlying problem but would that not have been picked up in my last blood test!? X God bless to all
If you are here, you have anxiety…and maybe hypochondria?
I am looking for a support group or maybe a pen pal. I do not like having to rely on my partner every time I feel a muscle twitch. If anyone would like to be my pen pal, please email me at borkah25@hotmail.com.