Anxiety or something more severe

[boogie79]

Hi

I have been watching people post their symptoms on this forum over the last months.  After nearly a year of having my own symptoms I have decided to share them in the hope that someone can give me some guidance on what it could be.

I am a 30 year old male who’s symptoms all started last year after finishing a very intense three year degree. One day I felt something strange happen behind my shoulder blade. I got home and checked if I could see anything abnormal but there was nothing. From then on my symptoms started to happen. First of all I had a very strange sensation at the bottom of my left tricep. This sensation was there for a considerable amount of time, at the same time this occurred on my right arm. I then noticed in both arms that I could see the  muscle belly of the extensor muscles of the forearms. Previously I would only see the muscle belly when I was contracting them . Now I see the muscle belly of the extensor muscles all the time as if they are permantly contracted. Then the twitching started in my left arm and it was constant this then went into my right arm. Then I started to get funny feelings in my face around my eyes but my vision was not affected. Concerned with all of  this I went to my GP who did  all the blood tests, they came back normal and she refered me to a neurologist and a physiotherapist for my shoulder. I told the neurologist all my symptoms and he asked me what I thought I had ( I am a trained health professional but not a doctor) I told him I thought it was MS, which he quickly said that it was not possible as there is no matching pattern. He tested all my reflexes which were fine and sent me for an MRI scan. I also went physio for my shoulder who concluded that I had tightness in my median nerve it felt as if something was catching. I had an MRI of my neck and brain and these came back all normal.

Whilst waiting for my results I started to develop a tremor in my right hand mainly in my thumb. I also started feeling a deep buzzing feeling in my legs as if my nerves were shaking even thou there was no visable sign of this. I then started having the feeling that I was off balance. I tested my balance and walking on numerous occasions and there was no problem with both of these. I also developed tinnitus at the time.  I told the neurologist about these symptoms and he said these symoptoms were due to stress or anxiety. These symptoms kept coming and going .it was really getting to me and I kept going to my Dr who would kept referring me and I was getting no where.

Whilst going through all this  I decided I go to visit a friend in Australia. During my time there I developed some other  symptoms, it felt like I had no strength going through my right side even thou I had full muscle power and full range of movement and no loss of sensation. I also noticed a  slight tremor in my foot when I put it at mid range. I went to see a GP in Oz who  looked at my blood results from home and checked my reflexes, strength ans sensation of both upper and lower limb this all came back fine. He also came down to the conclusion that it was anxiety or stress not MS or Parkinsons. To keep me happy he referred me to a neurologist. I went to the neuro and he done nerve conduction test and tremor test and checked my reflexes, muscle strenght which were all good again. Whilst doing the tremor test my tremor dramatically stopped. And that was it. My tests came back normal. He concluded that I have a severe  anxiety and I needed to see psychologist.  

From then on things calmed down, I could still see the muscle belly of the extensor muscle but I kept thinking this is anxiety and other little things kpet happening and I kept saying the same thing its anxiety. Then one day I read an article about a young man who got Parkinson disease. Within one hour of reading this article my tremor started and my symptoms  progressed. Since then I developed more symptoms.both my biceps feeling like they are about to cramp and  then they twitch heavily. I started taking magnesium and felt this improved the situation a little bit. I also noticed when I was sleeping my fingers/hands would contract and this would wake me up or I would be asleep and I feel my body shaking but I ake up and there was nothing. I feel like my arms especially my right arm has ants crawling up and down it. t times my fingers slightly contract without explanation especially when watching something or leaning my head on it. I can feel the nerves in my right arm are firing down into my finger tips. When I write My hand quickly tires, but I can continue writing and my hand writing is not effected. The tinnitus and feeling off balance comes and goes but its not as frequent as it was before. I noticed one day I was wound up and the tinnitus came on. My arm symptoms are always there like the ants crawling and the tremor but the  the contracting of my fingers in my sleep or the nerves firing in my finger tips happen occasionally.  

All of this has made me more apprehensive and scared. I am under some stress and am I am anxious but surely all of what I have mentioned cannot be down to stress or anxiety???. I have come to the conclusion that I have something like restless arm syndrome or something more severe such as MS or Parkinson. I know no one can give me an exact answer on here but Im hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks

[Alexandraaa]

I completely understand that all of these symptoms you are having are real. I understand how hard it is to deal with anxiety due to your health and wellness. But at least for me, the more I focus on aches and pains I may feel from time to time, the more anxious and depressed I get. Your doctors would not lie to you. They understand how desperate you are to finding out some sort of conclusion to these alarming symptoms you have been experiencing. Like Rich99 stated above, trust what your doctors are telling you. Pains of any kind can be tremendously scaring and alarming, especially when they can seem so crazy. But take all the advice you have been given. Try your hardest to relax some and get your mind focused on other things in your life. The more you sit around in constant fear and worry, the worse you are going to feel; emotionally and even physically. Try  to keep your composure. Best of luck to you in your recovery!

[Rich99]

It all sounds like it began when you first started concentrating on your physical sensations which caused some anxiety which then in turn caused you to notice more physical body sensations.
So to point you in the right direction I will urge you to trust the results of all your medical exams and lab work,  and then begin to let go of watching your bodily sensations and put your focus on other things in life that you enjoy doing.

[cheshchesh819]

you have had every test under the sun to rule out your worst fears,and have all come back normal,everything you are going through can be caused through stress and anxiety,and you sounds like a classic case for it,you have convinced yourself that you have ms or parkinsons,which is making your sypmtoms a hundred times worse,you maybe do need to go and speak to someone,learn some relaxation technics,and stop reading these books that you have been reading i always used to go on the net to search for answers to relate to my symptoms and it just screwed me up bad.